January 18, 2025 – Second half rebounding and three-point shooting proved to be the difference on Saturday afternoon as the Lady Hornets fell 67-52 in their road matchup against Central Missouri.
In the first quarter, Emporia State got off on the front foot, opening the game on an 10-2 scoring run which included a three from both
Katie Horyna and
Gracie Gilpin as the Lady Hornets led by eight just over four minutes in. Central Missouri trimmed the deficit to five at the media timeout, but after the break, Gilpin knocked down another three to push the Emporia State lead to 15-8 with 2:42 left in the first. Three Lady Hornets turnovers helped the Jennies close the quarter on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 15-15.
Another strong start for the Lady Hornets in the second quarter prompted a 10-0 scoring run, forcing a Central Missouri timeout with 5:37 remaining in the first half. Emporia State went cold from the floor after the timeout, shooting just 1-9 over the final five and a half minutes, allowing the Jennies to close the quarter on a 12-2 run as the score was knotted at 27-27 heading into halftime.
Emporia State and Central Missouri both shot below 40% in the first half, with the Lady Hornets shooting 5-11 from three while the Jennies went 3-7.
Following the break, the two teams traded points over the next five minutes as the score was tied 38-38 with 4:44 left in the third. In similar fashion to the second quarter, the Lady Hornets struggled to end the quarter, with Central Missouri outscoring Emporia State 12-3 to build a 50-41 lead heading to the fourth.
A slow start to the fourth for Emporia State helped the Jennies open up a 57-41 lead with 8:08 remaining, which proved insurmountable for the Lady Hornets. A 7-2 scoring run for Emporia State over the next two minutes closed the gap to 59-48, before Central Missouri closed the game on an 11-4 scoring run to close out the game as the Lady Hornets fell 69-52.
Katie Horyna scored a team-high 18 points and was joined in double figures by
Gracie Gilpin who scored 14 of her own. Horyna, along with
Janiyah Alvarez and
Macey Gandee led the way with six rebounds.
In the second half, Emporia State shot just 1-5 from three and were outrebounded by the Jennies 24-10, including 7-0 on the offensive glass.
The Lady Hornets return to action on Thursday, January 23 as they host Northeastern State at White Auditorium. Tip-off between Emporia State and the Riverhawks is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
