Senior guard Jamie Augustyn shoots a three pointer over a MWSU defender Wednesday night at White Auditorium. The shot brought the Hornets to 20 three point baskets for the night setting a new ESU and MIAA record. Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin

The Emporia State women’s basketball team set a school and MIAA record with 20 three-pointers while in the process of obliterating the Missouri Western State Griffons last night, 110-68. Five Hornets scored in double figures, highlighted by senior guard Cassondra Boston’s 28-point outing.

            “I think I’ve just been relaxing on my shot and they’ve been there so I’ve been taking them,” Boston said. “I’ve been feeling a little bit more confident in my shot.”

It was Boston who scored the first points of the game off of a set three pointer, giving the Hornets the early 3-0 lead. Thanks to key offensive efforts from Boston and sophomore guard Brittney Miller, the Hornets jumped to a quick 10-2 lead with over 17:30 left to play in the first half. Boston struck from beyond the arc again with 16 minutes remaining to give the Hornets a 13-6 advantage.

A buzzer beat by the Griffons’ Kristin Bush gave Missouri Western two points and brought the team to within one point of the Hornets’ lead, 13-12. Missouri Western evened the score at 16-all before another Boston three-pointer gave the Hornets a three point lead with over 12 minutes to play in the half. A trey from freshman guard Rachel Hanf gave the Hornets a seven point advantage over the Griffons, 25-18.

The Hornets saw their biggest lead of the half when senior guard Sophia Lenard hit a three ball which was followed by another three-pointer from Boston – the sudden barrage of points forced MWSU Coach Lynn Plett to call timeout, with the Hornets on top 36-23.

With 1:48 remaining in the first half, Boston hit yet another shot from beyond the arc, taking the score to 43-30 in favor of the Hornets.

The half ended with the same score. Boston led all scorers at the half with 17.

To start the second half, senior guard Jamie Augustyn hit a three-pointer, extending the Hornets’ lead to 16. Boston hit an uncontested three-pointer at the top of the key, which was followed by two made free throws off of a steal on the next Hornets possession, putting the score at 55-30 in favor of the Hornets with just over 17 minutes to play in the contest.

A full timeout was taken by Missouri Western after several transitional defensive breakdowns led to easy Emporia State baskets.

 With 10:30 left in the contest, Lenard rebounded the ball under the basket, made the shot and was fouled in the process – the traditional three point play gave the Hornets a 30-point lead, 76-46.

The Griffons showed their resiliency, battling back to cut the Hornets lead from 35 plus points to 28 with a little over six minutes left to play. The run from Missouri Western was short lived, however, as a three-pointer from Boston brought the lead back to 31. Another Boston trey extended the lead to 34.

The Hornets broke the 100-point mark with a three-pointer from Hanf, which was followed by another three from Augustyn, bringing the score to 103-61 in favor of the Hornets. The trey by Augustyn set a school and MIAA record for made three-pointers in a game by one team, with 20.

ESU coasted the rest of the way, and finished the game with a win over the Griffons, 110-68.

Hanf and Miller chipped in 17 and 15 points, respectively. Miller also added 11 rebounds to complete the double-double.

Miller commented on the team’s recent shooting success.

“Shooting’s a big part of our team, and I think we’re awesome at it,” Miller said. “Our team’s very versatile, so I think if our shots aren’t going we can still get it inside and work our posts. I think that’s a big part of our game.”

Head Coach Brandon Schneider, having already seen the Griffons play earlier in the season, was impressed with Missouri Western’s interior defense, which inevitably led to the stellar three-point shooting performance from his team.

“They’re a keep it out of the paint team – that’s their philosophy,” Schneider said. “They did a great job in keeping the drive out of the paint. They did a great job of really making it difficult to play inside to your post players

The Hornets will hit the road for the next MIAA contest as they face off against Truman State University. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. on Jan. 30 in Kirksville, Mo.

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