The Emporia State basketball teams split with Nebraska-Kearney at the Health & Sports Center in Kearney, Neb. on Saturday.
In the women’s game the Lady Hornets held off the Lopers for a 78-75 victory. ESU finished 14 of 17 from the free throw line in the second half to secure the win. Five ESU players scored in double-figures for the first time since 2024 led by Gracie Gilpin with 19. Micah Hannah had a career-high 14 points and 12 rebounds for her first career double-double while Mackenzie McDaniel added 15 points. Head coach MJ Baker said it was great to see so many players step up for the team.
Hannah said the team knew that UNK would play hard with it being their Senior Night.
ESU (13-12, 7-9 MIAA) outscored the Lopers 40-20 in the paint.
In the men’s game, UNK used a 23-4 run late in the first half to build an 18-point lead and the Hornet comeback fell short in an 84-78 loss. ESU trailed by 15 at the break but battled in the second half using a 9-0 run to close within single digits and a later 6-0 run to get within two scores before finally tying the game at 78-all, but UNK scored a three off a timeout and scored the final six points of the game to close out the Hornets. Head coach Tom Billeter said the team didn’t execute its game plan for long enough to win.
ESU (8-17, 4-12 MIAA) was led by Treyvon Taylor’s 21 points and 10 rebounds. The scoring matched a career-high while Olafur Styrmisson added a season high 11 points. ESU takes its bye week and doesn’t play again until a tilt against Newman on Saturday, February 21. Coverage begins at 1:00 p.m. on Mix 104.9.
