Kansas City, Mo. — The Emporia State women want to avoid making history today when they open the MIAA tournament against Southwest Baptist.
Last year, the Lady Hornets made history as the first two-seed to ever lose to a seven-seed in the opening round, losing to Truman.
“I really don’t think we want the distinction of being the first one-seed to lose to an eight-seed,” ESU coach Brandon Schneider said.
If there’s a low seed in this year’s tournament that could pull it off, it might be Southwest Baptist. SBU gave Emporia State its only home loss of the season, 86-73, on Jan. 3. The Lady Hornets struggled to put away the Bearcats when they played at SBU on Feb. 10. Emporia State won 89-81, but 81 points is the second-most an opponent has scored in a loss against ESU all season, and 167 combined points is the most an MIAA opponent has scored against ESU all season.
The Lady Hornets’ struggles with the Bearcats come down to matchups. Schneider starts a traditional lineup with two post players and three perimeter players. SBU plays one post player and often has five guards on the floor at the same time.
The Bearcats spread the floor and shoot more 3-pointers than any team in the league. They made a conference-best 250 3-pointers this season and also shot a conference-best 37.1 percent beyond the arc.
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