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University of Nebraska - Kearney Athletics

Corbey R. Dorsey
72
Winner Emporia State ESU 7-1, 1-0
64
Nebraska-Kearney UNKWBB 5-4, 0-2
Winner
Emporia State ESU
7-1, 1-0
72
Final
64
Nebraska-Kearney UNKWBB
5-4, 0-2
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Emporia State ESU 13 19 17 23 72
Nebraska-Kearney UNKWBB 18 7 20 19 64

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

UNK Pushes Another Top 25 Team into the Fourth Quarter

Kearney, Neb. – Senior forward Tyra Jones had a double double and graduate transfer Emily Miller made five three pointers to help 24th-ranked Emporia State get past Nebraska-Kearney, 72-64, Thursday night at the Health & Sports Center.

ESU (7-1, 1-0) wins its league opener and avenges an 84-79 loss to the Lopers (5-4, 0-2) late last year in Kearney. The Hornets are at No. 6/9 Fort Hays State on Saturday.

For a second straight game a young Loper squad, minus starting point guard Adreon Bell (Independence, Mo.) due to injury, took a nationally-ranked team into the fourth quarter. Like in Tuesday night's loss at Hays, a rough second quarter hurt UNK's chances at an upset. Kearney was outscored 19-7 tonight in the second and 20-8 two days prior.

The culprit in the quarter was ESU's defense, a combination of full-court pressure, trapping and several zone variations. UNK had to navigate this minus Bell and sophomore guard Kelsey Sanger (Crofton) who was called for two early fouls.

"They started to extend it and pressure the ball more. We had a couple of players get into foul trouble and that got us a little bit out of sync. Kelsey has so much experience … having her get two fouls in the second quarter was difficult and challenging for us," said Loper head coach Carrie Eighmey. "We turned the ball over and that led to pretty easy transition buckets for them."

The Lopers erased an early 11-3 deficit thanks to a 20-4 run that featured three triples by freshman forward Maegan Holt (Council Bluffs, Ia.). UNK led 18-13 at the end of one and 23-15 early in the second before ESU ratcheted up the pressure. The Lopers committed nine of its 14 turnovers in this quarter, leading to 10 Hornet points, and also went 3 of 12 (0 of 4 threes) from the field.

"So much of playing offense in college is about dictating the pace you want to play at. Not allowing the other team to speed you up and make decisions you don't really want to make. It's difficult for a young team to get acclimated to," said Eighmey.

Kearney never regained the lead in the second half but also never let the deficit get bigger than eight points. A Sanger jumper early in the fourth made it a two-point game, 51-49, and then a layup by freshman forward Shiloh McCool (Pleasant Hill, Ia.) kept the deficit within striking distance at 63-58. However, Jones hit a rare three soon after and then her teammates salted things away at the line.

"We adjusted well to their defense in the second half. We settled in and did a much better job of not putting the ball on the floor for no reason. We had a purpose in what we were doing," said Eighmey.

A former junior college All-American and Duquesne (Pa.) transfer, Jones had 25 points, 11 rebounds (four offensive), three steals, two blocks and two assists. She made 9 of 18 shots and 6 of 8 free throws over 35 minutes. Miller, coming in from D2 power Drury (Mo.), made 5 of 9 three point shots and also added six boards (all defensive) and three assists. Finally, two other Hornet starters were in double digits with E-State going 19 of 26 at the line and 9 of 21 from behind the arc.

"If she (Jones) shoots the ball like she did tonight she is going to difficult for everyone to guard. Our game plan was to force her to take midrange jumpers and shots from the perimeter," said Eighmey.

Thanks to that early barrage, Holt had a season-high 18 points to pace the Lopers. She made three of UNK's four threes and also grabbed four offensive boards. The Blue & Gold managed an amazing 20 o-boards but they led to only 15 second chance points. They did help the Lopers outscore the Hornets 36-12 in the paint.

Next, McCool got going in the second half to the tune of 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Finally, Sanger got close to a double double (eight assists and seven points) with freshman reserve forward Elisa Backes (Salina, Kan.) at nine points and five rebounds.

UNK is now off until Saturday, December 15, when the Nebraska Christian College Sentinels come to town.
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