The Thanksgiving holiday was nice but not too nice, for the Emporia State women’s basketball team.
Especially after the Lady Hornets were welcomed back to practice with plenty of running on Saturday.
“(ESU guard) Tegan (Stuart) said we were sweating gravy that day,” ESU freshman Lacy Corker said.
With the turkey now behind them and their week-long break over, the Lady Hornets return to action tonight, facing NAIA foe Harris-Stowe at 5:30 p.m. at White Auditorium.
The Emporia State men will complete the doubleheader with a game against the NAIA’s Avila at 7:30.
For the women, it could be the final game before an added weight is placed upon them.
No. 1 Grand Valley State and No. 2 North Dakota already have lost this season, meaning that Emporia State will more than likely jump into the top spot in the nation when the next rankings come out.
“It would feel good, but we’re still going to play the same,” Corker said. “We’re going to play hard, and we’re going to try to keep the spot. Being 1 or 3, I’ll still play hard. I’m sure everybody else will, too.”
ESU guard Andrea Leiker said that the team had never even had a discussion about its ranking this season.
“We don’t really try to focus on that,” Leiker said, “because we don’t want it to affect us very much.”
Harris-Stowe will be the final tune-up before ESU receives its toughest test of the young season this weekend in the Denver Tourney.
There, ESU will play at No. 23 Regis on Friday, then at Metro State on Saturday. It will be the Lady Hornets’ first regular-season road games of the year.
First things first, though, and that means a focused effort against a 2-7 Harris-Stowe team.
“We just need to keep playing good on defense and stay together,” Corker said. “Even though we may be able to beat this team, we can’t take them lightly.”
ESU defeated Harris-Stowe, 105-41, last season. Michelle Stueve had 22 first-half points, and four other Lady Hornets hit double figures.
The team would like to hit triple digits again tonight, as a major emphasis in practice has been running hard all the time and pushing the ball better in transition.
ESU put up 105 points in its game last Tuesday against Missouri Valley.
Chris Lewis is in his second season coaching for Harris-Stowe. He graduated from ESU in 2003 and spent time as an assistant for both the men’s and women’s programs during his time in Emporia.
On the men’s side, ESU will look to stay undefeated, facing its third NAIA opponent of the season.
The Hornets come in hot after taking two victories in the Greg Rahe “Voice of the Hornets” Classic last weekend. After winning a rematch with Northeastern (Okla.) State, 70-58, ESU hung on for a 98-89 triumph over Central Oklahoma.
ESU had to battle for its win against Central. The Hornets stayed strong despite committing 22 turnovers against the Broncho pressure defense.
“I still don’t know if we’re tough enough yet,” ESU guard Wes Book said. “I think we’re getting there, but I don’t think we’re there yet.”
Book was the story for ESU on Saturday. Against UCO, he scored a career-high 33 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists to lead the Hornets.
He is ESU’s third different leading scorer in its first five games.
“We’re dangerous from a lot of places,” Book said, “and that’s what helps.”
After averaging 21.7 points over three games last week, Book was named the Wilson/MIAA player of the week.
ESU has won all six meetings with Avila. The Hornets took down the Eagles, 83-60, in their last matchup in the 2000-01 season.