The No. 12-ranked Emporia State Lady Hornets were unable to claim the victory over then-ranked No. 7 Fort Hays State on Feb. 13. in White Auditorium.
Despite freshmen center Makenzie McDaniel scoring the first two points for ESU with a layup, ESU’s lead wouldn’t last for long as the Tigers’ responded with a 9-0 run to permanently take the lead. Although Emporia State successfully ended the quarter on a 7-0 run, they trailed the Tigers 14-17.
For the initial two minutes of the second quarter, neither team was able to score. After the Tiger’s increased their lead 19-14, junior guard Gracie Gilpin helped ESU with a three-pointer to trim their deficit to 17-19 with 7:24 left. FHSU scored the final nine points of the first half, including a three-point play with 1.7 seconds left due to an ESU turnover. At the break, FHSU led 32-20.
In efforts to reduce the deficit, ESU would start the second half with two of three free throws by graduate student guard Katie Horyna, and back to back three-pointers from freshman forward Elizabeth Tjaden to get the Lady Hornets within 32-27. Defensively, ESU was able to stop the Tigers from scoring for the first 3:26 of the third period until FHSU scored seven straight points with 5:43 left in the quarter, putting them up 39-27. Getting the Lady Hornets within 45-38 was Horyna as she made a pair of free throws with 2:10 left, however, the Tigers successfully finished the quarter on another 9-0 run to take a 54-38 lead.
The Tigers increased their run to 14-0 by scoring the first five points of the last quarter to go up 59-38 with 8:49 left before they then accomplished their biggest lead at 68-45 with 2:59 remaining. ESU ended the game on a 7-2 run with the help of freshman guard Addie Kirmer, who scored five points, and a layup from freshman forward Emma Mitchell.
The Tigers currently rank No. 2 in the MIAA. The Lady Hornets were defeated again in a close game against Nebraska Kearney 73-71 on the road on Feb. 15. Their next game will be played against Newman University in Wichita, KS on Feb. 22. at 1:30 p.m.
