The Northwest Missourian
Emporia State’s Allie Renberg contests the shot of Northwest Missouri State’s Mandi Schumacher during Wednesday night’s game in Maryville, Mo.
MARYVILLE, Mo. — Emporia State coach Brandon Schneider wasn’t happy with the play he was receiving from Ida Edwards on the road.
So early Wednesday, Schneider sat her down and talked to her about staying calm in tough situations.
The junior forward must have been listening.
Edwards dominated inside, scoring a career-high 23 points as No. 24 ESU took a 90-76 road victory over first-place Northwest Missouri State.
The athletic post player made 10 of 12 shots, adding eight rebounds and three assists.
“As proud as I am of her numbers tonight, I thought she really had great presence about her,” Schneider said, “and kept her poise and composure regardless of what was happening.”
After stressing the importance of Wednesday’s game to his players, Schneider watched on as his team played some of its best basketball of the season in the second half.
Shortly after urging his team during a media timeout to play better defense, Schneider saw his Lady Hornets take control with a 13-0 run.
Bree Kisner’s 3-pointer gave ESU a 65-47 lead with 11:17 left, bringing a fist-pump from Schneider and also a Northwest timeout.
“We were getting stops and executing,” ESU guard Cassondra Boston said. “We just put it all together at that point.”
The Bearcats used a 10-0 run to close the gap to 77-69 with 3:17 left but wouldn’t come any closer.
The victory, coupled with Washburn’s loss, put ESU in a four-way tie for first place exactly halfway through the conference season.
“It just means we’re going to have to battle even harder to keep that spot,” Boston said. “We’re ready to make sure we keep fighting to keep that spot.”
Edwards almost single-handedly kept ESU in it during the first half.
The forward scored the Lady Hornets’ first six points, as ESU later jumped out to its biggest lead of the half at 23-16.
“I think I needed to make those first three baskets,” Edwards said. “That got us the momentum. I think my teammates fed off of it and kept the energy.”
Northwest answered quickly.
Led by five points from reserve Andrea Dill, the Bearcats went on a 7-0 run to take a 26-25 advantage.
Edwards’ three-point play with 38.6 seconds left in the half gave ESU a two-point lead before Kelli Nelson’s 3-pointer gave NWMSU its 37-36 halftime advantage.
In the opening 20 minutes, Edwards was 5-for-7 from the floor with 13 points. She also added four rebounds and two assists, helping ESU cope without Boston and All-American Michelle Stueve, who sat out part of the first half with two fouls.
“When you’ve got your best players on the bench,” Edwards said, “somebody’s got to step up.”
An improving Boston made her mark in the second half.
The sophomore scored 14 points after the break, with some of those points coming on drives to the basket — a move she hadn’t used frequently since spraining her ankle earlier this season.
“My ankle’s feeling a lot better, so I feel I’m able to play my game more,” Boston said. “It kind of took me a while to get used to playing on it with it not being 100 percent. I think I’m getting a lot more used to it now.”
Boston led ESU with 24 points, while Stueve had 16 points in 25 minutes.
Allie Renberg added 10 points off the bench.
Though happy to be back in first place, Schneider said his team would keep its focus elsewhere.
“I think we’ve done a pretty good job, at least since losing at Southern, of just trying to win today, whether it’s in a practice, whether it’s in a film session, whether it’s in a game,” Schneider said. “ ... We’ve just got to take care of our business on a daily basis, and if we do, maybe we’ll be in a position to be in the running late.”
Emporia State women 90, NW Mo. State 76
Wednesday at Maryville, Mo.
No. 24 ESU 36 54 — 90
N.W. Mo. State 37 39 — 76
EMPORIA STATE (13-5, 6-3 MIAA)
Cassondra Boston 7-14 6-7 24, Ida Edwards 10-12 3-3 23, Michelle Stueve 3-6 9-9 16, Allie Renberg 4-6 2-2 10, Andrea Leiker 1-7 2-2 5, Becky Zabel 2-3 0-0 4, Jamie Augustyn 1-2 0-0 3, Bree Kisner 1-4 0-0 3, Lacy Corker 1-2 0-0 2, Alli Volkens 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-56 22-23 90.
NW MISSOURI STATE (11-7, 6-2 MIAA)
Meghan Brue 9-16 9-9 27, Kelli Nelson 4-14 0-0 10, Lauren Williams 4-10 1-1 9, Andrea Dill 2-5 3-6 7, Mandi Schumacher 2-7 2-2 6, Jessica Burton 2-7 0-0 5, Amber Vandevender 2-4 0-0 4, Micaela Uriell 1-3 2-2 4, April Miller 1-3 0-2 2, Lindsey Bayer 0-2 2-2 2, Emma Frost-Briley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-71 19-24 76.
3-point goals — Emporia State 8-17 (Boston 4-6, Stueve 1-3, Kisner 1-1, Leiker 1-5, Augustyn 1-2), NW Missouri State 3-21 (Nelson 2-11, Burton 1-1, Dill 0-2, Uriell 0-2, Williams 0-4, Brue 0-1). Fouled out — Emporia State: None; NW Missouri State: Williams. Rebounds — Emporia State 39 (Edwards 8), NW Missouri State 34 (Brue 5). Assists — Emporia State 21 (Boston 6), NW Missouri State 12 (Brue 3). Total fouls — Emporia State 21, NW Missouri State 19. Att — 1,007.
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