A road environment, questionable officiating, loads of foul trouble, and seeing his team overcome all of it.
Emporia State coach Brandon Schneider could have asked for much more in his team’s 73-55 victory over Regis Friday night in the Coors Classic in Denver.
“It’s exactly what we expected, and that’s why we take these road trips,” Schneider said. “I thought we handled the adversity pretty well.”
In their first road game of the season, the Lady Hornets persevered by stepping up their defense. Regis shot 29 percent on the night and made just a single 3-pointer.
The Rangers drained 20 long-range shots in their last game against Mary (N.D.).
ESU also limited the scoring of All-American candidate Diana Lopez. Though she averaged 20.8 points per game coming in, she had just eight points to go along with five turnovers.
“I was really happy,” Schneider said, “with our defensive effort and performance.”
The No.1-ranked Lady Hornets started out strong after a pair of free throws from Lopez.
Carolyn Dorsey and Michelle Stueve hit back-to-back 3-pointers to begin a 13-0 run for the Lady Hornets. Freshman point guard Cassondra Boston capped the spurt with a steal and subsequent lay-in, giving ESU a 13-2 advantage and forcing a timeout from Regis coach Linda Raunig.
Six of the first 13 points came off Ranger turnovers.
ESU’s confidence was shaken just 30 seconds later, as Stueve was called for an offensive foul — her second whistle of the night. The All-American sat on the bench for the remainder of the half.
Regis immediately began to make its move. Jenny Vieiria put in three straight shots to cut the advantage to 15-10. After a Dorsey free throw, Jacque Machesney made a 3-pointer and also a putback from an offensive rebound to complete an 11-1 run that trimmed the deficit to 16-15.
Despite being on the road and without their best player, the Lady Hornets came through. Andrea Leiker hit a two off a set play, and Tegan Stuart drained a trey 40 seconds later. A pair of Boston free throws rebuilt the lead to 23-15.
“It just goes to show that we have a very talented player in Michelle Stueve, but that our team has other weapons,” Schneider said. “If she’s not in the game or she’s not having a particularly good night, we have plenty of people who can step up and contribute.”
Forward Casey Henningsen was the one who did that in the final 5:30 of the half for ESU. During that stretch, the senior took over in the paint, scoring eight points and helping the Lady Hornets take a 38-27 advantage into break.
“We need to get her the ball,” Schneider said. “Sometimes we have a tendency to go too many possessions without her touching it. I think our kids made some good decisions and got her the ball at some critical times. We have a tendency to really lean on her when things aren’t going well, which is good.”
Stueve returned to start off the second half, but it was Boston and Dorsey who contributed right away.
Boston put in a 17-footer, and after a Dorsey jumper, Boston knocked in a 3-pointer for a 7-0 run to start the half and a 45-27 lead.
The freshman point guard Boston also put together five straight points midway through the second half, with her two baskets and free throw followed by a Stueve lay-in giving ESU its largest advantage at 61-37. The lead would not dip below 17 after that.
The Lady Hornets received their first taste of away-game officiating, committing 14 fouls to RU’s nine in the first half. For the game, the Lady Hornets finished with 23 fouls compared to the Rangers’ 17.
“It took us a little longer to adjust to how the game was being called than I would have liked,” Schneider said, “but I thought our poise and our ability to stay together and fight through it was overall pretty good.”
Boston led all scorers with 18 points. Henningsen added 14 on 6-of-8 shooting.
Stueve, despite playing only 21 minutes, still managed 14 points and six rebounds. Carolyn Dorsey finished with 12 points, making 5 of her 6 shots from the floor.
The Lady Hornets will face another challenge today, taking on 4-1 Metro State at its home court. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at the Auroria Events Center in Denver.
MSU comes in as an extremely hot team. Though unranked, the Roadrunners defeated No. 8 St. Cloud State, 83-65, in the first game of the Coors Classic Friday.
“This is one of a lot of big wins for them this season already,” Schneider said. “They appear to be playing with a lot of confidence. They’re really going to present us with some challenges because they really don’t have any traditional post players. They’re going to be very difficult for us to defend.”
MSU’s only setback was a 69-66 loss to then-No. 2 North Dakota to start the season.