By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post
HAYS, Kan. - The 19th-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team used a big second quarter to rally back from an early 12-point deficit and beat Emporia State 72-63 Saturday afternoon inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.
The Tigers (16-3, 10-3 MIAA) outscored the Lady Hornets (9-10, 6-7 MIAA) 20-6 in the second quarter to build a four-point halftime lead and would never trail in the second half.
Emporia State made four of their first five three-point attempts in building the early double-digit lead. The Tigers struggled from the floor over the first five minutes and trailed by 10 after the first quarter, 21-11. The Tigers opened the second quarter on a 12-2 run to tie the game at 23. Jessie Sallach put the team on her back scoring eight of her 12 points in that stanza. Megan Earney gave the Tigers their first lead and 29-27 with the first of her six 3-pointers late in the quarter. Emma Ruddle later gave the Tigers the lead for good with a 3-pointer of her own before Sallach scored the final basket of the frame, putting FHSU in front 31-27 at halftime.
Ellis Stearns kept the run going by hitting the first Tiger shot of the second half before Sydney Golladay poured in a jumper to make it a 10-0 run and put FHSU up 36-27. The Lady Hornets answered by hitting eight 3-pointers in the second half and closed within one possession four times in the second half, but the Tigers had an answer on each occasion.
Early in the fourth quarter the Lady Hornets closed within three points, but each time Earney answered with a 3-pointer to keep the Lady Hornets at bay. A big second-chance layup from Katie Wagner after her own offensive rebound gave the Tigers their largest lead of the game midway through the fourth quarter at 66-55.
ESU scored eight of the next 10 points to close within five with 2:23 to go, but the Tiger defense managed to close things out after forcing five missed shots and one turnover down the stretch.
Earney's six 3-pointers, the most by a Tiger this season and fourth-most in the MIAA this season, helped her lead the team with 20 points, one off her career high. Wagner added 14 points and 12 rebounds for her 30th career double-double, while Sallach scored 12 and Ruddle added 10 points. Golladay dished out eight assists, while Ruddle led the team with three steals.
The Tigers finished the game shooting 45.8 percent from the floor (27-of-59) and 40 percent from behind the arc (10-of-25). Emporia State knocked down 40.6 percent from deep on the day (13-of-32), but hit just 30.8 percent of its shots from inside the arc (8-of-26). Neither team missed from the free-throw line, with each finishing 8-for-8.
Fort Hays State dominated on the boards, outrebounding ESU 39-28. The Tigers took advantage of 13 offensive rebounds, scoring 22 second-chance points. Fort Hays State had a huge edge in points off the bench, with reserves scoring 36 for the Tigers and just six for the Lady Hornets.
The Tigers will hit the road next weekend, traveling to Missouri to take on Missouri Western on Thursday and Northwest Missouri State on Saturday.
FHSU Sports Information contributed to this story.