Visions of Victory
Mary Ann Redeker
Monday, November 19, 2007
All-American Michelle Stueve did not let adversity affect her, as she led No. 3 Emporia State past regional opponent Texas Woman’s University Saturday night at the Candlewood Suites/Mix 104.9 Classic in White Auditorium.
Stueve, a senior forward, suffered an injury when she was poked in the eye in Friday night’s victory over Cameron, but came back to score 17 of her game-high 24 points in the first half of action, as the Lady Hornets (2-0) defeated the Pioneers, 83-67.
“My eye was still swollen, but I had some vision out of it,” Stueve said. “I had difficulty keeping it open, and my depth perception was off. In warm-ups, I felt like I was really hard on my shot or really short, so I just had to shoot with what vision I had.”
The Lady Hornets took the lead on a Stueve 3-pointer at the 17:45 mark in the first half and never looked back, but the Pioneers hung around and made the Hornets uneasy early in the game.
ESU coach Brandon Schneider said the Lady Hornets struggled offensively in the first half because they were playing desperation offense in response to the Pioneers’ tough defense.
“We were really burdening Michelle and (guard) Cassondra (Boston) offensively because we were just expecting them to do things on their own, with one-on-one,” Schneider said. “When a team is playing good team defense like they were, then you have to play good team offense. We needed to do a better job of executing our offense, to get not only Michelle shots, but our front-line kids some opportunities in the paint and just spread the ball around a little bit more.”
Stueve then ignited a 13-0 Lady Hornet run to give ESU a 46-28 lead at the half and momentum going into the second half of play.
Junior forward Allie Renberg had the inside game working for ESU in the second half and finished with 19 points and nine rebounds.
“I knew they were fronting, and that’s something we work on a lot in practice,” Renberg said. “I was really focusing on posting, because obviously we didn’t come out with our best (Friday) night. We knew we had to focus tonight and take it to them right away.” Schneider credited Renberg, a transfer from Iowa Lakes Community College, with her play in the post.
“Allie is finishing really well in the paint,” he said. “She didn’t get a lot of shots (Friday) night, but when she gets her opportunities in there, she’s efficient. I love how she rebounds the ball, and she just plays with a lot of strength.”
Sophomore guard Cassondra Boston added 16 points, six assists and three steals, and junior guard Andrea Leiker chipped in 11 points and dished out six assists.
“I think we learned our lesson from last night that if we don’t come out aggressive and be the more aggressive team, the opponent is always going to come after us,” Stueve said. “It doesn’t really matter to them that we’re at home or that we’re ranked No. 3. They’re going to give us their best shot.”
The Pioneers (0-2) were led by senior forward Savannah Thompson’s 18 points and five rebounds and junior forward Renee Renz, who added 13 points and six rebounds.
Making her Lady Hornet debut was freshman guard Brittney Miller, who also is a member of the ESU volleyball team. Miller had arrived back in Emporia earlier in the day after a trip to Kirksville, Mo., where she had competed in the NCAA Division II South Central Region Volleyball Championships.
Miller scored six points for the Lady Hornets in just six minutes of play, adding two rebounds and a steal.
Schneider said Miller had practiced with the Lady Hornets only twice, although she had attended more practices and had went through preseason individual workouts.
“I really wasn’t sure if we were going to play her or not,” Schneider said. “Once we had a double-digit lead, I thought it was worth throwing her into the fire and see how she reacted. I’m really impressed with a kid that has not really practiced. She went through the shoot-around today and she’s had the play book and has been to practices and observed, but to really be able to execute anything is a real credit to her.”
Boston was named MVP of the tournament, while Stueve and Renberg were named to the All-Tournament team. The rest of the All-Tournament Team included senior forward Jill Johnson from Missouri Western, senior guard Tiffany Williams from Cameron and Thompson from Texas Woman’s University.
In the early game, Cameron came back from Friday’s 81-63 loss to the Lady Hornets to stun No. 17 Missouri Western State, 53-43.
The Lady Hornets will travel to Lawton, Okla., this weekend to compete in the Cameron Thanksgiving Classic, where they will face Cameron at 8 p.m. on Friday and Central Oklahoma at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Candlewood Suites/Mix 104.9 Classic
Saturday at White Auditorium
Emporia State 83, Texas Woman’s 67
Texas Woman’s 28 39 — 67
No. 3 ESU 46 37 — 83
Texas Woman’s (0-2) — Savannah Thompson 8-17 1-2 18, Renee Renz 5-11 2-3 13, Jessica Durr 4-14 3-3 11, Keshia Bolds 3-9 2-2 9, Chelsea Cook 4-8 0-0 8, Jessica Hanna 3-5 2-2 8, Brandi Crouch 0-0 0-0 0, Tiandrea Dixon 0-4 0-0 0, Amanda Day 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-68 10-12 67.
Emporia State (2-0) — Michelle Stueve 7-15 7-9 24, Allie Renberg 7-10 5-5 19, Cassondra Boston 5-13 5-7 16, Andrea Leiker 4-8 1-2 11, Brittney Miller 3-3 0-2 6, Alli Volkens 1-3 1-2 3, Bree Kisner 0-0 2-2 2, Becky Zabel 1-2 0-0 2, Tina Commons 0-0 0-0 0, Lacy Corker 0-0 0-0 0, Jamie Augustyn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-54 21-29 83.
3-point goals — Texas Woman’s 3-10 (Bolds 1-3, Renz 1-1, Thompson 1-2, Hanna 0-1, Dixon 0-2, Durr 0-1); Emporia State 6-16 (Stueve 3-8, Leiker 2-4, Boston 1-4). Fouled out — Texas Woman’s: Thompson; Emporia State: None. Rebounds —Texas Woman’s 34 (Durr 6, Renz 6); Emporia State 36 (Renberg 9, Stueve 9). Assists — Texas Woman’s 18 (Bolds 6); Emporia State 20 (Boston 6, Leiker 6). Total Fouls — Texas Woman’s 20, Emporia State 15. Att — 2,131.