January 25, 2024 – The Lady Hornets fell on Thursday night in a road matchup against Nebraska-Kearney 68-64.
Emporia State scored the opening basket on a layup from
Stevie Stinchcomb before Nebraska-Kearney scored six straight points to take a 6-
2 lead with 6:07 remaining in the first quarter. The Lady Hornets rallied scored nine of the next 12 points, as a three-point play from
Katie Horyna restored the Emporia State lead to 11-9 with 1:57 to go in the first.
The Lopers scored six unanswered points to close out the quarter as Emporia State entered the second trailing 15-11.
After shooting just 35.7% in the first quarter and allowing the Lopers to shoot 53.8%, the Lady Hornets flipped the script in the second as they shot 50% from the floor.
Emporia State regained an advantage with 4
:18 remaining in the first half as a three from
Elizabeth Milligan gave the Lady Hornets a 27-26 lead over the Lopers. Both teams scored just four more points over the final 4
:18 as the Lady Hornets entered the halftime break leading the Lopers 31-30.
In the first half, Emporia State shot 13-30 while Nebraska-Kearney shot 13-31.
The tight play continued into the third as the largest advantage for either team in the quarter came from the Lady Hornets as they held a 44
-37 lead at the 5:55 mark. Nebraska-Kearney closed the quarter by outscoring Emporia State 15-9 as the lead was trimmed to 53-52 heading into the fourth.
The lead changed hands four times in the first five minutes of the fourth with a
Gracie Gilpin three with 5:26 remaining giving the Lady Hornets a 59-57 advantage. With the lead, Emporia State missed their next five field goals and four free throws before a three by the Lopers with 1:36 remaining gave the home team a 60-59 lead.
Nebraska-Kearney was able to go 8-8 from the free throw line over the final 90 seconds as Emporia State was unable to retake the lead, falling 68-64 in their road matchup against the Lopers.
As a team, Emporia State 41% from the floor but just 5-13 from the free throw line and were outrebounded 49-34.
Gracie Gilpin and
Katie Horyna each scored 16 points on 6-14 and 7-12 shooting respectively.
Faith Paramore added 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists while
Queen Ulabo had six points and nine rebounds.
Emporia State will continue their road trip on Saturday, January 27 as they take on Fort Hays State. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. from Hays, Kan.
