January 11, 2024 – The Lady Hornets visited Lincoln on Thursday and never trailed as they came away with a 68-62 win against the Blue Tigers.
For the second consecutive game, Emporia State never trailed as they led for 39 minutes and stifled a late Blue Tigers' rally for their first road MIAA win of the season.
Emporia State took the first lead of the game as
Gracie Gilpin knocked down a three for the first basket of the game giving the Lady Hornets a 3-0 advantage. Following a pair of free throws from the Blue Tigers,
Katie Horyna scored on back-to-back trips to push the lead to 7-2.
The largest lead for Emporia State in the first quarter came following a Horyna layup to give the Lady Hornets a 16-7 lead with 2:45 remaining in the first. Emporia State entered the second quarter leading Lincoln 20-13 as they shot 9-14 in the quarter.
In the second quarter Emporia State struggled from the floor, shooting just 5-17, but managed to expand their lead throughout the quarter. The Lady Hornets held Lincoln to one made field goal in the quarter and held the Blue Tigers scoreless over the final six minutes as they led 33-18 entering the halftime break.
In the first half, the Lady Hornets went 5-11 from three and 45.2% from the floor.
Following the halftime break, the opening basket came from
Queen Ulabo at the 9:18 mark. Lincoln scored on the following possession before a basket from
Katie Horyna and a pair of free throws from
Faith Paramore gave the Lady Hornets a 39-20 lead, their largest of the game.
Lincoln put together an 8-0 scoring run as they trimmed the Emporia State lead to 39-28 with 4:32 remaining in the quarter. The Lady Hornets responded with an 8-2 scoring as their lead returned to 47-30 with less than 90 seconds left in the third. Over the final minute, the Blue Tigers scored eight straight points to trim the Emporia State lead to 47-38 entering the final frame.
For much of the fourth quarter, Emporia State and Lincoln traded points as the Lady Hornets maintained a two-possession lead until the 1:41 mark in the fourth. A driving layup and ensuing free throw by the Blue Tigers trimmed the Emporia State lead to 60-58 with under two minutes to play.
Over the final 100 seconds of play, Emporia State maintained their lead as they made eight free throws to help solidify a 68-62 win over Lincoln.
Katie Horyna led Emporia State with 17 points on 6-10 shooting while adding four rebounds.
Gracie Gilpin and
Queen Ulabo each added 13 points as Gilpin went 4-7 from three and Ulabo added 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
Emporia State advances to 8-6 overall and 5-3 in MIAA action after winning their second consecutive game.
The Lady Hornets will return to action on Saturday, January 13 as they continue their road trip against Central Missouri. Tipoff from Warrensburg, Mo. is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
