ESU Athletics
Don Weast, Associate Athletic Director
EMPORIA – The Lady Hornets take the 76-56 win over Missouri Southern in White Auditorium on senior day. Emporia State honored seven players on senior day playing their final home game for the Lady Hornets in White Auditorium.
The Lions got on the board first but Tiana Moala answered quick to tie the game at 2-2 with 8:38 left in the first quarter. After exchanging quick buckets again, the Lady Hornets went on a 4:59 scoring drought as the Lions took a 12-4 lead with 2:48 left in the quarter. Emily Miller knocked down a three with 2:33 to spark a 10-0 run for the Lady Hornets to close out the quarter with a 14-12 lead.
Teams exchanged scoring early in the second quarter with four lead changes in the first 3:30 before the Lady Hornets took the lead for good on a jumper from Jessica Wayne with 6:32 left in the half. The Lady Hornets finished the first half on an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 27-17 heading to the break.
Missouri Southern closed the gap to 28-24 with 8:09 left in the third, but the Lady Hornets quickly pushed their lead back to 14 with another 10-0 run capped by a jumper from Tyra Jones with 5:53 on the clock. The next Lady Hornets score would come on a pair of Jessica Wayne free throws with 3:46 left in the third as they led 40-30. After back-and-forth scoring to close the quarter, the Lady Hornets held a 47-39 lead going into the final frame.
Wayne finished a layup with 9:08 on the clock to spark a 17-0 run over the next 4:09 as Tatum Graves completed an old fashion three point play to give the Lady Hornets their largest lead of the game at 64-42 with 4:59 remaining. The Lady Hornets held off the Lions attack in the final five minutes for the 76-56 win.
The Lady Hornets shot 35.5 percent from the field, 29.6 percent from three and 82.4 percent from the free throw line in the game. Four Lady Hornets scored in double figures led by Addie Lackey with 16, joined by Jessica Wayne with 12, Morgan Laudan with 11 and Tyra Jones with 10. Jones and Wayne led the Lady Hornets with seven rebounds each while Tiana Moala recorded four blocks in the game.