CANYON, TEXAS — Before the South Central Regional field was announced, Emporia State coach Brandon Schneider said he wanted to play a team from outside the MIAA that his team had not played this season.
It’s easy to see why now. The Lady Hornets returned to their dominant ways in a 90-71 win over Tarleton State on Friday night to advance to the Regional semifinals, where they will face top-seeded West Texas A&M.
This was more like the team that started 22-2 than than the one that limped into the postseason losing three of five. The Lady Hornets separated themselves early with a 22-0 run, holding the TexAnns scoreless for 7 minutes, 44 seconds and cruised from there, maintaining a double-digit lead the rest of the game.
“To be honest, I wish that we were better to begin games,” Schneider said. “We’ve gotten off to slow starts in late February and early March. We had quite a bit of time to work on their stuff, and our guys I thought really executed the defensive plan really well, in particularly the first 10 minutes.”
Schneider had ingrained in all of his players that what would get them back on track was their defense, and that was the automatic answer when they were questioned about their struggles coming into the Regional tournament.
And sure enough, that’s exactly what sparked the 22-0 run. The Lady Hornets forced 10 turnovers during the run, and the TexAnns were able to get up only seven shots, all of which were contested.
On the other end, the Lady Hornets shared the ball and six different players scored during the run that gave ESU a 32-8 lead.
“Offense is a lot easier when you get stops on defense,” Alli Volkens said. “You start on the defensive end and the offense will come.”
The ESU offense had also not been what it once was in the last five games. Defense leading to offense helped, as ESU scored 29 points off turnovers, but it was the way the Lady Hornets ran their halfcourt offense that made the difference.
Instead of trying to get quick 3-pointers, ESU looked for inside touches first, and that paid off, with Volkens scoring 21 points.
The ESU shooters also got their shots, making 10 of 17 threes. Lacy Corker made 2 of 3 treys and scored 10 points, and Sophia Lenard drained all three of her 3-point attempts and scored 11 points.
The biggest factor in the offense getting back on track was star guard Cassondra Boston’s output. Boston, who had been in a shooting funk, made 3 of 5 treys, scored a team-high 22 points and also had five assists.
“We shot the 3-ball with better efficiency, and I thought Cassondra just made really good decisions off the ball screens, and our bigs did a nice job of really getting to the rim and establishing post position,” Schneider said. “When we sucked in the help, guys stepped up and shot the ball with confidence.”
Emporia State will get another fresh look tonight when they face West Texas A&M, the host school for the third straight year. West Texas A&M ended ESU’s season last year in the semifinals with an 86-83 win.
Schneider said he doesn’t know anything about this season’s Lady Buffs, but his team is looking forward to another new challenge.
“When you play the same teams all year long in conference, when you get a new look at a new team, it’s always fun and exciting for our team,” Boston said.
South Central Regional
Friday at Canyon, Texas
Emporia State 90, Tarleton State 71
Tarleton State 26 45 — 71
Emporia State 49 41 — 90
TARLETON STATE (23-7)
Sundberg 1-6 3-4 5, Stehling 4-10 2-4 12, Haley 3-8 1-2 7, Adamson 8-12 5-7 21, Jones 4-7 2-2 10, Parker 1-6 2-2 5, Towns 4-13 0-0 9, Skarke 0-0 0-0 0, Bowman 0-2 0-0 0, Benford 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 26-68 15-21 71.
EMPORIA STATE (25-5)
Boston 6-14 7-7 22, Augustyn 2-5 0-0 6, Corker 3-5 2-2 10, Miller 3-6 0-2 6, Taylor 2-4 0-2 4, Hanf 2-3 2-2 6, Cummings 2-4 0-0 4, Newman 0-0 0-0 0, Lenard 4-6 0-0 11, Ferrell 0-0 0-0 0, Volkens 7-14 7-10 21. Totals 31-61 18-25 90.
3-point goals — Tarleton State 4-16 (Stehling 2-5, Parker 1-4, Towns 1-5, Sundberg 0-1, Adamson 0-1), Emporia State 10-17 (Lenard 3-3, Boston 3-5, Corker 2-3, Augustyn 2-4, Miller 0-1, Hanf 0-1). Fouled out — Tarleton State: Adamson. Rebounds — Tarleton State 33 (Parker 6), Emporia State 47 (Miller, Volkens 7). Assists — Tarleton State 12 (Adamson 5), Emporia State 14 (Boston 5). Total fouls — Tarleton State 22, Emporia State 20.