Donta Watson will tell you there’s no secret to Emporia State’s outside shooting success.
Instead, it’s a matter of survival in the MIAA conference.
“When your team is not as physically talented as some other teams,” Watson said, “you’ve got to be able to put the ball in the hole from the outside.”
ESU has lived by the three so far this season, leading the conference with a 44.3 three-point percentage heading into Wednesday’s game against Truman in Kirksville, Mo. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
It’s not like the Hornets are limiting their shots from the outside, either. ESU is second in the MIAA in three-point attempts, with its 120 shots only trailing Southwest Baptist’s 129.
The 44.3 percent clip is 3 percentage points higher than the next-highest team in the conference.
“Once one person hits a couple, we start getting on a roll,” ESU guard Andrew Davison said. “Then, it’s hard to stop us.”
Watson credits the success to g teammates willing to work on improvement. He himself woke up consistently at 8 a.m. during the summer, getting in extra shots at the gym before going to work at Coburn’s Family Restaurant.
The dedication has paid off. Watson is not only leading the league in three-point shooting percentage (48.5 percent), he is also the conference’s top scorer, averaging 19.2 points per game.
After setting the school record for wins to start a season Saturday against Pittsburg State — breaking a mark that stood for 86 years — the Hornets will look for their 14th straight win to open the season against a talented Truman team.
The Bulldogs are 9-4 overall and 3-1 in the MIAA conference.
All five of the Truman starters average double figures, led by Andy Calmes’ 14.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
“We know they’re a little more disciplined of a team than Pittsburg State,” Watson said. “Contrasting styles, but definitely just as tough physically.”
ESU will have to play in a difficult set of surroundings, traveling the five-plus hours Kirksville, Mo., in midweek.
The Hornets also will miss the first day of spring semester classes on Thursday.
“It’s syllabus day, so hopefully our teachers won’t have any lectures,” Davison said with a laugh. “Hopefully, they’ll understand.”
On the women’s side, the Lady Hornets will take on a down but dangerous Truman team.
The Bulldogs are 6-6 overall and 0-4 in the conference but have lost their last three league games by only a combined 15 points. That includes an 81-73 loss to No. 8 Missouri Western on Saturday.
Forward Georgia Mueller had a breakout game, scoring 29 points and grabbing 15 rebounds against Western.
Meanwhile, ESU coach Brandon Schneider is looking for more maturity out of his experienced team.
“We need to eliminate the things that distract us from playing well,” Schneider said.
The coach was disappointed that his players had not adjusted to adversity — such as officiating on the road — as well as he would have liked in recent games. ESU allowed 16 first-half free throws in its last contest against Pittsburg State.
“We’ve got to adjust when we see a game’s being called a certain way,” Schneider said. “I thought we played a little silly in fouling guards who were driving before we gave our bigs a chance to challenge the shot.”
After evaluating the team as a whole this week, Schneider said he had cut the offensive playbook in half. He hoped the change would bring better execution in his team’s half-court sets.
“Sometimes you try to be good at a whole lot of things,” Schneider said, “and then you’re not good at anything.”
Michelle Stueve leads ESU, averaging 16.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. She scored 23 points and added 11 rebounds in Saturday’s contest against PSU.
Watson wins MIAA
player of the week
Emporia State guard Donta Watson was chosen as the Wilson/MIAA player of the week, the conference announced Monday.
Watson, a 5-foot-11 senior from Evansville, Ind., helped the Hornets to road victories last week over Washburn and Pittsburg State. He contributed 18 points and four assists against Washburn, then followed that with a 24-point, five-rebound performance against Pittsburg State.
For the week, he averaged 21 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists.
Watson transferred to ESU from San Jose (Calif.) State University following his junior season. ESU’s Wes Book has already won the award twice this season.