No. 4 ESU Women expecting physical game against 3rd-ranked Washburn
By Jesse Newell
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Carolyn Dorsey can feel it. She said the whole team could as well.
All games are important, but this one might be a little more so.
It’s Washburn week. And you can bet the Lady Hornets have been looking forward to the Turnpike Tussle for a long time.
“Once it comes,” Dorsey said, “there’s definitely an excitement.”
Though it still is early in the conference season, much rides on tonight’s 5:30 matchup between No. 4 ESU and No. 3 Washburn at Lee Arena in Topeka.
The two rivals will be playing for the inside track to win the conference championship. The winner of tonight’s game will have a leg up heading into the rest of the conference season.
That team also will have a little extra dash of pride knowing it defeated its most-hated opponent.
“It will be a tough, physical game,” Dorsey said. “We’re going to have to have one of our better performances, but we’re excited.”
The last time ESU stepped on the Lee Arena court, it pulled off the upset of the 2006 season by knocking off No. 1 Washburn, 61-59, in overtime to win the Regional Championship and advance to the Elite Eight.
Not only that, the Lady Hornets snapped the Lady Blues’ NCAA Division II record 51-game winning streak and ended Washburn’s season with its first loss of the year.
“I’m sure they are a little upset about it,” Dorsey said, “but they’re going to bring their best no matter what.”
Washburn will be much different from the last time ESU saw it.
Gone is All-American Jennifer Harris, who averaged 24.2 points last season and was taken with the 20th pick in the WNBA Draft.
In her place, WU has used a more balanced attack, with Brooke Ubelaker averaging 15 points per game and JUCO transfer Sequorhea Stiger contributing 13.6 points.
“I think you’ve got to be more concerned about their entire team now,” ESU coach Brandon Schneider said.
That also includes Amanda Holmes, who Schneider said might be the most improved player in the league. She comes in averaging 10-points and a team-high 6.8-rebounds per game.
“They’re a very good team that’s playing very well,” Schneider said. “It’s going to take a complete effort from us to have an opportunity to win.”
After an impressive 88-51 victory over Southwest Baptist on Saturday, ESU actually dropped a spot in the rankings from No. 3 to No. 4.
Interestingly, after a win over Central Missouri, Washburn jumped from No. 5 to ESU’s No. 3 spot.
WU has won five of the last six meetings between the schools. The game should be a near-sellout with upwards of 4,000 fans expected on the Washburn campus.
“It’s always a fun game to play — even at their place, even on their home court,” Dorsey said. “The atmosphere is filled and it’s always loud. It’s a great atmosphere to play in.”
On the men’s side, ESU will look to prove it can win on the road against an up-and-down Washburn team.
The Ichabods enter the game with a 5-6 record, playing only three home games all season.
ESU, meanwhile, has played its last 10 games at White Auditorium.
“We’re kind of in a routine right now,” ESU forward Caleb Tegtmeier said. “You come to the gym and you do the same thing every time. We’ve been shooting on these goals forever. It is going to be different playing somewhere else, but we’ve got a lot of guys that have played a lot of places, so we should be fine.”
The Hornets will have an even greater target on their backs tonight, as they made a monumental leap from No. 18 in the polls last week to No. 8 this week. ESU is still undefeated with an 11-0 record.
Tegtmeier called it the biggest game of the young season for ESU.
“So far, I would say so,” Tegtmeier said. “When you get in the league, every game’s got to be the biggest game of the year, but this is definitely going to be some sort of a statement game. Being Emporia State-Washburn, it definitely is a big game.”
Forward Frank Phifer leads WU, averaging 16.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
Meanwhile, ESU’s Donta Watson enters as the league’s leading scorer with an 18.9-point average.
The games will be televised on KTWU, Channel 11, in Emporia.