The #2 Hornets led from start to finish in a 74-59 victory at #18 Drury in the championship game of the Drury Thanksgiving Classic in Springfield, Missouri last Saturday.
Emporia State started with an early 14-2 lead in the first 4:55 of the game and would the lead 21-4 with 3:27 left in the opening quarter. Drury scored the first six points of the second quarter to come within ten points with 7:57 left in the half. The two teams battled back-and-forth until Kelly Moten, senior guard, hit a three at the buzzer to send Emporia State to the locker room with a 35-22 lead.
Addie Lackey, junior guard, scored the first five points of the second half to increase the Hornet lead to 40-22 with 9:03 left in the third. Emporia State took their biggest lead of the night at 48-28 after Lackey scored on a fast break at the 4:20 mark. The Panthers outscored the Hornets 10-6 in the rest of the period to close the gap to 54-38 going into the fourth quarter.
A three-point play by Megan Holloway, senior guard, gave Emporia State a 62-46 lead with 6:09 remaining. Drury then went on a 9-0 run to cut the gap to seven with 1:54 left. Kyrstie Miller, junior guard/forward, scored a layup on a fast break, bringing the score to 67-55 with 1:08 left. Emporia State would hit seven of their last ten free throws to seal the win. Statistics were provided by Emporia State.
The Hornets (6-0) will host Lubbock Christian University this Saturday at 1:00 p.m.