BACK TO KANSAS CITY AS THE LADY HORNETS TAKE ON CENTRAL OKLAHOMA IN THE MIAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND

Women's Basketball | 2/28/2022 7:21:00 PM

Game #29
MIAA Tournament presented by Citizens Bank & Trust
First Round Game
Emporia State Lady Hornets (15-13, 10-12 MIAA)
vs. Central Oklahoma Bronchos (16-12, 12-10 MIAA)
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 • 2:15 p.m. • Kansas City, Mo. • Municipal Auditorium
Series Record: ESU leads 26-10 Last Meeting: UCO 74, at ESU 71 (Jan. 26, 2022)
Radio: KFFX 104.9FM Internet Audio: kvoe.com
Television: None Internet Video: themiaanetwork.com
Live Stats • Tournament Central • Complete Notes in pdf
Lady Hornet MIAA Tournament Media Guide in pdf
Up Next: Winner vs. Fort Hays State • Thursday, March 3, 2022 • 2:15 p.m.
Kansas City, Mo. • Municipal Auditorium

NO REGRETS IN MARCH
The Lady Hornets make their 26th straight appearance in the MIAA Tournament starting with a first round game against Central Oklahoma.

LAST TIME OUT
Emporia State gave up a 17 point third quarter lead to trail by two with under a minute before Tre'Zure Jobe hit a game winner in a 79-77 win over Washburn. The Lady Hornets jumped out to a 14-1 lead and took a 44-31 lead to the half. Victoria Price scored with 8:05 left in the third to give ESU its biggest lead at 17 points. Washburn used a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 52-45 with 5:16 left in the third.  Emporia State led 75-69 with 4:57 left in the game but would go scoreless for the next 4:19 as WU took a 77-75 lead with 1:30 left. Jobe hit one of two free throws to pull Emporia State within a point with 38.6 seconds left. Washburn coach Ron McHenry was given a technical with 32.4 seconds left and Jobe hit one of two to tie the game at 77.  She then worked the clock and pulled up just outside the lane on the baseline for the game winning jumper with 2.8 seconds left. Ehlaina Hartman led Emporia State with 21 points on seven of nine shooting while Jobe scored 17 points, Kali Martin had 16 and Price 12 points.

THE COACHES
Toby Wynn is 79-36 in his fourth year as the head coach of the Lady Hornets. He is the second coach to win at least 18 games and go to the NCAA Tournament in his first three years at Emporia State. He has won 428 total games after going 349-84 in 13 years at Seward CC with four Jayhawk Conference regular season championships and two Region VI Tourney titles. He is 5-4 against UCO, 1-0 in the MIAA Tourney.
Guy Hardaker is 297-169 in his 16th year at Central Okla. He is 7-18 against Emporia State with an 0-4 record in MIAA Tournament play.

ABOUT THE LADY HORNETS
Emporia State is 15-13, 10-12 in the MIAA and the #10 seed in the MIAA Tournament. They lead the MIAA in made three-pointers and free throw percentage. Tre'Zure Jobe is second in the MIAA in steals, third in made three pointers and seventh in scoring.

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS
Central Oklahoma is 16-12, 12-0 in the MIAA and the #7 seed in the MIAA Tournament. They lead the MIAA in steals, assists and offensive rebounds. Kelsey Johnson is leading the league in scoring and ranks second in rebounding.

SERIES HISTORY
The Lady Hornets lead the overall series 26-10. Emporia State has won the previous four MIAA Tournament matchups including a 62-54 win in the 2017 Tournament Championship game and an 82-80 win in White Auditorium in last year's quarterfinals.

LAST MEETING WITH UCO
The Lady Hornets closed the game on an 8-0 run but could not get over the hump in a 74-71 loss to Central Oklahoma. The Bronchos opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run to go up 25-17.  The Lady Hornets closed to within one at 29-28 with 2:59 left. UCO pushed the lead back to seven before ESU closed to within 40-36 at the half. The third quarter saw the Bronchos take their biggest lead of the night at 68-54 with 8:00 left in the game. UCO led 74-63 with 1:06 left when ESU made their final run. Hartman had 23 points while Karsen Schultz added 13 points.

UP NEXT
The winner will take on second seeded Fort Hays State on Thursday in the MIAA Quarterfinals. Tip-off is set for 2:15 p.m. in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

WYNNING
Toby Wynn was formally introduced as the seventh head coach in Lady Hornet history on April 9, 2018 and became just the second Emporia State coach to reach the NCAA Tournament in his first season. He is 79-36 as the head coach at Emporia State. The Booker, Texas native went 349-84 in 13 seasons at Seward CC and is 428-120 in his 16th season as a head coach. His 22 regular season wins were the second most by a first year coach in Lady Hornet history. He has won at least 20 games in 15 of 16 seasons as a head coach, including four 30 win seasons and at least 25 wins in each of his last five years in Liberal.  

ROAD WARRIORS
Emporia State is 301-126 (.705) away from home, 104-32 (.765) in neutral site games and 62-16 (.795) against non-MIAA teams at neutral sites since 1997-98 with five of the losses in the Elite Eight. The Lady Hornets have gone on the road to defeat the #1 ranked team in the nation twice in regional tournaments and have eliminated the host team in six regionals. Emporia State is 52-46 (.531) away from White Auditorium against Top 25 teams. The Lady Hornets are 160-73 (.687) on the road in MIAA league play since 1997-98. Emporia State is 37-17 (.685) in NCAA Tournament games away from White Auditorium.

HOME COOKIN'
The Lady Hornets have won 322 of the last 360 (.894) games in White Auditorium. They are undefeated in postseason games in White Auditorium with a 15-0 record in MIAA Tournament play and a 6-0 record in the NCAA Tournament.  Emporia State has only lost 16 games to unranked NCAA teams in White Auditorium since 1997. The Lady Hornets are 469-106 (.816) overall since 1979 at home, hold the MIAA record for consecutive home wins with 62 set from 1997-2001. Emporia State is 13-9 (.591) against top ten teams in White Auditorium since 1995.

DEPTH OF TALENT
Emporia State has six players ranked among the conference leaders with at least one player ranked in every statistical category. The Lady Hornets have four players averaging at least 10.0 points per game and five players averaging at least 4.0 rebounds per game.  Every player on the roster has scored and everyone that has played at least 25 minutes has at least five points with a rebound, assist and steal.

GAME OF RUNS
Emporia State has had 18 runs of 10-0 or greater this season, including a 24-0 run against Bethel. Last year they had 21 runs of 10-0 or greater, including an 18-0 run against Newman, a 15-0 run in less than two minutes against Central Oklahoma and a 16-0 run over more than eight minutes against Washburn.

BY THE NUMBERS
The Lady Hornets have topped the 100-point barrier 75 times and have eclipsed the 110 point mark 30 times in their history. Since 1997-98, the Lady Hornets are 321-4 (.988) when scoring at least 80 points. The first loss was to North Dakota, 87-81 in the 1999 Final Four, the second came at West Texas A&M, 86-83 in the 2009 NCAA South Central Regional Semifinals the third was at Central Oklahoma 87-86 in the final regular season game of 2017-18 and the most recent was 96-88 in double overtime to Washburn on January 5, 2019. Emporia State was 167-22 (.884) in the previous 23 seasons when scoring at least 80 points. Conversely Emporia State is 170-2 (.988) all-time when holding opponents to 50 points or less.

TAKING ON THE BEST
The Lady Hornets have won three contests against teams that were defending national champions at the time.  Emporia State defeated the 2018 national champion Jennies 65-62 on Feb. 9, 2019; they defeated the 2016 national champions Lubbock Christian 60-50 on Dec. 3, 2016 in the first ever regular season match-up between a #1 ranked team and a defending national champion in White Auditorium history; and they ended then #1 ranked and 2005 national champion Washburn's 51 game winning streak with a 61-59 win in overtime of the regional championship game on March 13, 2006 in Topeka.
This season three of the Lady Hornets losses are to teams that are currently ranked in the top 25 of the WBCA National Poll and six have come against teams that have received votes at some point this year.

RANKINGS
Emporia State has received votes twice this year in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Coaches Poll. They were ranked #25 in the February 9, 2021 poll, marking the 24th consecutive season the Lady Hornets have been in ranked in the Top 25 of the WBCA Poll during a season. The Lady Hornets have been in the Coaches Top 25 a total of 284 weeks since first appearing in the 1997-98 preseason poll and have been in the top ten for a WBCA Division II record 190 weeks.  

BRING IT ON    
Six of the Lady Hornets losses have come against teams that have received votes in the WBCA National Poll with two of the teams ranked in the top 25 this week. The Lady Hornets are 87-62 (.584) against WBCA Top 25 teams since 1997-98.  Emporia State is 35-18 (.660) in neutral site games with top 25 foes since 1997. The Lady Hornets are 31-16 (.660) in White Auditorium against Top 25 teams since 1997. Emporia State has 36 wins against Top 10 teams, including four victories against #1 ranked teams in the last eight seasons.

SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE
Emporia State first earned a #1 national ranking by the WBCA in 2004-05, next in 2006-07, again after winning the 2009-10 national championship, they opened 2015-16 and held onto the spot through their first seven games and they were in the top spot for four games last season. The Lady Hornets are 20-6 all-time when playing as the #1 team in the nation. The Lady Hornets have won 20 games in 22 of the last 25 seasons and their current streak of 26 straight winning seasons is the longest active streak in the MIAA. Emporia State has made the NCAA Tournament 22 times in the last 25 years and their 40-20 record in the tourney is ranked fourth among active Division II schools in total tournament wins. Emporia State has made six Elite Eight trips, the most of any team since 1997. The Lady Hornets won their first national championship in 2010, 12 years after making their first appearance in the national title game and they have advanced to four Final Fours since 1998.
The Lady Hornets have won seven MIAA regular season championships and nine MIAA Tournament titles. Emporia State has appeared in 15 of the last 24 MIAA Tournament Championship games and have made it to the semifinals in 22 of the last 25 seasons.

LADY HORNETS NCAA HISTORY
The Lady Hornets have made the NCAA Tournament 22 times in the last 25 years and their 40-20 record in the tourney is ranked fourth all-time among active Division II schools in total tourney wins. Emporia State won the 2010 National Championship, were national runners-up in 1998, advanced to the Final Four in 1999 and 2015, and were also in the Elite Eight in 2000 and 2006. They have been to the regional final 14 times.

MIAA TOURNEY EXCELLENCE
Emporia State won an unprecedented five straight MIAA Tournament Championships and an MIAA record 16 straight games in tournament play from 2013-2018. They are the first team to have two different streaks of at least four straight tournament championships. The Lady Hornets won four straight championships from 1998-2001 and were in seven straight title games between 2011 and 2017 with championships in the final five tournaments of that run. Emporia State is 47-17 all-time in MIAA Tournament play with a 15-0 record in White Auditorium.

NEWBIES
Tre'Zure Jobe became just the sixth freshman to earn All-Tournament honors at the 2020 MIAA Tournament.  Five of the six freshmen honorees have been Lady Hornets as she joins Lindenwood's Lindsay Medlen (2017) and Lady Hornets Kelly Moten (2014), Kelsey Balcom (2011), Michelle Stueve (2005), and Casey Henningsen (2004) in earning all-tourney honors in their first year. A total of seven Lady Hornets have been named MIAA Freshman of the Year.

ALL-TIME ALL-MIAA TOURNAMENT TEAM
Lady Hornets Emily Bloss, Tara Holloway and Jurgita Kausaite were named to the ten person All-Time All-MIAA Tournament Team by a panel of past and current sports information directors and media members prior to the 2007 Tournament. Bloss averaged 17 points in her twelve tournament games, including a tournament record 76 points as a senior. Holloway scored 151 points in her career. Kausaite scored 120 points in six tournament games.

HERE THEY COME
In the first season after COVID restrictions the Lady Hornets averaged 1,038 fans to rank sixth nationally at the end of the regular season. The Lady Hornets drew an average of 1,442 fans to their 15 home games on Slaymaker Court in White Auditorium during the 2019-20 season to rank sixth nationally. Emporia State outdrew 243 NCAA Division I schools, including six "Power 5" schools.  Emporia State played in front of an NCAA Division II season high 6,455 in the 2020 MIAA Tournament Championship game in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.  Prior to the pandemic the Lady Hornets had played in front of at least 1,000 fans in White Auditorium in 305 of their previous 306 games.  The Lady Hornets national championship game drew a standing room only crowd of 3,405 to the St. Joseph Civic Arena in 2010. The Lady Hornets averaged a school record 2,684 fans in 2005-06 to finish third in the nation and led the nation with an average attendance of 2,348 fans in 2004-05. Emporia State has been in the top six of the nation in attendance in each of the last 23 years, not counting the COVID restricted 2020-21 season.

ON THE AIR
The Lady Hornets have been on national television five times in the last 20 years. They are 3-2 after their loss in the Final Four on the CBS Sports Network in 2015. They defeated Ft. Lewis 65-53 in the national championship game on ESPN2 in 2010. Emporia State's 97-94 overtime victory over then #1 Gannon was shown on ESPNU. The Lady Hornets 74-67 victory over Washburn in 2007 was televised nation wide on CSTV. It was the first time a basketball game was televised nationally from White Auditorium and the first time an MIAA regular season basketball game, men or women, had been telecast nationwide. The Lady Hornets national championship game against North Dakota in 1998 was seen on ESPN. The Turnpike Tussle game against Washburn in White Auditorium on Jan. 15, 2011 was the featured game on MIAA Broadcasting Network.

LADY HORNET SUCCESS ON THE COURT...
The Lady Hornets have the best record in MIAA play in the 21st century. Emporia State is 329-111 (.748) in MIAA play since the 2000 season and 555-163 (.773) overall in that time. The Lady Hornets are even better if you add two more years to the equation. Since the 1997-98 season, Emporia State is 392-112 (.778) in MIAA play and 618-167 (.787) overall. The Lady Hornets have been ranked in the top ten of the ESPN/USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll 190 times, the most of any NCAA Division II school.  Emporia State has been to 22 NCAA Tournaments, made the Regional Championship or "Sweet 16" 14 times, has made six trips to the Elite Eight, four to the Final Four, two national title game appearances and won the 2010 NCAA Division II National Championship. The Lady Hornets have won seven MIAA Regular season and nine Tournament Championships and are the only team to win four straight undisputed (untied regular season and tournament) MIAA Championships pulling the trick from 1998-2001. They have been in 15 of the last 22 MIAA Tournament championship games, made it to the semifinals in 22 of the last 25 MIAA Tournaments and won nine tourney titles.

...AND IN THE CLASSROOM
Emporia State sat atop the 2016-17 Women's Basketball Coaches Association NCAA Division II Academic Top 25 list. The Lady Hornets had a school record 3.744 team GPA during the 2016-17 academic year. Lady Hornets have been honored as Academic All-Americans four times since joining the NCAA. Michelle Stueve was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second-team in 2007-08 and was a three-time Academic All-District VII performer. Emily Bloss was a three-time Academic All-American and was named the Academic All-American of the Year in 2001. As a team the Lady Hornets had a 3.23 team GPA in the fall of 2019.

TRIFECTA
Emporia State is the first program in NCAA Division II history to lead the nation in attendance (2005), win a national championship (2010), and be honored with the top GPA in the nation (2017) in the WBCA Academic Top 25 list.

LET'S HANG SOME MORE
Aneta Kausaite, Jurgita Kausaite, Tara Holloway-Churchill, Emily Bloss-Carpenter, Michelle Stueve-Corpening, Cassondra Boston and Alli Volkens have their jerseys retired in White Auditorium for earning first or second team All-American honors, graduating and playing at least two years at ESU.

MARCH MEANS SOMETHING
The Lady Hornets are 43-15 (.741) in their last 58 March post season games. Emporia State has made it to the championship game in 16 of the last 22 post season tournaments they have played in under three different coaches, appearing in eight MIAA Tournament, seven NCAA Regional Tournament Championship games and the 2010 National Championship game, while making the semifinals at the Elite Eight in 2015. Emporia State is 87-37 (.702) all-time in MIAA and NCAA Tournament games with a 40-20 (.667) record in the NCAA Tourney.
 
MARCH MADNESS
The Lady Hornets have qualified for their 22nd NCAA Tournament since first becoming eligible for it in 1992. They rank eighth all-time in NCAA Division II tournament appearances and their 19 trips are the most in the 21st century.  Emporia State has won 40 NCAA Tournament games to rank fifth all-time and fourth among active Division II schools. Since their first win in 1997 they have won more NCAA Tournament games than any school in the country.

NOT SUCH A HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The host team for the NCAA Regional the Lady Hornets compete in has won the tournament only four times in the last 16 tries. The first eight years of the streak were in the South Central Region. 2021 was just the eighth time the host team has advanced to the regional final in the last 14 years with Washburn falling to Emporia State in 2006 in Lee Arena, West Texas A&M defeating Central Oklahoma in 2009 in Canyon, Texas, Ft. Hays State falling to Emporia State in 2014 in Hays, Pittsburg State defeating Emporia State in 2017 in Pittsburg, Central Missouri defeating Augustana in 2018 in Sioux Falls, S.D., Ft. Hays State losing to Southwestern Oklahoma in Hays in 2019, and Central Missouri defeating Neb.-Kearney in 2021.

TOUGH ENOUGH
The NCAA Central Region is made up of teams in the MIAA, Northern Sun and Great American Conferences. So far this season the MIAA is 19-16 against the rest of the region with a 10-7 record against the NSIC and a 9-9 record against the GAC. The NSIC and GAC have split two games between each other. The MIAA has a 39-26 (.600) record against other Division II schools this year while the GAC is 34-26 (.567) and the NSIC is 31-30 (.508) against other D2 schools. The Central Region is the only region where all of the conferences have winning records against other D2 schools.

MISSED GAMES
The Pittsburg State game was the first time since November 27 that Emporia State had their entire opening day roster available. The Lady Hornets have had six players off their opening game roster (Victoria Price-8 games; Fredricka Sheats-8 games; Ehlaina Hartman-5 games; Madison Skelton-3 games; Christina Walsh-2 games; Addison Hooper-2 games) miss a total of 28 games due to injury or illness so far this year.  If you include the players that were on the roster when school started (Maary Lakes-28 games; Sydney Tinner-28 games) the total goes to eight players and 84 missed games.   

TIP-INS
• The Lady Hornets have won 20 games 22 times in the last 25 years and 27 times in school history.
• The Lady Hornets have won 25 games 13 times in school history.
• The Lady Hornets have won 30 games four times in school history.
• The Lady Hornets are 979-428 (.696) overall in their 48th year of action and were the eighth NCAA Division II program to reach 900 wins.
• The Lady Hornets are the only team to appear in the NCAA top twenty season records for scoring offense (17th - 90.0 in 1998; 8th - 91.3 in 1999; 18th - 89.9 in 2000) and scoring defense (20th - 50.6 in 2001).
• The Lady Hornets have had 11 of the last 22 MIAA MVPs, seven of the last 19 Freshmen of the Year and have won four MIAA Defensive Player of the Year awards since 2011-12.

STREAKS AND SUCH
• The Lady Hornets 62 game home court winning streak from Feb. 27, 1997 through Jan. 13, 2001 is an MIAA record and the fifth longest in NCAA Division II history.
• The Lady Hornets ended the then longest winning streak in NCAA Division II history (51 games) with their 61-59 overtime victory over Washburn on March 13, 2006 in the South Central Regional final and the longest single season winning streak (37 games) with their 97-94 overtime victory over Gannon on March 24, 2010 in the national semifinals.
• The Lady Hornets have defeated the host team in their regional six times in the last 14 years (at Ft. Hays State 66-61 in 2015; at Washburn 65-58 in 2013; at Washburn 71-65 in 2012; at West Texas A&M 76-69 in 2010; at Washburn in 2006; and at Drury in 2005).
• Emporia State is 2-1 against teams on a 30 game winning streak in the NCAA Tournament. They snapped Gannon's 37 game winning streak in the 2010 national semifinals and Washburn's 32 game in-season streak in the 2006 South Central Regional finals. ESU lost to eventual national runner-up Southwestern Oklahoma 71-65 in the first round of the 2019 Central Regional.
• The Lady Hornets have clinched their 26th straight trip to the MIAA Tournament.
• The five game road trip this year is the longest road trip by the Lady Hornets since a five game road swing in 2014-15.

END GAME
The Lady Hornets are 585-22 (.964) since 1997 when leading at the 5:00 mark.