The Ol’ Switcheroo
Emporia State women get a bit of revenge over Missouri Southern with 79-46 whipping
By Jesse Newell
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The scowls, the frustration, the disappointed looks all were on the other side this time.
The Emporia State Lady Hornets didn’t let Missouri Southern get to them in Wednesday’s 79-46 thrashing of the Lions.
That’s because ESU’s players were too busy getting in Southern’s grill on the defensive end.
“That’s something we’ve been focusing on, maybe not making them feel as comfortable in their offense,” ESU senior Michelle Stueve said. “I thought we came out and pressured pretty hard.”
After getting beaten down and beaten up in their last matchup — a 90-71 setback on Jan. 23 in Joplin, Mo. — the Lady Hornets were the ones to come out as the aggressor on Wednesday.
ESU held Southern to 29-percent shooting and also forced 25 turnovers in the blowout win.
“I think we’re a better team since we played them (last),” ESU forward Ida Edwards said, “and we pretty much proved it tonight.”
The defensive intensity was evident early.
With Schneider urging his players to stay close to their man on defense, the Lady Hornets kept Southern out of sync offensively.
At halftime, the flustered Lions had 14 turnovers compared to just two assists.
“In Joplin, they ran the offense exactly where they wanted to. The post players caught it exactly where they wanted to,” ESU coach Brandon Schneider said. “That was a credit to them at their place, and obviously we wanted to try to correct some of those things.”
ESU also was efficient offensively in the first half.
The Lady Hornets made 15 of 28 shots (54 percent) and committed just eight turnovers, which led to a 38-17 halftime lead.
“I thought we were ready,” Stueve said. “We knew what they were about, and I thought we just played harder.”
The Lady Hornets coasted from there, as their lead grew to as big as 37 with 1:18 left in the game.
One key for ESU’s blowout was the ability to get easy baskets.
The Lady Hornets scored 40 points in the paint, had 27 points off turnovers and also had 15 fast-break points.
Once again, ESU was led by Stueve, who had 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting. The senior is averaging 26 points per game over her last three contests.
On Wednesday, the Olpe native was comfortable with more than her shooting, as twice in the first half she penetrated all the way to the rim for easy buckets.
“If your shot’s not there, and they’re going to climb up into you, you have to be able to drive it,” Stueve said. “It was there, especially at the beginning, so I tried to take it to the hole.”
ESU also received much better production in the post the second time around, especially from Edwards. The 6-foot junior finished with 20 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes.
The Lady Hornets held their own on the boards, only getting out-rebounded by one, 33-32. In the earlier matchup, Southern out-rebounded ESU, 46-24.
Southern point guard India Wood also was held in check, scoring just 10 points with six turnovers. Last time against ESU, she scored a career-high 24 points.
“I made some poor decisions in how we chose to defend some of their players individually (last game), in particular Wood. We really played off of her at Southern, and she career-ed on us,” Schneider said. “That was my fault.
“(Today) we made a change and chose to apply a little more pressure.”
The Lady Hornets (17-5, 10-3 MIAA) have won six straight and, with Southwest Baptist’s loss to Washburn on Wednesday, are tied for the top spot in the conference with the Lady Blues.
The victory also could help ESU down the line with its NCAA seeding. The Lady Hornets are seventh in the latest regional rankings, while Southern sits at No. 3.
ESU women 79, Missouri Southern 46
Wednesday at White Auditorium
Missouri Southern 17 29 — 46
No. 20 ESU 38 41 — 79
MISSOURI SOUTHERN (16-6, 7-6 MIAA)
India Wood 3-6 4-7 10, Danielle DeVader 1-5 4-4 7, Fatai Hala’Api’Api 2-5 3-4 7, Nichole Helfrich 3-6 0-0 6, Ela Zawadka 2-11 1-1 5, Ivaney Marquez 2-4 1-2 5, Tynesha Pierce 2-7 0-0 4, Misti Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Lindsey Davis 0-9 0-0 0, Randi Henderson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-55 13-18 46.
EMPORIA STATE (17-5, 10-3 MIAA)
Michelle Stueve 6-12 8-8 22, Ida Edwards 9-13 2-2 20, Andrea Leiker 4-8 0-0 9, Allie Renberg 2-4 2-2 6, Jamie Augustyn 2-3 0-0 6, Cassondra Boston 2-3 0-1 5, Lacy Corker 2-4 0-0 5, Alli Volkens 1-3 0-0 2, Becky Zabel 1-1 0-0 2, Bree Kisner 1-3 0-0 2, Kayla Krueger 0-0 0-0 0, Tina Commons 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-54 12-13 79.
3-point goals — Missouri Southern 1-10 (DeVader 1-5, Zawadka 0-3, Henderson 0-1, Wood 0-1), Emporia State 7-15 (Stueve 2-4, Augustyn 2-3, Leiker 1-3, Boston 1-2, Corker 1-2, Kisner 0-1). Fouled out — Missouri Southern: Davis; Emporia State: None. Rebounds — Missouri Southern 33 (Marquez 6), Emporia State 32 (Edwards 6). Assists — Missouri Southern 7 (Marquez 3), Emporia State 22 (Corker 7). Total fouls — Missouri Southern 15, Emporia State 18. Att — 1,750.