WARRENSBURG, Mo. — With Emporia State holding a six-point lead with 1:35 left in the game, Andrea Leiker held the ball on the right wing with a fresh shot clock after a Lady Hornet offensive rebound.
She knew the best course of action was to hold the ball to let some time run off.
Then again, she wasn’t about to ignore ESU coach Brandon Schneider, who was yelling just inches behind her.
“Pull it! Pull it!” he screamed.
And so Leiker, after hesitating for a second, put up the unguarded shot, swishing a 3-pointer that helped clinch ESU’s 73-63 victory over Central Missouri on Saturday.
It’s amazing what a little miscommunication can do.
“I was saying, ‘Pull it. Pull it,’ meaning pull it out, and she, I guess, thought I meant pull the trigger,” Schneider said with a grin. “It’s one of those things we can look back now and have a big smile on our face, but I’m glad she made it because I really don’t think in her mind she wanted to take that shot.
“She understands time and score there, and maybe I communicated too much.”
It wasn’t the only reason that Schneider and the rest of the Lady Hornets felt a little lucky after the game, their third win in a row.
ESU survived with a road victory despite tying its season-high with 29 turnovers. The Lady Hornets had more than double the Jennies’ turnovers (13) and had 21 fewer shot attempts than UCM.
“A win is a win, but we definitely didn’t play as well as we have been,” ESU senior Michelle Stueve said. “We had way too many turnovers. I think we’re not going to be down and upset because we obviously won and have been on the flip-side. But at the same time, we’re well aware we’re not going to be able to play like that continually and win.”
ESU needed hot shooting in the first half to get its lead while battling its turnover problem.
The Lady Hornets held a 34-31 advantage at the break thanks mostly to good outside shooting. ESU was 8-for-14 from beyond the arc in the first half, scoring 21 of its first 25 points off of 3-pointers.
“I think (the 3-pointers) helped us a lot because our offense was really passive to begin with,” Stueve said. “Any time you’re knocking down shots, it helps.”
The problem was that ESU wasn’t getting many shots away. The Lady Hornets had 16 first-half turnovers, with six players contributing at least two turnovers.
As a result, ESU had 11 fewer shots than UCM at the intermission (34-23).
“First half, we played awful soft. I didn’t think we played very aggressive,” Schneider said. “We didn’t play strong with the ball. We did a lot of things that usually get your butt beat on the road.”
The Lady Hornets expanded the lead in the second half with help from their post players.
Ida Edwards stepped up after the break, scoring eight points during a 14-2 ESU run that turned a 40-39 advantage into a 13-point cushion.
“The second half, I knew I had to come out aggressive,” Edwards said. “My teammates got me the ball, I made a few plays, and they fed off it.”
Later, it was Alli Volkens’ turn to shine.
The freshman scored three consecutive ESU baskets — on her only three shot attempts of the day — to give the Lady Hornets their biggest lead at 58-43 with 10:15 left.
“We’d been begging our post players all game long to actually post up,” Schneider said. “We feel like our depth in the post could be a positive for us if we continue to try to get it in there.”
ESU hung on despite hitting just two field goals in the final 10 minutes: a turn-around jumper from Edwards at the 4:54 mark and Leiker’s 3-pointer with 1:32 remaining.
The Lady Hornets made 14 of 16 free throws in the second half and finished 16-for-18 overall from the stripe.
Stueve led ESU with 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Edwards added 15 points — with 13 of those coming in the second half — and Cassondra Boston also contributed double figures with 10.
The Lady Hornets dominated nearly every statistical category except for turnovers, making 23 of 43 shots (54 percent), 11 of 22 3-pointers (50 percent) and out-rebounding UCM, 36-25.
“That’s kind of been the thing that’s so tough on us and disappointing for our team,” Stueve said. “We sit here and say we know what we can do if we quit turning it over.
“We’ve just got to do it.”
ESU women 73, Central Missouri 63
Saturday at Warrensburg, Mo.
No. 19 ESU 34 39 — 73
Central Missouri 31 32 — 63
EMPORIA STATE (11-4, 4-2 MIAA)
Michelle Stueve 6-14 2-2 18, Ida Edwards 3-5 9-10 15, Cassondra Boston 4-6 0-0 10, Andrea Leiker 3-6 0-0 9, Bree Kisner 2-3 2-2 8, Alli Volkens 3-3 0-0 6, Allie Renberg 2-4 1-2 5, Lacy Corker 0-1 2-2 2, Becky Zabel 0-0 0-0 0, Jamie Augustyn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-43 16-18 73.
CENTRAL MISSOURI (5-10, 0-6 MIAA)
Lindsey Maple 5-13 8-8 19, Jojuana Jones 4-15 7-10 15, Dominica Blakemore 5-14 0-0 10, Kara Fleming 3-7 0-2 7, Deidra Dace 1-6 3-4 5, Kelce Goebel 1-6 1-2 3, Stephenie Cook 1-1 0-0 2, Rebecca Roberts 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-64 19-26 63.
3-point goals — Emporia State 11-22 (Stueve 4-10, Leiker 3-5, Boston 2-4, Kisner 2-2, Augustyn 0-1), Central Missouri 2-13 (Maple 1-6, Fleming 1-2, Dace 0-1, Goebel 0-4). Fouled out — Emporia State: None; Central Missouri: Fleming. Rebounds — Emporia State 36 (Edwards 7), Central Missouri 25 (Jones 7). Assists — Emporia State 12 (Stueve 5), Central Missouri 9 (Maple 4). Total fouls — Emporia State 24, Central Missouri 17. Att — 1,200.