Emporia State women fall in Division II semifinals
Emporia State’s quest for its second NCAA women’s basketball championship ended in a grinding defensive battle. The undersized California (Pa.) Vulcans stunned the Hornets 51-46 on Wednesday night at the Sanford Pentagon.
The Hornets’ inside game that was so dominant in the first half disappeared in the second half when the Vulcans went to a zone defense.
“We were absolutely inept on offense the entire second half,” said Jory Collins, who was trying to lead the Hornets (28-5) to his first national title as a coach. Collins was an ESU assistant in 2010 when the Hornets captured their first NCAA Division II women’s title.
ESU’s inside game was too much for the Vulcans to handle in the first half, one night after the Vulcans (31-4) surrendered 52 points in the paint against Nova Southeastern (Fla.).
With 6:44 left in the first half, Kelsey Barnwell’s jumper from the left wing was the Hornets’ first field goal outside the paint.
However, the Hornets couldn’t shake the turnover bug that afflicted them since arriving at Sanford Pentagon.
“We struggled with that all along,” Collins said.
Also, the Vulcans didn’t hesitate to aggressively drive to the hoop and draw fouls. Between scoring 11 points off nine Hornets turnouvers and converting on 9 of 10 free throws, the Vulcans briefly grabbed a 26-25 lead at the 4:05 mark in the first half.
The Hornets reclaimed the lead on three-pointers by freshman guard Addie Lackey of Hillsboro and sophomore point guard Kelly Moten. A pull-up jumper by Vulcans senior point guard Kaitlynn Fratz before the halftime buzzer cut the Hornets’ lead to one, 31-30.
Emporia State held the Vulcans to a season-low 29 percent from the field. But the Hornets scored only 15 second-half points.
Merissa Quick, a senior from Cheney who was 5 for 8 from the field in the opening half, had only two field goal attempts in the second half and missed both. She finished with 11 points.
“They did a good job of fronting the post, then I didn’t really do a good job of catching the ball like I should have,” Quick said.
When asked to reflect on the season, Quick had to fight through the tears.
“It’s a great feeling to be in the final four. Obviously you don’t want to lose, but it’s just a really special year.”
Sophomore guard Kelly Moten led the Hornets with 17 points.
EMPORIA STATE: Barnwell 2-10 0-0 5, Flott 2-7 0-0 4, Lackey 4-11 0-2 9, Moten 6-13 4-6 17, Quick 5-10 1-2 11, Holloway 0-0 0-0 0, Kramer 0-1 0-0 0, Miller 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-55 5-10 46.
CALIFORNIA (Pa.): Doran 1-1 0-0 2, Fratz 5-18 2-2 14, Glenn 3-13 6-6 12, Kukolj 4-13 4-4 13, Mahady 3-9 0-1 6, Barrett 1-4 2-4 4, Nelson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-58 14-17 51.
Halftime — ESU 31-30. 3-pointers — ESU 3-15 (Barnwell 1-4, Lackey 1-7, Moten 1-3, Miller 0-1), Calif. 3-10 (Fratz 2-5, Kukolj 1-2, Mahady 0-1, Gleen 0-2). Rebounds — ESU 47 (Flott 11), Calif. 34 (Kukolj 11). Assists — ESU 9 (Moten 4), Calif. 4 (Mahady 2). Fouls — ESU 16, Calif. 13.
This story was originally published March 25, 2015 at 11:05 PM with the headline "Emporia State women fall in Division II semifinals."