December 6, 2025 – A strong second quarter helped propel the Lady Hornets to a 69-59 win on Saturday afternoon over Missouri Western in their MIAA home opener.
Missouri Western had the upper hand through the early part of the first quarter as the visitors built a 12-4 advantage with just over four minutes remaining in the first frame. Over the final four minutes, the Lady Hornets closed on 13-4 scoring run, which included seven points from
Katiya Casey.
In the second quarter, the momentum from the first carried over for Emporia State, as they outscored the Griffons 21-4 before a three in the final seconds cut the Lady Hornet lead to 38-23 entering the break. Emporia State limited the Griffons to just 3-18 shooting and 1-10 from beyond the arc.
Macey Gandee and
Kaitlyn Sanders had eight and six points in the second quarter. In the first half,
Kaylin Noonan grabbed eight rebounds, surpassing her previous career-high of seven in a game.
Following the break, both teams struggled offensively, with Missouri Western shooting 4-14 while the Lady Hornets went just 3-16 from the floor with both teams scoring just 15 points in the frame, resulting in a 53-38 Lady Hornet lead heading to the fourth.
In the fourth, Missouri Western outscored the Lady Hornets 13-4 over the first six minutes, resulting in the Emporia State lead falling to 57-51 with 4:02 remaining. The Lady Hornets were able to limit the run beyond that point, as they did not allow the Griffons to trim the lead any further.
With the lead at 61-55 at the 1:21 mark, a three by
Gracie Gilpin, her first of the game, put the Lady Hornets ahead by nine to all but put the game away for Emporia State. The Lady Hornets would make five of their final six free throw attempts to solidify a 69-59 win for Emporia State.
A LOOK AT THE STATS
Emporia State shot 21-59 from the floor and 4-19 from three but improved on their free throw performance from last game, shooting 23-31 from the stripe.
The Lady Hornets held a slight 43-40 rebounding advantage over the Griffons, led by
Kaylin Noonan who set a new career-high with ten boards.
Macey Gandee led all scorers with 20 points on 9-15 shooting.
Kaitlyn Sanders and
Katiya Casey had 12 and 11 points each.
UP NEXT
Emporia State has an eight-day break before their next outing, a home game against former MIAA foe Lincoln. Tipoff between the Lady Hornets and Blue Tigers is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. from White Auditorium.
