Women's Basketball | 9/26/2022 5:23:00 PM

September 26, 2022-For the 24th straight year, not counting COVID, the Emporia State Lady Hornet basketball team ranked in the top six in attendance among the over 300 NCAA Division II basketball playing schools.
 
The Lady Hornets drew an average of 1,108 fans to their 14 home games on Slaymaker Court in White Auditorium during the 2021-22 season to rank fourth nationally. Emporia State had a season high 2,007 for their game against Washburn on February 26 on Senior Day.  
 
"Lady Hornet Basketball is extremely fortunate to have a passionate fan base here in Emporia and the surrounding communities," said Emporia State head coach Toby Wynn.  "This fan base continually provides an incredible home court advantage for our basketball team at White Auditorium, and we are extremely grateful for their continued support each and every year.  These numbers continue to show that Emporia State is a special place for women's basketball."
 
Emporia State outdrew 249 NCAA Division I schools, including six from the "Power 5" conferences - three each from the ACC and PAC-12. They also outdrew 19 teams that made the NCAA Tournament four of which won a game including Elite Eight participant Creighton.  Within the Division II ranks, the Hornets outdrew 62 of the 64 teams that were selected for the NCAA Tournament, including seven of the eight #1 seeds and every team that made the Elite Eight.

The Lady Hornets have won 322 of the last 360 (.894) games in White Auditorium. The Lady Hornets are 469-106 (.816) overall since 1979 at home and hold the MIAA record for consecutive home wins with 62 set from 1997-2001.

Emporia State was among seven MIAA teams in the top 25 nationally. As a conference the MIAA drew 159,500 fans to 205 games to lead all Division II conferences in average attendance at 778 fans per game. That mark would rank tenth among 32 NCAA Division I women's conferences in total attendance and 16th in average attendance. It is the 13th straight year, not counting COVID, the MIAA has led the nation in average attendance. Six of the top nine teams in the nation were from the Central Region with 12 teams from the region ranked in the top 25.

Emporia State is the only 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.

The Lady Hornets return three starters from last year's team that went 15-14. It was the 26th consecutive winning season for Emporia State, the longest active streak among women's basketball programs in the MIAA. The Lady Hornets have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 22 of those 26 seasons with six Elite Eights, four trips to the Final Four, two championship game appearances and the 2010 National Championship.

2021-22 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Attendance Top 25

School	Games	Attendance	Avg.
1. Fort Hays St.	18	39,315	2,184
2. Northern St.	13	25,568	1,967
3. Drury	16	21,931	1,371
4. Emporia St.	14	15,506	1,108
5. Black Hills St.	11	12,085	1,099
6. Washburn	15	15,906	1,060
7. Augustana (SD)	14	14,325	1,023
8. Eastern N.M.	9	8,894	988
9. Southwest Minn. St.	13	12,648	973
10. West Tex. A&M	20	19,269	963
11. Ashland	19	16,640	876
12. Lincoln (PA)	15	12,311	821
13. Alas. Anchorage	10	8,169	817
14. Winona St.	11	8,966	815
15. Pittsburg St.	15	12,146	810
16. Missouri Western	16	12,917	807
17. CSU Pueblo	15	11,803	787
18. Southern Ind.	13	9,837	757
19. Central Mo.	14	10,447	746
20. North Georgia	19	13,396	705
21. Southwestern Okla.	13	9,056	697
22. Mo. Southern St.	15	9,941	663
23. Ferris St.	13	8,604	662
24. Midwestern St.	13	8,586	660
25. Carson-Newman	14	9,243	660

 MIAA in Bold
Central Region in Italics
 
2021-22 NCAA Division II Conference Attendance Leaders

Conference	Teams	Games	Total	Average
1 MIAA	14	205	159,500	778
2 NSIC	16	199	125,181	629
3 LSC	17	235	99,485	423
4 GAC	12	161	57,250	357
5 RMAC	16	195	66,667	342
6 Peach Belt	10	132	43,778	332
7 GLVC	15	204	64,994	319
8 GNWAC	10	121	37,475	310
9 G-MAC	12	165	48,864	296
10 GLIAC	11	143	40,347	282

MIAA in Bold
Central Region in Italics