Junior point guard becomes the 3rd Lady Hornet to win player of the week honors this season
Cassondra Boston was Emporia State’s leading scorer through eight games this season and Boston achieved that status in the midst of a shooting slump.
The junior point guard had attempted 40 more shots than second-leading scorer Alli Volkens. She certainly had tried to shoot herself out of the slump, and on Saturday, she finally did.
Boston scored a season-high 20 points at Central Missouri, including 16 in the second half on 4-of-8 shooting and 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Boston led the Lady Hornets to a 50-point second half in a 77-64 win to move ESU to 3-0 in the MIAA for the first time since 2005-06, and for her efforts, Boston was named MIAA player of the week on Monday.
“I think Cassondra has probably not had the kind of season statistically to this point in terms of shooting that she expects out of herself,” coach Brandon Schneider said. “It was really just a matter of time before she righted the ship. She’s a very good shooter — both around the basket and 3-point shooter — and she’s been working really hard.
“She’s stayed aggressive through what some may call a slump and that’s what you have to do. You have to play your game.”
Boston was instrumental in helping the Lady Hornets pull away from the Jennies in the second half. Boston helped spark a 19-2 run that extended the ESU lead from six to 23. She also went 5-for-8 from the free throw line — all coming in the second half. “The big thing is she made some really timely plays,” Schneider said. “She made some shots that either helped us separate at important times or shots that were really daggers there in the second half.”
Boston became the third Lady Hornet to win conference player of the week this season, and it’s only the award’s fourth week. She joined teammates Ida Edwards and Andrea Leiker.
“I hope that speaks a little bit to our versatility,” Schneider said. “I don’t think we’re one-dimensional by any stretch of the imagination. We feel like we have some talented players and they’re just trying to strive every day to play up to their potential.”
Renberg breaks hand
Senior Allie Renberg had her best game of the season on Saturday, coming off the bench to score seven points and pull down eight rebounds — including six offensive boards. And she did so with a broken bone in her left hand.
Renberg broke the bone during warm-ups when she bumped into a teammate. She did not inform Schneider of her injury until after the game. She had her hand X-rayed on Sunday to confirm that there is a broken bone, and Schneider said Renberg would miss Saturday’s game against Harris-Stowe and hopefully return after Christmas break.
Power forward Bree Kisner is also out with a foot injury and will miss almost a month of action, which leaves the Lady Hornets thin in the frontcourt.
“We really kind of like our one-two punch at that five spot with Alli Volkens and Allie Renberg,” Schneider said. “And without Renberg, that means Ida’s going to have to play there some, and obviously that means Brittney Miller is going to have to contribute more to the four spot and possibly Lacy Corker moving to play some four.”
Schneider joked that he’s also going to need to address his team’s pre-game.
“Apparently we need to practice the execution of our warm-up drills,” he said, “because at no time are they supposed to be running into each other.”