Nichole Naab had a simple reason for her perfect shooting in the second half.
The rims were on her side.
“My shooting ... they all seemed to roll in,” the Emporia High guard said. “I was thankful for that.”
Fortunate or not, the senior shined in Emporia’s first game at its home gym, scoring 15 of her 19 points in the second half of the Lady Spartans’ 49-39 victory over Gardner-Edgerton on Friday.
Not only did Naab make shots late, she refused to miss any.
After the break, the senior was 6-for-6 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line, scoring more than half of EHS’s 27 second-half points.
“I thought she did fabulous,” EHS forward Lexi Hileman said. “She stepped up when we needed somebody to step up and make some shots.”
EHS coach Bill Nienstedt also credited Naab with the biggest defensive play of the game.
With the Lady Spartans trailing 27-26 midway through the third quarter, Naab punched the ball away from a Gardner player, then hustled to pick up the steal.
Naab finished the play on the other end, racing the length of the court for a layup and foul to give EHS the lead.
“She showed how hard she was going to work,” Nienstedt said, “and how much she wanted to win.”
The play started an 8-0 run for the Lady Spartans, who didn’t trail again.
Gardner cut the lead to 42-39 with 2:15 left, but Hilary Heinrichs followed with a runner in the lane.
EHS made five of its final six free throws to seal it.
The Lady Spartans (3-0) once again had to battle back from a slow start.
After a Lindsay Smith layup, Gardner (0-2) took an 18-11 lead with 4 minutes, 34 seconds left in the first half.
EHS seemed to catch a break then when the Lady Blazers switched from a pressure man to a zone defense.
The change slowed down Emporia’s offense and forced the Lady Spartans to use more passes, which resulted in better shots.
EHS scored the final 11 points of the half, turning an seven-point deficit into a 22-18 lead. Five different players scored during the run.
The Lady Spartans received a boost inside by the continued strong play of Hileman.
The junior was dominant on the glass, pulling down 11 rebounds. Ten of those came in the first half.
“That’s what I’ve been working on,” Hileman said. “I’m a big post player. I’ve got to get those boards.”
Hileman also added seven points for EHS, while Sadie Webb, Lindy Arndt and Rachelle VanGundy each had six.
Nienstedt complimented VanGundy, along with Hilary Heinrichs and Brittany Meza, with helping keep the Lady Spartans in it during their first-half lull.
“We’ve been able to use bench kids to give us a spark,” Nienstedt said. “I don’t think we drop much when we go into the bench, and a lot of teams aren’t that fortunate.”
The Lady Spartans will play host to Topeka High next Friday at the EHS gymnasium.
Emporia High girls 49, Gardner-Edgerton 39
Friday at Emporia High
GE 12 6 11 10 — 39
EHS 9 13 14 13 — 49
Gardner-Edgeron (0-2) — Cali George 4-4 2-3 10, Ciarra Washington 4-5 2-4 10, Brooke Weisenburger 4-7 0-0 9, Kirstin Schaefer 1-9 2-6 4, Kelsie George 1-3 1-2 3, Lindsay Smith 1-2 0-0 2, Sophia Stockton 0-1 1-2 1, Lauren Buckles 0-1 0-0 0, Phoebe Janssen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-33 8-17 39.
Emporia (3-0) — Nichole Naab 7-10 4-4 19, Lexi Hileman 3-7 1-4 7, Sadie Webb 2-4 2-2 6, Lindy Arndt 3-10 0-0 6, Rachelle VanGundy 1-2 3-4 6, Hilary Heinrichs 0-1 3-4 3, Alli Armitage 1-5 0-0 2, Brittany Meza 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-40 13-18 49.
3-point goals — GE 1-8 (Weisenburger 1-1, K. George 0-1, Buckles 0-1, Janssen 0-1, Schaefer 0-4); EHS 2-12 (VanGundy 1-2, Naab 1-3, Meza 0-1, Arndt 0-2, Armitage 0-4). Rebounds — GE 16 (Washington 6), EHS 24 (Hileman 11). Turnovers — GE 21, EHS 20. Total fouls — GE 19, EHS 16. Fouled out — None.