December 17, 2025 – The Lady Hornets struggled early but eventually led for nearly 25 minutes on their way to a 73-65 win over Bellevue on Wednesday night from White Auditorium.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first quarter proved difficult for Emporia State, as the Bruins took an early 7-0 lead before
Kaitlyn Sanders scored the first two Lady Hornet points at the 5:24 mark of the first quarter. Bellevue pushed their lead back to 12-5 with just over three minutes remaining in the period, before the Lady Hornets scored eight of the final nine points, to tie the game 13-13 heading to the second. In the 8-1 scoring run,
Macey Gandee scored five with
Lexsey DeWitt's first career three being the other three.
Through the first four minutes of the second quarter, the Bruins and Lady Hornets traded baskets with Bellevue leading 23-21 with 6:11 remaining until halftime. Over the final six minutes, Emporia State outscored the opposition 13-2, as they held the Bruins without a field goal until the break, taking a 34-25 lead into halftime.
Following the break, Emporia State scored the first eight points, all by way of
Micah Hannah who made all four shot attempts early in the second half. The scoring run resulted in a 15-point lead before Bellevue scored their first points of the half, their largest of the game. Emporia State would not relinquish their advantage for the remainder of the game and took a 54-40 advantage into the final frame.
Bellevue would trim their deficit over the first four minutes of the quarter, as Emporia State's lead was cut to 62-55 with 5:59 remaining but the Bruins were stifled by a solo 7-0 scoring run by
Gracie Gilpin to double the lead. The advantage for the Lady Hornets eventually was cut down to six points with just under 90 seconds to play, but Emporia State held on for the 73-65.
A LOOK AT THE STATS
Emporia State shot 30-80 (37.5%) from the floor while the Bruins shot just north of 40%. The Bruins held a sizable advantage at the free throw line, shooting 17-23, while the Lady Hornets struggled from the stripe, shooting just 6-18 and 3-8 in the final frame.
Vanessa Coleman led the Lady Hornets with a career-high 16 points on 6-10 shooting, including 4-6 from three, her first career game in double figures. She was joined in double-digits by
Gracie Gilpin with 12 while
Micah Hannah and
Macey Gandee added 11 points each.
Kaylin Noonan had a team-high nine rebounds, her fifth game with six or more this season.
UP NEXT
The longest road trip of the season awaits the Lady Hornets on Saturday, December 20 as they travel to the Lone Star State for a non-conference matchup against Angelo State. Tipoff from San Angelo, Texas between the Rams and Emporia State is set for 1:00 p.m.
