January 23, 2025-In a game that saw eight ties and ten lead changes the Lady Hornets came up short 61-56 to Northeastern State on Thursday at White Auditorium.
After a game opening three-pointer by the RiverHawks Aubrey Brown, Emporia State scored the next seven points to go up 7-3 with 6:17 left in the period. An old fashioned three point play by Emily Weathers gave Northeastern State a 10-9 lead with 2:44 left and the teams traded scores the rest of the quarter to head to the second tied at 14-14.
The RiverHawks went up 23-18 with 7:16 left in the second quarter before the Lady Hornets responded with a 5-0 run to tie the score with 5:29 left in the half. Northeastern State got a basket from Brown with 4:54 left to up 25-23 on what would be their final field goal of the period.Â
Elizabeth Tjaden hit a three with 1:21 left to give ESU a 28-25 lead and two NSU free throws with 1:04 left made it 28-27 going into halftime.
The third quarter proved to be the difference as the Lady Hornets were held to just two of 16 shooting from the field in the period.
Macey Gandee scored inside with 8:54 left in the quarter to give ESU a 30-28 lead. The Lady Hornets would not hit another field goal until
Allie Ostermann buried a three-pointer with 2:03 left in the period. Northeastern State could not take much of an advantage though as Emporia State hit five of six free throw and held the RiverHawks to 11 points in that time as the Lady Hornets trailed 39-38. A three pointer from Brown with 39 seconds left gave Northeastern State a 45-41 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The RiverHawk lead reached seven points three times to start the final period, the last coming at 54-47 with 6:13 remaining. Tjaden then hit a three-pointer with 4:57 left followed by an old fashioned three-point play following a RiverHawk turnover with 4:35 left to get the Lady Hornets within 54-53. A
Jayla Cornelius hoop and harm off a Tjaden defensive rebound and outlet pass with 1:49 left tied the game at 56. With the shot clock winding down Brown banked in a three-pointer to give Northeastern State a 59-56 lead with 1:18 left. Emporia State had three chances in the final 17 seconds to tie the score and could not convert. Alex Hill hit two free throws with 1.7 seconds left for the final margin.
Janiyah Alvarez scored a career high 14 points to go with ten rebounds for her first career double-double. She was joined in double figures by
Elizabeth Tjaden with 12 points, four assists and four steals. The Lady Hornets had one more made field goal, two more rebounds and five fewer turnovers but could not overcome a nine point deficit from behind the three point line.
The Lady Hornets will be back in action on Sunday, January 26 when they play host to Ark.-Fort Smith. Tip-off from White Auditorium is set for 1:30 p.m.
Â
