Guard Brittney Miller works for an opening against a UCM defender Saturday night at White Auditorium. The Hornets beat the Jennies 72-66. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

The Emporia State women’s basketball team, coming off a 1-1 conference road trip, opened home play Saturday with a win against Central Missouri, 72-66.

The Hornets started the game down early, 13-7 with 15:48 left in the first half. The Jennies would increase their lead to nine at the first media timeout, leading the Hornets 16-7. Central Missouri extended their lead even more, this time leading the Hornets by 10 at 23-13 with 10:33 left in the half – ESU would call timeout.

After the timeout, the Hornets would battle back to within seven, with key efforts from senior guard Cassondra Boston, freshman guard Rachel Hanf and a big-time block from sophomore guard Brittney Miller.

Freshman Kelsey Newman would hit a three in the corner to get the Hornets within four, taking the score to 28-24 in favor of the Jennies. The presence of sophomore forward Allie Volkens continued to be a frustration point for Central Missouri – she would nail two free throws to narrow the Jennies lead to two before a UCM timeout. Volkens would be the one to tie the game for the Hornets at 28-all with a nice spin move on the low block, however, Central Missouri would answer with a bucket of their own to take the lead again at 30-28.

Once again, Volkens hit another low block basket to tie the game at 30 with 4:30 left in the first half. Forward Ashley Ferrell would be the one to give the Hornets the edge this time, coming off a free throw point on foul called on a slashing move to the basket.

Forward Ashley Ferrell takes a lay up Satuday night at White Auditorium against the UCM Jennies. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

With 1:12 left in the half, the score was tied at 33. Junior center Negesti Taylor scored on the low block with 24.3 seconds left, making the traditional three point play that gave the Hornets the lead, 36-33. The Jennies would answer on their own low block with a bucket, closing the half with the Hornets leading by one, 36-35.

Boston said that there was an emphasis put on feeding the low post throughout the first half.

“We started out taking a lot of jump shots, then we started running plays to get inside,” Boston said.” “Alli was scoring, so we kept going to her. We got in the bonus early so we knew we had to take it to them on the inside and score inside.”

Volkens commented on what her expectations were for the game.

“Brandon (Schneider) talked to me in shoot around, and he said that he just wanted me to come off the bench and be a spark for the team,” Volkens said. “We got down early so I just tried to come in and play hard.”

The Jennies would score the first five points of the second half, followed by a three-pointer by Jamie Augustyn to cut the UCM lead to one at 40-39. Augustyn would answer with another three to take the lead for the Hornets, which was followed by a slashing bucket by the Jennies to tie the game at 42 with 17:00 left in the half.

Volkens would continue her reign of dominance on the low block offensively, netting another bucket, giving her 12 points on the night at the time. A timeout on the floor saw a break in the action with the Jennies leading the Hornets

Forward Alli Volkens shoots over a UCM defender Saturday night at White Auditorium. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

50-46 with 14:00 minutes to go in the contest.

The Hornets would pick it up on offense, with senior guard Lacy Corker driving to the basket for a deuce and Volkens once again hitting a low block shot, leading to a traditional three pointer that put the Hornets on top, 54-52 with 10:30 left to go in the half.

After a timeout on the floor, Boston would lead the way for the Hornets, converting on a traditional three point play to give the Hornets the lead at 57-53 with 8:45 to go. Boston would score again, this time giving the Hornets three from beyond the arc, forcing Central Missouri to call timeout.

ESU stepped it up on the offensive side of the ball once more with the help of two consecutive Boston three point plays, putting the Hornets ahead of the Jennies 63-55 with 4:38 left in the contest.

With 1:13 to go, Emporia State called timeout with a six point lead at 67-61. Miller hit a nice basket down low, which was followed by a UCM timeout after a Jennies three-pointer – the Hornets held on to a five point lead.

Full-court pressure on the ESU inbounds play saw a Boston turnover, which converted to two Jennies points, cutting the Hornets lead to three at 69-66.

Forward Jocelyn Cummings looks for an open teammate Saturday night at White Auditorium as ESU faced UCM. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

In clutch fashion, Corker hit a three-pointer with 8.0 seconds left, sealing the deal for the Hornets and giving them the close victory, 72-66.

“I missed a few threes earlier in the game and Boston, they’re always going to come in on Boston when she drives, and when she drove she dished it out and saw us open,” Corker said. “I happened to be the open one, and I made it.”

Volkens led all scorers with 20 points in addition to seven rebounds. Boston added 16 points for the Hornets along with eight assists.

Boston attributed the team’s play to a solid week of practice.

“I think this week (in practice) we really got a lot accomplished,” Boston said. “We had really productive practices this week, and I think it definitely paid off and showed in this game.”

After a short break, the Hornets will be back in action on the road on Dec. 21 against California State University-East Bay in Hayward, Calif.

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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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