Corker comes off bench to spark ESU women to 72-49 victory
By Jesse Newell
Thursday, February 8, 2007
After making the permanent switch from point guard to shooting guard, Emporia State’s Lacy Corker has lost a lot more than the pressure of bringing the ball up the court.
She’s also lost those negative thoughts that were keeping her down earlier in the year.
“I think I’ve got a lot more confidence,” Corker said, “in how I can shoot and run up and down the court.”
The new attitude paid off for ESU on Wednesday, as Corker’s play off the bench sparked the Lady Hornets in their 72-49 victory over the Missouri Southern Lions.
“It’s nice to see her step up,” ESU coach Brandon Schneider said, “and have a huge impact on a game where we needed somebody to do that.”
In a game that started without much flow or intensity, ESU led only 11-9 with 9:39 left in the first half against an overmatched and undermanned Southern team that only suited seven players because of injuries.
After checking in, Corker helped ESU turn things around immediately.
The redshirt freshman drained an open 3-pointer from the left side, then stepped in front of a Southern pass for a steal and breakaway layup to push ESU’s lead to 16-9.
“I just brought some energy out there,” Corker said. “We were kind of flat in the beginning, but we finally got up. I felt I needed to contribute sometime.”
A Cassondra Boston runner later completed the Lady Hornets’ 10-0 run.
Carolyn Dorsey also gave Schneider solid minutes off the bench, playing tough defense and scoring five points in ESU’s 12-0 spurt to end the half.
The senior, who is playing with a torn PCL, said she was becoming accustomed to the hefty brace on her knee.
“It’s been frustrating, but I’ve been going in and getting shots up, trying to get used to it and trying to move on it better,” Dorsey said. “I think it’s starting to come around finally.”
The Lady Hornets held a commanding 33-15 lead at the half despite not getting offensive production from the normal faces.
Michelle Stueve, Casey Henningsen and Andrea Leiker — three of the team’s top four scorers — combined for just three points in the opening 20 minutes.
Corker continued her strong shooting in the second half, hitting two more 3-pointers to finish a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
The guard entered the game just 1-of-5 from the three-point line.
“Before, I was always scared to shoot, because I was afraid if I missed, I would miss the next,” Corker said. “It’s better now.”
ESU hit seven 3-pointers in the second half, finishing 11-of-17 (65 percent) from three-point range.
Dorsey led the Lady Hornets with 12 points, while Corker tied her career-high with 11.
Stueve, who was fighting the flu finished with 11 as well. Denisa Svarova posted 10 points to go along with six rebounds.
Ten players scored for the Lady Hornets, which showed an increased emphasis on team offense, a point which Schneider has been stressing since ESU’s last loss against Missouri Western on Jan. 20.
“It might take a while to get through, but we listen eventually,” Dorsey said with a laugh.
Fatai Hala’Api’Api led Southern with 17 points. The team had more female cheerleaders in uniform than basketball players after losing a pair of starters to injuries in the last week.
Dorsey said her team still played like it was any other conference game.
“I don’t feel bad,” Dorsey said. “It’s another game to us, and another team in our way to what we want, and that’s a championship. We’ve got to knock them out, one game at a time.”
ESU has now won five in a row heading into its matchup with Central Missouri and coach Dave Slifer on Saturday.
EMPORIA STATE women 72, MO. SOUTHERN 49
Emporia State 33 39 — 72
Missouri Southern 15 34 — 49
EMPORIA STATE (17-4, 10-2 MIAA)
Dorsey 3-7 4-6 12; Stueve 4-6 1-2 11; Corker 4-7 0-0 11; Svarova 4-9 2-2 10; Leiker 2-2 1-2 7; Boston 3-7 0-0 6; Stuart 1-7 2-4 5; Glasper 2-5 0-1 4; Commons 1-1 0-0 3; Henningsen 1-5 1-2 3; Chilson 0-0 0-0 0; Augustyn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-57 11-19 72.
MISSOURI SOUTHERN (11-10, 4-9 MIAA)
Hala’Api’Api 6-11 5-6 17; Pierce 5-13 2-2 12; Kantin 4-9 3-4 11; Kuczynski 2-4 0-0 4; Wood 1-7 0-0 3; Henderson 1-2 0-0 2; Zawadka 0-7 0-0 0. Totals 19-53 10-12 49.
3-point goals — Emporia State 11-17 (Corker 3-3; Dorsey 2-3; Leiker 2-2; Stueve 2-2; Commons 1-1; Stuart 1-5; Boston 0-1), Missouri Southern 1-11 (Wood 1-4; Kantin 0-2; Kuczynski 0-1; Henderson 0-1; Zawadka 0-3). Fouled out — Emporia State: None, Missouri Southern: None. Rebounds — Emporia State 40 (Stueve 7), Missouri Southern 31 (Hala’Api’Api 8). Assists — Emporia State 17 (Stuart 9), Missouri Southern 9 (Hala’Api’Api 3; Kuczynski 3). Total fouls — Emporia State 13, Missouri Southern 17. Att — 739.