By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
EMPORIA, KS - Missouri Western women's basketball held a lead for nearly 35 minutes at Emporia State Saturday.
The Hornets (10-13, 7-10 MIAA), for the most part, never trailed by much. In fact, Emporia tied the game six times and even had a two-point lead for a fleeting 48 seconds late in the third quarter.
The fourth, however, belonged to the Griffons, as Missouri Western (19-4, 14-3 MIAA) outscored Emporia 20-10 over the final 10 minutes in a 61-51 win at White Auditorium in Emporia, Kansas Saturday.
The Griffons got outrebounded 21-12 in the first half, including 6-1 on the offensive glass, but came back to even the rebounding at 34 boards apiece.
Western's defense was also rock solid throughout, holding the Hornets to 34 percent shooting (18-of-53) and 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from long range.
With the game tied at 41 entering the fourth, Missouri Western made eight of their last 12 shots from the field, including a pair of critical three-pointers. The Griffons also outrebounded the Hornets in the fourth, 9-3.
Connie Clarke led the Griffons to their ninth straight win with 16 points, five rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block - all while picking up a third foul early in the second half.
Brionna Budgets was close behind with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting from three. Mackenzie Hart came off the bench for 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting. LaJahda Boyland had six points and a career-high eight rebounds off the bench as well.
Missouri Western committed only eight turnovers, while scoring 17 points off of 12 Hornet giveaways.
The Griffons, winners in 14 of their last 15 games, are now in first place in the MIAA standings.
Missouri Southern, who had won 15 straight games entering Saturday, lost at home to Central Missouri, 78-65.
Both the Griffons and Lions are 14-3 in the league, but Missouri Western holds the tiebreaker, thanks to a 73-55 win over MoSo in St. Joseph back on Dec. 2.
Missouri Western has also won four straight against Emporia State and five of their last six against the Hornets.
Candi Whitaker interview
Full audio broadcast
Griffon men fall behind at halftime, turnovers fuel Hornets' win
Missouri Western went scoreless for the final 2:40 of the first half, and fell behind, 35-22, at halftime against Emporia State on Saturday.
The Griffons shot a respectable 12-of-25 in the second half, but Emporia also shot 12-of-25 the second half, and hit five three-pointers in that span as well.
In other words, Missouri Western never could make up their deficit, and the Griffons (15-8, 9-8 MIAA) fell at Emporia State, 70-56, on Saturday at White Auditorium.
The Hornets (15-10, 8-9 MIAA), who were without three of their original starters Saturday due to a plethora of injuries, turned Western over 16 times and scored 17 points off those.
The Hornets, meanwhile, turned it over only twice all game. Atavian Butler led the attack for Emporia with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Drew Tennial scored 15, while Alijah Comithier had 12.
Missouri Western, who's dropped five of their last six overall and now four straight MIAA road games, shot 20-of-47 (42.6 percent) from the field and 6-of-13 from three. The Griffs were also 10-of-11 at the foul line.
Taye Fields had 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists - falling just short of what would have been a fifth consecutive double-double.
Kiani Saxon ended up with 13 points. JaRon Thames had 12 points and eight boards. The loss also breaks what was a four-game winning streak against the Hornets for the Griffon men.
Both Missouri Western teams are back home Thursday for their final stretch of home games this season. The Griffons host Northeastern State on Thursday, Feb. 15.
The women tip at 5:30, the men at 7:30. Both games are on KFEQ Radio (680, 95.3).
Will Martin interview
Full audio broadcast
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.