ST. JOSEPH, MO. — Alli Volkens had just had the game of her life on the biggest stage she had ever played on, and she didn’t even realize it.
Volkens made the Civic Arena floor her personal playground in Emporia State’s 91-85 win over third-ranked Michigan Tech in Tuesday night’s Elite Eight in front of an energetic crowd of 1,936.
But not until she was informed that she had scored a career-high 28 points did it hit.
“Overwhelming,” Volkens said. “I had no idea those were the numbers they were until somebody told me in the locker room. It’s crazy, really.”
Crazy could describe a lot of what’s happened in the last two weeks for the Lady Hornets, who are headed to the final four for the first time since 1999.
Crazy is losing three of five games before the NCAA Tournament, and then transforming into an unstoppable force in Canyon, Texas.
Crazy is watching senior guard Sophia Lenard, who has been told she has the right knee of a 50-year old woman, blow by defenders and score 22 points on Tuesday night.
Crazy is having a junior post player who scored 20 points just twice in the regular season go for 21, 19 and 28 in three of her four postseason games.
Volkens was obviously a big reason why her team steamrolled through the South Central Regional, and coach Brandon Schneider knew the Lady Hornets needed her if they wanted to win against one of the best teams in the country.
Volkens had just six points in the first half, and ESU trailed 37-35, and Schneider let Volkens know the two went hand in hand.
“She really responded, because I got on her butt pretty good at halftime,” Schneider said. “She can mentally be tougher. I thought she played a little tired and a little soft in the first half, and she really responded in the second half.”
Emporia State’s guards made a concerted effort to get Volkens the ball in the second half, and she converted in multiple ways. She drop-stepped, hit turnarounds from the block, putbacks and even knocked in two face-up jumpers.
“We were just talking about that in the locker room, ‘Alli, you hit a couple jump shots too,’” Cassondra Boston said. “It was just her night tonight. She was on.”
Lenard was also in a zone, and she scored 12 of her 22 in the first half to help keep the Lady Hornets in the game.
“This is a big game, so I just felt really good going out from the beginning, as you could tell,” Lenard said.
The two biggest shots Lenard hit were down the stretch, when Tech kept things interesting by making some high-difficulty shots.
After Sarah Stream made a runner in the lane to make it 71-66, Lenard responded with a quick face-up 3-pointer right in front of the ESU bench.
“Sophia has done that a lot for us in her career,” Schneider said. “... She likes to take those kind of challenges. I think sometimes as a coach I sweat them a little bit, but when they go in, they turn out to be good shots and good decisions.”
With Volkens scoring her career high — her previous best was 24 her freshman season against Shaw — and Lenard tying her season high, the ESU bench outscored the Michigan Tech bench 52-3.
Tech coach John Barnes said his team was more worried about keeping Boston in check, and for the most part they did. However, Boston also made her mark at the free throw line late — she made 8 of 10 at the line — and she finished with 19 points and eight assists.
Boston also cut down on her turnovers. She had four in the first half and the Lady Hornets had 13 as a team. Boston had just two in the second half and the team had five. By valuing the ball and getting it to Volkens, the Lady Hornets scored 56 points in the second half and shot 57.1 percent.
“We felt like we could get good shots if we just quit throwing it away and making silly decisions and exhibit a little bit more patience,” Schneider said. “I think we did a better job of that the second half.”
Tuesday at Civic Arena
Emporia State 91, Michigan Tech 85
Michigan Tech 37 48 — 85
Emporia State 35 56 — 91
MICHIGAN TECH (31-3)
Wysocky 9-13 1-2 22, Stream 7-16 2-2 19, Danen 7-11 4-5 19, Zimmerman 4-10 2-2 12, Ferris 2-5 4-6 10, Lindstrom 0-1 2-2 2, Giesler 0-1 1-2 1, Guisfredi 0-1 0-0 0, Hoyt 0-1 0-0 0, Staehlin 0-2 0-0 0, Dernovsek 0-0 0-0 0, Kasza 0-20-0 0. Totals 29-63 16-21 85.
EMPORIA STATE (28-5)
Volkens 10-11 8-10 28, Lenard 5-10 10-14 22, Boston 5-11 8-10 19, Miller 3-5 0-0 7, Taylor 2-3 2-4 6, Corker 2-5 0-0 4, Augustyn 1-3 0-0 3, Hanf 1-1 0-0 2, Ferrell 0-0 0-0 0, Cummings 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-51 28-38 91.
3-point goals — Michigan Tech 11-22 (Stream 3-5, Wysocky 3-5, Zimmerman 2-5, Ferris 2-2, Danen 1-1, Hoyt 0-1, Kasza 0-1, Guisfredi 0-1, Lindstrom 0-1), Emporia State 5-14 (Lenard 2-4, Miller 1-3, Augustyn 1-3, Boston 1-3, Corker 0-1). Fouled out — Michigan Tech: Zimmerman, Ferris; Emporia State: None. Rebounds — Michigan Tech 26 (Wysocky 10), Emporia State 34 (Volkens 8). Assists — Michigan Tech 14 (Stream 6), Emporia State 14 (Boston 8). Total fouls — Michigan Tech 27, Emporia State 19. Att. — 1,936.
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