Junior guard Rachel Hanf goes for a shot against the Bearcats at White Auditorium. The Lady Hornets won 63-50 on Sunday. Audrey Millard/The Bulletin

The Lady Hornets hosted the Bearcats of Northwest Missouri at William L. White Auditorium on Sunday, the 47th meeting between the two teams in which Emporia leads the series 33-14. Even without sophomore Kelsey Balcom in the lineup, the Hornets were able to pull away with a win, 63-50.

Emporia started the game with momentum, winning the tip. After two possessions down the floor, freshman forward Kathryn Flott took the ball to the lane for the first two points of the game.

“I know I had to step up to fill Kelsey’s shoes,“ Flott said. “We boarded the ball and got out and ran and got our transition going.”

Head Coach Jory Collins yelled “patience” as his team worked the ball around, showing good movement. The game grew physical as many bodies were on the floor fighting for every loose ball.

“For about 32 minutes we played really good on defense,” Collins said. “We did much better guarding their post than we did the last time we played them, and I thought that was probably the difference of the game.”

Senior guard Heather Robben drained a three pointer to put the Hornets up 10-4, ending the game as the leading scorer with 12 points. A drive by junior guard Jocelyn Cummings and a three-pointer made by junior guard Rachel Hanf, had the crowding exploding in excitement. The Bearcats were forced to take a timeout with the Hornets leading by a score of 15-4.

“We had a good game plan going in, and we knew what we had to do to get stops,” Rachel Hanf said, adding 11 points for the team. “It feels really good to start hitting shots again.”

The Hornets got offensive rebounds, which gave them multiple opportunities for second chance points. Emporia struggled to get points from the post as the Bearcats double-teamed them when the ball entered inside. Flott continued to score and contribute points off second chance opportunities. The Hornets went into the locker room at half with a lead of 37-23.

Hanf hit a three from the corner to score the first points of the second half, as she soon later scored another to help the Hornets surmount a 19-point lead.

Robben continued to push the ball up the floor as the Hornets seemed to be transitioning easier, driving the full length of the court. Hanf continued her strong three-point shooting, as Flott attained multiple rebounds, ending the game with 8 points and 11 rebounds, a career high. Emporia finished the game strongly and stayed on top of the Bearcats for the victory.

“I think we are continuing to get better,” Collins said. “We have a young team, so our margin for improvement is big still.”

Chelsie Slaughter

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Two fourth quarter interceptions sealed the Hornet football team’s fate last Saturday as they lost at Northwest Missouri 42-28. The Hornets went into the fourth quarter with a 28-28 tie with the #6 Bearcats in Maryville. However, quarterback Tyler Eckenrode was intercepted twice in which both picks resulted in a touchdown. The loss drops the Hornets record to 5-3 on the season with three games left to play.

With two more victories, the team would qualify for a postseason bowl game. If the team were to win out their remaining games, the Hornets would qualify for the playoffs for the first time under Coach Garrin Higgins.

The Hornets are back at home Saturday for ESU’s homecoming game when they take on Truman set to be broadcast as the MIAA Network Game of the Week. Kick-off is set for 2:20 p.m. at Welch Stadium.

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A late 16-point lead wasn’t enough for the Emporia State men’s basketball team to capture a win as Northwest Missouri used a 13-0 run late in the second half to pull away from the Hornets and take home the victory, 84-79.

The loss marked the Hornets’ eleventh of the season and the 8^th loss to an MIAA opponent.

Senior guard Lamar Wilbern started the game out well for the Hornets, hitting a long jump shot to give the team an early two point lead. Wilbern hit again on the next Hornets possession, this time from three point land.

After two points from the Bearcats, senior guard Dustin Andrews hit a big three-pointer to give the Hornets a four point advantage with a little over 17 minutes remaining in the half. Wilbern continued to be hot on the floor, hitting another shot from beyond the arc which extended ESU’s lead to nine.

The first timeout on the floor came with 14:05 left in the half, the Hornets still leading NWMSU by nine, 15-6. At the time, the Hornets were shooting 6-7 from the field.

Junior guard Matt Boswell extended ESU’s lead to 11 with a touch shot near the basket. Another media timeout paused the action with the Hornets on top, 22-11.

A mid-range jumper by junior forward Adam Holthaus and an offensive rebound put-back by senior guard Jeremiah Box put the Hornets in a more favorable position, leading the Bearcats 26-13. Senior guard Jordan Stout chipped in a three-pointer with just over eight minutes to play, giving the Hornets a 16-point lead.

The Bearcats battled back from their double-digit deficit to come within eight points of the Hornets before ESU Coach David Moe called timeout to refocus his team’s efforts.

Holthaus put up two points in the paint on consecutive possessions to give the Hornets back their double-digit lead, 36-24. Thanks to free throw shooting, Northwest Missouri cut into the Hornets lead and only trailed by three heading into the locker room, 36-33

Senior guard Tim Niles struck gold first for the Hornets with a two-point basket and a 15-foot jumper in consecutive possessions. Andrews followed up the points from Niles with a conventional three-point play, giving the Hornets a five point lead, 43-38, with 17:16 remaining in the half.

The Hornets picked up six fouls in less than four minutes, which allowed for repeated second chances for the Bearcats as they finally took the lead with about 15:30 minutes to play, 44-43. Niles would answer with a three-pointer on the Hornets’ first possession trailing Northwest Missouri, giving the Hornets back the lead, 46-44.

Following a media timeout, Stout hit a big time three-pointer that extended the Hornets’ lead to five – the Bearcats committed a turnover on their next possession in their own backcourt as Niles stole the ball, shot and missed from beyond the arc but made three free throws as he was fouled in the act of shooting.

After trading points, Stout stepped up again and hit the same three-pointer as he did earlier. A timeout by Northwest Missouri followed a three-pointer from the Bearcats, with the Hornets still leading, 55-49, with 13:04 left in the contest.

Another trey by the Bearcats cut ESU’s lead to three, 55-52, before Boswell connected with a three of his own, bringing the Hornets’ lead back up to six, 58-52. A media timeout with 9:50 left in the half saw the Hornets holding onto a narrow lead, 58-56.

Two consecutive treys from Northwest Missouri led the Hornets to trail by four with 8:53 left in the half, which forced Moe to call a timeout. Another three-pointer from NWMSU extended their lead to seven, but was quickly cut back down to four by a trey from Andrews.

An empty Northwest Missouri possession quickly turned into a long outlet pass to Holthaus, who in turn made a flashy dunk to swing the momentum to the Hornets. Holthaus duplicated the same move on the next Hornets possession, cutting the Bearcats’ lead to one over the Hornets, 66-65. The last timeout on the floor of the half saw the Bearcats leading the Hornets, 68-66, with 4:35 left to play.

With less than two minutes to play, the Bearcats started pulling away, leading by 10 points thanks to easy plays on the low post due to less than inspiring defense by the Hornets.

In the final minute of the game the Bearcats pulled away from the Hornets indefinitely, defeating ESU 84-79.

The Hornets had five players who scored in double figures, highlighted by Niles with 15 points and Wilbern and Boswell with 14 points apiece. Box had a career-high 11 rebounds to lead the team.

A frustrated Andrews talked after the game about the deficiencies in the Hornets’ game as of late.

“We don’t value possessions,” Andrews said. “We turn the ball over, and that doesn’t matter to us. We just don’t make good decisions in every part of the game.”

Holthaus said that the team’s lack of focus was the cause of the late collapse.

“When we were up 16, it was a great high, and then just started losing our concentration,” Holthaus said. “They were making a few plays that we need to fight through. When they got back even with us, we needed to come through and play harder, and we just kind of eased up and they just took over.”

Moe cited a variety of reasons why the team has not found success.

“It’s the same way every game,” Moe said. “The other team has more will to win, generally, than we do. We’re usually just noncompetitive, non aware – basically we’re not well coached. We don’t do the things that we need to do to win.”

The Hornets will try and rebound from the loss against Missouri Western this Wednesday at White Auditorium. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

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Hot three-point shooting led the Emporia State women’s basketball team to victory over the Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State Sunday, 91-62. The Hornets (17-1, 10-1) shot over 55-percent from beyond the arc on their way to avenging the team’s loss to the Bearcats earlier the season and capturing their tenth straight MIAA win.

According to senior guard Cassondra Boston, the team was determined to show how much they had improved since the previous meeting.

“It was the first conference game,” Boston said. “We’ve improved a lot since then. That’s how we wanted to do it, was come out and show them how much better we’ve gotten.”

Right off the jump ball sophomore guard Brittney Miller scored two points on the low block. After a few empty possessions for both teams, it was Miller again with points on the board for the Hornets, this time from three. Boston followed up Miller’s three with a three-pointer of her own on the ensuing ESU possession.

Senior guard Jamie Augustyn chipped in a trey of her own after Northwest Missouri scored a basket, bringing the score to 11-2 in favor of the Hornets. The first timeout on the floor saw the Hornets with a definitive edge over the Bearcats early, 13-5, with 14:53 left to play in the half.

After the timeout, the Hornets went on a 7-0 run which forced Northwest Missouri Coach Gene Steinmeyer to call a timeout to regroup his team.

A 30-second timeout was called by Emporia State Coach Brandon Schneider following a few defensive lapses by the Hornets, yet the Hornets still led the Bearcats 24-11. Following the timeout, Boston hit a three-pointer to extend the Hornets’ lead to 16 with just over eight minutes to play.

The teams went back and forth between empty possessions until senior guard Sophia Lenard drove to the hole and was fouled in the act of shooting – Lenard did not make either of the charity points but hit a long jumper on the next Hornets possession. The final media timeout of the half saw the Hornets with a commanding lead over the Bearcats, 31-17, with 4:44 remaining in the half.

Junior forward Negesti Taylor scored right out of the timeout on a mid-range jumper, adding to the Hornets already growing lead. Lenard continued to make her presence known on both ends of the floor, coming up with a big three-pointer and a steal on the next NWMSU possession. The Bearcats were forced to call another timeout after Augustyn followed up Lenard’s shot form beyond the arc with one of her own, which extended the Hornets lead to 17.

Five consecutive points came Northwest Missouri’s way due to poor decisions by the Hornets on both ends of the court. The lapse in judgment led the Bearcats to cut the Hornets’ lead to 11 with double-digit seconds remaining in the half.

The Bearcats had control of the final possession of the half, until the ball was rebounded by Lenard. Lenard put up a prayer from half court with a few seconds remaining – the shot was good, giving the Hornets three more points as they headed to the locker room with the lead, 44-30.

The Hornets out rebounded the Bearcats 28-20 and shot an impressive 8-13 from three point land.

Jokingly, Lenard commented on shooting the half court shot a little earlier than expected.

“In my head, the clock was going a little bit faster than the actual clock, and I just threw it up there,” Lenard said.

The Hornets went on a 9-2 run to start the second half, padding their already comfortable lead to 21with 15:40 remaining in the contest.

Although turnovers were a slight point of concern for the Hornets, the team still commanded a hefty 16-point lead with 9:37 left to play. Following a media timeout, Augustyn stepped up big with a three-pointer from the corner which was followed by a Boston three-pointer from the top of the key on the next Hornets possession, extending ESU’s lead to 22 with 8:48 remaining.

Emporia State coasted to the end of the game and captured the victory, 91-62.

Boston and Lenard led the Hornets in scoring with 22 points apiece. Junior forward Alli Volkens and Taylor each contributed 10 rebounds apiece, while Taylor also chipped in 10 points to complete the double-double.

Schneider was happy with the progression of Taylor on both ends of the floor.

“Negesti was brought here to defend and rebound, and I think it’s very obvious that that’s her forte,” Schneider said. “But she’s made progress on the offensive end, and I think she’s beginning to trust herself and her teammates are beginning to trust her a lot more.”

The Hornets round out a three game home stand against Missouri Western on Wednesday at White Auditorium. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

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