February 28, 2024 – The Lady Hornets dropped their midweek matchup at Pittsburg State as Emporia State fell 72-56 against the Gorillas on Wednesday night.
The Lady Hornets fell behind early, as the Gorillas scored on their opening possession which started a 6-0 run for the hosts over the first three minutes. Emporia State got on the board with a layup from
Katie Horyna at the 6:45 mark of the first quarter. Offensive struggles continued to plague the Lady Hornets, as they shot 3-15 from the floor and fell behind 22-6 entering the second.
In the second, the offense for Emporia State picked up, as the Lady Hornets shot 7-14 from the floor. Despite the 50% shooting from Emporia State, the Gorillas maintained their lead throughout the quarter as the smallest deficit for the Lady Hornets came with Pittsburg State leading 34-21 with 3:45 remaining in the first half.
Emporia State entered the halftime break trailing 39-23 as they shot 10-29 from the floor and 2-9 from three in the first half.
Following the break, Pittsburg State opened the third quarter on a 12-6 scoring run that lasted nearly six minutes, as their lead swelled to 51-29, the largest of the game for the Gorillas. Over the final four minutes of the third, the Lady Hornets outscored Pittsburg State 12-6 as the deficit was cut to 57-41 entering the fourth.
The scoring run for Emporia State continued into the fourth, as the Lady Hornets outscored the Gorillas 10-4 over the first two minutes as the Pittsburg State lead was cut to 61-51 with 8:03 remaining. Both teams went cold over the next three minutes, as the game entered the media timeout with 4:24 remaining with the score still 61-51.
The Lady Hornets would get as close as nine points with 2:13 left as a three from
Stevie Stinchcomb cut the Gorillas lead to 65-56. Pittsburg State scored the final seven points as Emporia State fell 72-56.
Katie Horyna led the way with 16 points on 7-9 shooting.
Queen Ulabo had 13 points and 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.
Emporia State will close out the regular season with the Turnpike Tussle at Washburn on Saturday, March 2. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. in Topeka, Kan.
