Turnovers, bricks and airballs, oh my.
It was an ugly first half on Tuesday night at White Auditorium. The Hornets committed 12 turnovers, shot 26.5 percent, made only three of 16 3-pointers and somehow managed to score 29 points.
But sometimes it pays to win ugly, and the Lady Hornets did that in their MIAA opener against Northwest Missouri, a 71-60 victory.
“They’re not all going to be pretty and you’ve got to protect your home floor, and we’re happy with the win,” ESU coach Brandon Schneider said.
On Saturday in the Lady Hornets’ first loss of the season, Schneider was far from happy. The Lady Hornets gave up a 19-point lead in the second half to Texas A&M-Kingsville by letting their defense and hustle suffer when they struggled on offense.
On Wednesday night, the worse they got on offense, the better they played on defense.
“When the offense struggles, we depend on our defense to help us out,” Ida Edwards said. “And once our defense gets to rolling, we make easier shots for ourselves.”
The Lady Hornets forced 13 turnovers in the first half, did not allow a basket for the first 6 minutes, 47 seconds and held the Lady Bearcats to a lowly 21.2 shooting percentage.
“I know we competed harder,” Schneider said. “We were really ugly on offense, but it’s nice to see us defend, especially in the first half.”
Northwest Missouri scored 45 points in the second half — a total Schneider was not pleased with — but Emporia State also started to score in the second half.
The Lady Hornets did not shoot much better, making 40.6 percent of their second-half shots and missing all five 3-point attempts. But they kept possessions alive with 21 offensive rebounds, and they scored from the free throw line, making 24 of 26 free throws.
“Obviously we weren’t shooting real well and when you’re not shooting well, there’s other ways to contribute to your team,” ESU guard Andrea Leiker said. “I thought our offense getting to the line was pretty important.”
Leiker was the catalyst in both areas that Emporia State dominated. She had six offensive rebounds and made 12 of 13 free throws.
Leiker, who is ESU’s best 3-point threat, surprised the Bearcats by attacking the basket. She scored a game-high 22 points and made only two 3-pointers. She also had a game-high four steals.
“We don’t just count on her to make 3-point shots,” Schneider said. “... She had a complete game and she doesn’t need to see herself as a one-dimensional player; she’s a far better player than that. She contributed in every facet.”
The Lady Hornets quit relying on 3-pointers in the second half and started to feed post players Alli Volkens and Edwards. Volkens scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half and Edwards scored 10 of her 19.
“We can shoot 40 threes as far as I’m concerned if things are going well and the flow of the game is in our favor,” Schneider said. “But when it’s a muddy game like that, I think you have to do a little bit better of a job of getting the ball in the paint first.”
When Northwest Missouri made its run in the second half and closed to within four on Meghan Brue’s jump shot with 5:44 left in the game — the closest the game had been since ESU led 5-0 — Emporia State responded with a 13-4 run. The Lady Hornets pushed their lead to 66-52 when Leiker stole a pass and then scored and was fouled with 2:26 left.
The Lady Hornets were able to close the game by not allowing the Bearcats second shots down the stretch. They outrebounded Northwest 49-33, and Volkens had her third straight double-double, finishing with 16 rebounds — including six offensive boards.
“We were kind of caught between a rock and hard place because we were better offensively with a littler lineup, but we gave up 21 offensive rebounds and that’s a key stat in the game,” Northwest coach Gene Steinmeyer said.
The Lady Hornets have found themselves caught in an offensive rut after starting the season averaging 93.6 points in their first five games. But Schneider left Wednesday’s game pleased with his team’s effort, which Leiker said was 100 times better than Saturday.
And even though it was ugly, the Lady Hornets are 1-0 in the MIAA with a win over the team that was picked third in the preseason MIAA coaches poll.
Wednesday at White Auditorium
Northwest Missouri 15 45 — 60
Emporia State 29 42 — 71
NORTHWEST MISSOURI (4-3, 0-1 MIAA)
Uriell 2-6 2-2 7, Burton 4-11 2-2 10, McElroy 4-15 0-0 8, Vandevender 4-8 4-5 12, Brue 7-12 0-0 15, Henry 1-4 0-0 2, Nyquist 1-1 0-0 2, Martin 1-5 0-0 2, Dekker 1-2 0-0 2, Roach 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-64 8-9 60.
EMPORIA STATE (6-1, 1-0)
Edwards 9-13 1-2 19, Volkens 4-12 5-5 13, Boston 2-11 2-2 6, Leiker 4-8 12-13 22, Lenard 1-8 2-2 4, Augustyn 0-4 2-2 2, Corker 0-6 0-0 0, Kisner 1-2 0-0 3, Renberg 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 22-66 24-26 71.
3-point goals — Northwest Missouri 2-10 (Brue 1-1, Uriell 1-4, Martin 0-1, Burton 0-4), Emporia State 3-21 (Leiker 2-5, Kisner 1-2, Edwards 0-1, Volkens 0-1, Lenard 0-2, Boston 0-3, Corker 0-3, Augustyn 0-4. Fouled out — Northwest Missouri: None; Emporia State: None. Rebounds — Northwest Missouri 33 (Uriell 7), Emporia State 49 (Volkens 16). Assists — Northwest Missouri 10 (Burton 4), Emporia State 13 (Boston, Lenard 4). Total fouls — Northwest Missouri 20, Emporia State 13. Att. — 1,984.