CANYON, Texas — Emporia State’s Ida Edwards picked a great time to have a career night.
The ESU forward contributed a career-high 24 points to go along with 11 rebounds, helping to lead the Lady Hornets past Southwest Baptist, 82-66, in the first round of the South Central Regional.
“I think it just kind of gives everyone a spark when you have someone scoring two or three baskets in a row, someone you want to go to,” ESU senior Michelle Stueve said. “It helps your offense run more smoothly.”
ESU coach Brandon Schneider did not make Edwards available to media after the game.
It was Edwards who helped the Lady Hornets make a game-changing run at the beginning of the second half.
SBU picked up some momentum right before the break, as Courtney Heady stole an errant ESU pass with 4 seconds left then banked in a short jumper to cut the Lady Hornets’ lead to 33-29.
Edwards responded out of the intermission, scoring ESU’s first four baskets, with all of them coming in different ways.
The junior scored on an alley-oop, a layup in transition, a spin move in the post and also on a putback.
All four of the buckets came in the first 2 minutes, 45 seconds of the half to help start a 13-0 ESU run.
“That was big momentum for them right there, no question,” SBU coach Jim Middleton said. “I felt like they were too easy of baskets, too.”
The spurt pushed ESU’s lead to 46-29, and SBU was only able to get the advantage under double digits once — and that was for 8 seconds in the second half.
Edwards’ 24 points topped her previous high of 23. In her last game against SBU on March 1, the forward had just six points on 3-of-6 shooting.
“It just happened to be her turn tonight,” Middleton said. “She got herself loose quite a few times. I thought we were a little tentative defensively in the post and not being as physical as we should have been.”
Stueve, who had averaged 33 points per game over her last five NCAA Tournament games, had a strong game in her own right.
The senior contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds, going 4-for-7 from the floor and 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
“When you just have one player you’re going to, it’s not that hard as a defense to guard that,” Stueve said. “When you have three, four, five people that are not afraid to take a shot or score, it helps your team a lot.”
ESU was helped by good shooting, though it didn’t come from the outside.
The Lady Hornets made 28 of 49 shots (57 percent), including 17 of 24 in the second half (71 percent).
After leading the nation in three-point percentage at 43.4 percent, ESU made just 1 of 7 long-range shots in the first half. The Lady Hornets finished 5 of 14 from beyond the arc (36 percent).
ESU also was able to hold off SBU despite an impressive second half from point guard Erika Souza. The senior had 20 points and five steals in the final 20 minutes alone. She finished with 26 points on 7-of-21 shooting.
“I know Souza had a big night, but she’s a (heckuva) player,” Schneider said. “She’s difficult to guard.”
SBU made just 23 of 70 field-goal attempts (33 percent).
ESU survived despite struggling to get rebounds, as the Bearcats finished with 17 offensive boards.
“It’s terrible,” Schneider said of the statistic. “That’s not good.”
Andrea Leiker added 14 points, while Cassondra Boston had 13 on 4-for-4 shooting.
With the victory, ESU advances to face eighth-seeded Northwest Missouri State at 8 tonight.
The Bearcats upset top-seeded West Texas A&M, 72-71, in overtime on a 40-foot shot at the buzzer by Meghan Brue.
“We were eliminated in the first round last year, and that’s a tough thing to deal with,” Schneider said. “It’s just good to be playing (Saturday).”
ESU 82, Southwest Baptist 66
Friday at Canyon, Texas
S.W. Baptist 29 37 — 66
Emporia State 33 49 — 82
Southwest Baptist (21-10) — Erika Souza 7-21 9-10 26, Katelin Cutbirth 5-8 1-4 11, Rachel Graves 3-13 2-2 9, Courtney Creed 3-8 1-2 7, Courtney Heady 3-12 0-0 7, Kelly Reinkemeyer 2-4 1-2 5, Cortney Shewmaker 0-4 1-2 1, Erica Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-70 15-22 66.
Emporia State (22-7) — Ida Edwards 12-16 0-0 24, Michelle Stueve 4-7 8-8 17, Andrea Leiker 4-9 5-5 14, Cassondra Boston 4-4 3-6 13, Lacy Corker 2-4 2-3 7, Allie Renberg 2-3 1-1 5, Alli Volkens 0-1 2-4 2, Bree Kisner 0-4 0-0 0, Becky Zabel 0-0 0-0 0, Jamie Augustyn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-49 21-27 82.
3-point goals — Southwest Baptist 5-22 (Souza 3-13, Heady 1-3, Graves 1-5, Creed 0-1), Emporia State 5-14 (Boston 2-2, Corker 1-3, Leiker 1-5, Stueve 1-2, Kisner 0-1, Augustyn 0-1). Fouled out — Southwest Baptist: None; Emporia State: None. Rebounds — Southwest Baptist 33 (Cutbirth, Creed 7), Emporia State 39 (Stueve, Edwards 11). Assists — Southwest Baptist 9 (Graves, Souza 3), Emporia State 17 (Corker 5). Total fouls — Southwest Baptist 21, Emporia State 19. Att — 1,411.
Central Oklahoma 75, St. Mary’s 73, OT
No. 3-seeded Central Oklahoma’s Micha Hester hit a guarded 25-footer with 1.5 seconds left in regulation to tie it, then Karlie Free made a baseline jumper with 1.6 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Bronchos a 75-73 overtime victory over No. 6-seeded St. Mary’s (Texas).
UCO won despite making just 23 of 69 shots (33 percent) from the field.
The Bronchos’ Lizzie Brenner — an All-Region selection along with Emporia State’s Michelle Stueve — led her team with 17 points and 18 rebounds.
Washburn 69, Angelo State 44
Second-seeded Washburn never trailed in a 25-point thrashing of seventh-seeded Angelo State.
The Lady Blues dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Belles 48-22. ASU finished with just three offensive rebounds.
Corkey Stiger had 15 points to lead Washburn, while Amanda Holmes had 14 and Janice Bright added 12.
N.W. Missouri State 72, West Texas A&M; 71, OT
Northwest Missouri State’s Meghan Brue shocked a crowd of 2,754 at the First United Bank Center, knocking down a 40-foot shot at the buzzer to give the Bearcats a 72-71 overtime victory over the host school and top-seeded West Texas A&M.
No. 8-seeded NWMSU trailed by two with just 2 seconds left in overtime and had the ball to inbound in the backcourt.
On a play called “63,” Brue caught the ball at half-court and, after fumbling it a second, launched the shot just past the center line that silenced the raucous crowd.
“I let it go, and I was like, ‘Oh my God,’” Brue said. “Then, it went in.”
Mandi Schumacher had 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead Northwest.