The Emporia State basketball teams suffered a sweep against Northwest Missouri at Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Mo. on Saturday.
In the women’s game, the Bearcats ended the game on a 14-2 run over nearly 10 minutes to pick up a 55-48 victory in overtime. ESU jumped out to a 24-8 run with five minutes to play in the first half as part of a 15-3 run, but Northwest ended the half on a 10-1 run over the last five and a half minutes in the second quarter. ESU took a 46-41 lead with 4:48 to go in regulation, but could manage just one field goal the rest of the game as Northwest outscored ESU 9-2 in overtime. Head coach Brian Ostermann talked about the missed opportunity.
Faith Paramore scored 19 points while grabbing 9 rebounds. Queen Ulabo finished with 12 rebounds for the Lady Hornets who held the Bearcats to 1-for-20 from the 3-point line, but Northwest forced a season high 27 turnovers and outscored ESU in points off turnovers 27-7. ESU falls to 5-5 on the season and 3-2 in MIAA play while Northwest improved to 8-3 and 4-2 inside league play.
In the men’s game, the #15 Hornets couldn’t get key stops down the stretch in a 63-59 loss to the Bearcats. Northwest opened up the game with a 15-8 lead while hitting 8 of 10 shots to start the contest, but the Hornets battled back but trailed at halftime 35-28. ESU outscored Northwest 9-4 in the early moments of the second to get back into the game, but gave up a 7-0 Northwest run late to trail by seven with five minutes to go. The Hornets stung back to tie the game up in the last moments but key turnovers down the stretch allowed the Bearcats to escape. Head coach Craig Doty said the effort level was night-and-day different than Thursday’s loss.
Solomon Oraegbu led three Hornets in double figures with 17 points while Alijah Comithier added 16 and Owen Long registered 14. E-State falls to 9-3 with the loss and drops to 3-2 in the league while Northwest Missouri moves to 8-3 and will enter the Christmas break at 5-1 inside ‘The Association’ at first place in the standings.
Emporia State returns to action for a split doubleheader on December 30. Coverage begins with the RV Doc Pregame Show at 1:00 p.m. with the Lady Hornets set to tip at 1:30 p.m. on Mix 104.9. Listen online at KVOE.com/listen or via the Audacy app.
