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Central Missouri Outlasts Emporia State, 79-74
By David Boyce
The fluid, first-half offense by the Central Missouri women's basketball team disappeared in the second half, and with it came the evaporation of a nine-point lead.
Emporia State closed to two with just under 10 minutes left, and that's when the Jennies showed their grit.
Central Missouri never allowed the Hornets to tie or take a lead. The Jennies' 79-74 victory Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the MIAA Women's Basketball Tournament was about pure grit.
"I thought Central Missouri was really, really good in the first half," Emporia State coach Brandon Schneider said.
"They have been playing really well. We didn't execute as well as we needed to, particularly defensively, to slow them down as much as we would have liked to. We made some costly mistakes. Nineteen turnovers in March, you just can't do it."
When Emporia State reduced a 50-41 halftime deficit to 62-60 with 9:28 left, Central Missouri answered with two free throws by Kara Fleming.
"We were all a little frustrated," said Fleming, who finished with 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds. "We had a few fouls in a row, a few travels. It just wasn't going as steadily as the first half so we just needed to calm down and run the motion like we know we can."
Eventually the Jennies built a 72-62 lead with 6:34 left and Emporia State made another charge.
"Offensively, things were going fine, but once we came down on defense they came right back at us," said Emporia State senior Lacy Corker, who finished with 13 points. "We didn't get enough stops at the right time."
The Hornets trailed 76-74 with 17 seconds left and with 14 seconds left they were down 77-74 with the ball and a chance to tie.
"It was very important to keep the lead," said Danielle Shows, who finished with 10 points. "We had to keep our poise and stay together."
Central Missouri made it very difficult for Emporia State to get a good look.
The Jennies' tenacity put them in the championship game. Central Missouri, 19-10, will play Washburn at 1 p.m. Sunday at Municipal Auditorium. It's a match-up of the MIAA's two hottest teams. Washburn has won 12 straight, and Central Missouri's only loss in the last 10 games was to Washburn in overtime.
"I'm excited to play them," said Central Missouri coach Dave Slifer. "The last time we were up five with 1:50 left and we didn't take care of the ball at all."
It seems the Jennies have figured out how to react when turnovers occur. They made their mistakes in the second half against Emporia State and overcame them.
Central Missouri executed its offense to perfection in the first half to take a 50-41 halftime lead.
"The first half was as well as we've played offensively in a lot of years," Slifer said. "We made some good plays."
Emporia State played well in the first half. The Hornets hit their shots and played hard on defense. It didn't bother Central Missouri.
The Jennies shot 58.6 percent from the field. Leading the way was Fleming, who knocked down five of six shots from the field.
"Her (Fleming) stat sheet at halftime looked like a NBA line," Schneider said. "She just really did a great job of getting to the basket, making plays for others. She's the heart and soul of their team, and they really fed off her energy."
Fleming was even more impressive delivering the ball. She had six assists in the first 20 minutes. Many of them came on perfect passes to center Rebecca Roberts, who scored easily in the paint.
Boston did everything possible to keep the Hornets in striking distance in the first half, scoring 12 points. Boston finished with 22 points, but took 20 shots.
"We wanted her to take a lot of shots to get her points," Shows said. "We knew she was going to get her points. She's a big part of their team. If we hold her it makes a difference."
To reach David Boyce, contributing writer for the MIAA, e-mail dboyce@themiaa.com.
