February 21, 2024 – The Lady Hornets clinched a spot in the MIAA Tournament for the 28th straight season with a 76-63 win over Central Missouri on Wednesday night from White Auditorium.
Emporia State and Central Missouri traded baskets in the opening minutes with the Lady Hornets holding a 7-5 lead at the 7:59 mark of the first quarter following a
Faith Paramore three. The largest advantage of the first quarter for the Lady Hornets came at the 3:46 mark after a
Queen Ulabo layup to build a 15-9 lead. Central Missouri scored four of the final six points in the quarter as the Lady Hornets held a 17-13 lead through the first.
In the second quarter, Emporia State and Central Missouri continued their back-and-forth battle through the first four minutes of the period as the Lady Hornets held a slim 24-22 lead with 5:42 remaining in the first half. Over the next 4:18, Emporia State built a 40-24 lead as a
Tylieea Wallace layup capped a 16-2 scoring run for the Lady Hornets.
Central Missouri scored the final four points of the half as Emporia State took a 40-28 lead into the halftime break.
In the first half, the Lady Hornets shot 16-33 from the field, including 4-9 from three in the second quarter.
Following the halftime break, Central Missouri shot 56% from the floor but the Lady Hornets kept the Jennies at a distance, maintaining their double-digit lead throughout the third quarter. Late in the third, Emporia State's largest lead came at the 2:23 mark after
Stevie Stinchcomb knocked down a three to boost the Lady Hornet lead to 56-38. The Hornets were outscored 5-2 over the final two minutes but took a 58-43 lead into the final quarter.
The Lady Hornets scored the first two points of the fourth quarter before Central Missouri began to chip away at the Emporia State lead. A 7-2 scoring run for the Jennies closed the gap to 12 points with the Lady Hornets leading 62-50 with 6:14 remaining. Four straight points from Emporia State restored a 16-point lead with 5:35 to play before the Jennies put together one final run.
Over the next four minutes, the Jennies outscored the Lady Hornets 10-2, pulling within eight points. The 68-60 lead for Emporia State was the smallest of the second half. In the final 90 seconds, the Lady Hornets outscored the visitors 8-3 as Emporia State went 8-8 from the free throw line to clinch the 76-63 win over Central Missouri.
With the win over the Jennies, the Lady Hornets clinched their 28
th straight MIAA Tournament appearance and snapped a seven-game winning streak for Central Missouri in the series with Emporia State.
Katie Horyna led the way for the Lady Hornets with 20 points on 6-9 shooting and 8-9 from the free throw line.
Gracie Gilpin and
Tylieea Wallace each had 11 points.
Queen Ulabo and
Faith Paramore each had nine points with Ulabo grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds.
Allie Ostermann and
Stevie Stinchcomb rounded out the scoring with eight points each.
Emporia State will return to action on Saturday as they take on Lincoln for Senior Day from White Auditorium. Game time is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. against the Blue Tigers.
