December 14, 2023 – The Lady Hornets shot over 50% in the first half but fell 80-60 against Missouri Western on Thursday night from Civic Arena.
Emporia State fell behind 5-0 to open the game before
Aliyah Bello recorded the first basket of the game for the Lady Hornets with a three at the 8:22 mark in the first quarter. Following a turnover by the Griffons,
Faith Paramore knocked down a three on the ensuing possession as Emporia State took a 6-5 advantage, their first lead of the game.
A second consecutive turnover by the Griffons resulted in
Katie Horyna scoring in the lane to cap an 8-0 scoring run for the Lady Hornets. Missouri Western responded with an 11-2 scoring run, taking a 16-10 lead with 4:08 remaining in the quarter.
The Lady Hornets knotted the score at 16-16 following back-to-back threes from
Faith Paramore, her second and third of the quarter.
Over the final 3:28 of the first, the Griffons outscored Emporia State 7-0, taking a 23-16 lead into the second quarter.
Emporia State scored the first five points of the second quarter on a jumper from
Faith Paramore and a three from
Stevie Stinchcomb closed the deficit to 23-21 with 8:19 remaining in the first half. The Lady Hornets eventually tied the game 26-26 on a layup from
Queen Ulabo at the 5:20 mark.
The Lady Hornets and Griffons traded points over the final five minutes of the first half before Emporia State retook the lead in the final minute.
With the Griffons leading 36-32,
Faith Paramore scored seven straight points, including her fourth three of the first half, to give the Lady Hornets a 39-36 lead entering the halftime break.
Emporia State shot 71% in the second quarter and 51.6% in the first half, including 6-13 from three.
Following the halftime break, Emporia State struggled offensively as they made just four field goals in the third quarter, with Missouri Western outscoring the Lady Hornets 24-9 in the third period to take a 60-48 lead into the fourth.
Emporia State scored the first two points of the fourth quarter on a layup from
Katie Horyna to cut the deficit to 10, but the Lady Hornets were unable to work their way any closer and reduce the Missouri Western lead to single digits.
Missouri Western led by as much as 23 points in the fourth as the Lady Hornets fell 80-60 against the Griffons on Thursday night from Civic Arena.
Faith Paramore had a game-high 21 points with five rebounds.
Queen Ulabo also reached double-figures with 11 points and added six rebounds.
Emporia State will return to action on Saturday, December 16 as they travel to take on Northwest Missouri. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. from Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Mo.
