Box Score EMPORIA, Kan. – SWOSU led for the majority of the game, but a late run by No. 2 Emporia State saw the Lady Bulldogs fall just short on the road, defeated 63-56 by the Lady Hornets.
Emporia State took a 3-0 lead within the first minute of the game, but
Jennifer Williams knocked down a 3-poiner to draw the teams level. She'd follow her effort up with a layup 20 seconds later to take a 5-3 lead which would last for the next four minutes as both teams struggled to find a rhythm early in the game.
Chelsea Bates broke the scoring drought, scoring on a jumper for her first two points of the game.
Bates' basket sparked a 17-4 run for the Lady Dawgs for their largest lead of the game, 24-7 up on the Lady Hornets with 7:56 left in the first. SWOSU went cold from that point, scoring just one basket on a layup by
Morgan Vogt as ESU went on a 12-2 run to close out the half. SWOSU went into the locker room up 26-19 on the road, with all eight players featuring for the Lady Bulldogs recording at least a point in the half.
The Lady Dawgs continued to fight off ESU's attempts to take a lead in the second half, thanks in large part to
Korina Chapman who rode a hot-hand, pouring in three from deep. Williams also came up with another big shot from deep when the Lady Hornets drew even at 31-31 with 15:39 remaining in the game. Foul trouble would eventually catch up with SWOSU, as the Lady Dawgs finished with four players on four fouls, and another two finished with three.
ESU gained the lead for good with 3:14 remaining on an Addie Lackey layup to go up 54-53. The Lady Hornets rode a 9-2 run in the final 2:21 of the game, handing SWOSU their third consecutive loss of the season.
Despite the loss, SWOSU showed improvement from behind the arc, going 7-22 from deep. They were also better at getting to the line, shooting eight more attempts than in their last game. The bench scoring improved, thanks in part to a career game for freshman
Jade Jones, who scored eight points in 23 minutes of action and provided three assists.
Chapman finished as SWOSU's leading scorer with 13 points, while also pulling down eight boards.
Jessica Penner returned to the starting lineup and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go along with four points. Bates had twelve points and three assists, while Williams poured in nine points.
"Today we showed that we are a team to be reckoned with," said Head Coach
Kelsi Musick, "We might not have come out on top, but I really felt like we made strides in the right direction. Now we've got to maintain that momentum as we head into a couple of key conference games."
The Lady Dawgs return to action on Thursday, December 4 when they take on conference rival East Central in Ada, Okla., at 5:30 PM.
