Lady Hornets fend off scrappy Northern Michigan squad, 73-56
By Jesse Newell
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The Emporia State women’s basketball team escaped the Northern Kentucky Classic with a victory, defeating Northern Michigan 73-56 Tuesday afternoon.
It didn’t come easy. Though the Wildcats entered with a 3-6 record, they gave the No. 3 Lady Hornets all they could handle, even forcing a tie at 42 with 12 minutes remaining in the game.
“(NMU) played well, and they did some things that gave us fits,” ESU coach Brandon Schneider said in his postgame radio interview. “I told our kids I was happy with how we adjusted within the game.”
The biggest adjustment came on the defensive end, where ESU switched from man to zone to slow down the NMU attack.
The change paid dividends. The Wildcats scored just 14 points in the final 13 minutes.
ESU took control after the two teams’ final tie at 42. Andrea Leiker penetrated for a layup, and Carolyn Dorsey contributed an easy two off a steal to make it 46-42. On the next possession, Leiker hit a 3-pointer from the corner to cap a 7-0 Lady Hornet run.
After a pair of Cassondra Boston free throws, Casey Henningsen continued her dominance in the paint, scoring the next seven ESU points to help the team maintain a 58-47 lead with 6:25 left.
Leiker made sure the lead would stand. The sophomore hit three more treys in the next five minutes, pacing the Lady Hornets on a 15-2 run that gave them their biggest cushion at 73-50.
“She played well,” Schneider said. “Our challenge to her, as well as everybody else, is to bring it consistently. I thought obviously she really gave us a spark off the bench.”
Henningsen led ESU in scoring for the second straight game, contributing 24 points in 29 minutes. She was 9-for-11 from the field with four rebounds and three steals.
Leiker added 15 points, hitting 4 of her 5 three-point attempts. Carolyn Dorsey also hit double figures with 11.
ESU ended the game with a sparkling shooting percentage, making 25 of its 38 shots (66 percent). The Lady Hornets made 13 of 17 shots in the second half, good for 77 percent.
“Our execution on offense was really pretty good most of the night,” Schneider said, “when we avoided the turnover.”
ESU struggled somewhat in that category, turning it over 20 times.
The Lady Hornets dropped one spot in the latest WBCA rankings, switching spots with No. 2 Grand Valley State after the Lakers’ 73-71 overtime victory Monday afternoon.
ESU will have an 11-day layoff before playing host to Southwest Baptist on Dec. 30.