The Emporia State women’s basketball team defeated the Eastern New Mexico Zias 82-50 last Friday, the first day of ESU’s annual Tip-Off Classic. ESU (2-0), the MIAA Champs a season ago, is still undefeated during the regular season.
The Hornets started the game strong on both offense and defense. The team went on a 10-0 scoring run with inside baskets and a couple of three point shots. They did not allow any points to ENMU for the first 3:54.
A strong performance on the low block was key for ESU. The Hornets pulled down 16 offensive rebounds in the first half, and scored 13 points off of second chances. The team pushed hard for an up-tempo game with strong defensive rebounds and regular rotations of many players.
Junior forward Ashley Ferrell was dominant in the low post – coming off the bench Ferrell had a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds.
“I played better coming off the bench,” Ferrell said. “I feel very comfortable. Rebounding and playing defense is my role.”
Head Coach Brandon Schneider was very satisfied with his forwards Ferrell and freshman Jocelyn Cummings.
“I think Ferrell is a lot more comfortable coming off the bench,” Schneider said. “Rebounding the ball and playing good defensively translates to good offense. I am happy for the bench players.”
The only problem for ESU was outside shooting. The Hornets tried 13 three point shots but made just three in the first half. Senior guard Cassondra Boston made just one three point shot while she tried five times. ESU led at the end of the first half, 38-21.
The Zias stepped up their play in the second half, going on an 11-5 run for first 6:12 to start the half. However, the comeback effort was thwarted by freshman guard Kelsey Newman and Cummings, who combined for 14 points in the second half.
“I feel pretty good,” Newman said. “Offensively, I just got some open chances.”
Schneider was impressed by the freshmen performances.
“That is encouraging,” Schneider said. “We talked over and over about this freshman class and how they are ready. We thought they would come in and play and contribute. They take advantage of their opportunities.”
The Hornets finished the game with a victory, 82-50, and earned their second win of the season. Even though the team won by 32 points, Schneider was not satisfied with all aspects of the Hornets’ performance – ESU shot only 27.3 percent from beyond the three point line and committed 13 turnovers.
“Right now the rhythm, timing and execution of shots this year is not very good,” Schneider said. “I think it will improve when the players can make better decision, what are good shots and bad shots.”
The Hornets have loads of confidence going towards the ultimate goal of another MIAA Championship.
“We were a really good team last year,” Boston said. “But we have never had the potential that we have this year. We are a really good team. We just want to put it together. We’ll try to figure it out as a team.”
-JungHwan Seo/The Bulletin
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