No. 7 Lady Hornets swarm UAFS Lady Lions
by November 27, 2009 5:18 pm 93 views
Editor’s note: Story by Jonathan Gipson, sports information director for the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.
JOPLIN, Mo. – Emporia State has been ranked in the Top 25 for 91 consecutive weeks, and the unbeaten Lady Hornets are currently No. 7 in the nation.
They sure looked the part Friday afternoon against the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith Lady Lions.
The Lady Hornets opened the game with a 15-0 run and led by 33 points at halftime on their way to a 88-43 win against the Lady Lions during the opening day of the Missouri Southern Thanksgiving Classic at the Leggett & Platt Center.
UAFS (0-4) will play host Missouri Southern University at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the classic finale. The game will be broadcast on KHGG-AM 1580. It was the Lady Lions’ worst loss since their 34-point loss (106-72) to Trinity Valley Community College on Nov. 4, 2005 in the Connors State Cowgirls Classic at Melvin Self Fieldhouse in Warner, Okla.
UAFS shot a season low 27% (17 of 62) from the field and hit just 25% (3 of 12) from 3-point range. The Lady Lion also committed 24 turnovers. No Lady Lion scored in double-figures.
Sophomore Monica Williams of Horn Lake, Miss., came off the bench to lead the Lady Lions with eight points. Junior Ashley Arnold of Mountainburg, Ark., and freshman Chelsea Sublett of Conway, Ark., had a team-high five rebounds.
Emporia State dominated the battle of the boards, out-rebounding UAFS 54-38.
The Lady Hornets (4-0) shot 43% (30 of 70) from the field and hit an impressive 43% (13 of 30) from 3-point range. Four Lady Hornets scored in double-figures.
Jamie Augustyn led Emporia State with 19 points, while Ashley Ferrell had 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
The Lady Lions suffered through their worst first-half shooting performance of the season, hitting a paltry 21% from the field (6 of 29) on its way to a 33-point halftime deficit.
UAFS didn’t score its first bucket until the 14:46 mark of the first half when freshman Brittney Stout of Charleston, Ark., drained a 3-pointer to halt a 15-0 run by the Lady Hornets to start the game.
Freshman Lyndsey Bockelman of Fort Smith got the Lady Lions within 19-5 on a short jumper in the lane with 11:53 left in the first half. Emporia State reeled off five unanswered points before junior Janae’ Hendreson of Orange, Texas, scored in the lane to make it 24-7.
UAFS got a pair of free throws and a jumper in the lane from junior Adel Morris of Atlanta, Ga., a layup by junior Vasha Sanders of Little Rock, Ark., and a 3-pointer by sophomore Tracey Parsons of Trenton, N.J., late the half to account for their remaining offensive output and send the Lady Lions into the locker room down 49-16.