Lopers Split on the Road

Lopers Split on the Road
December 3rd, 2021 | Peter Yazvac

Kearney, Neb. – Redshirt junior post Brooke Carlson made a layup with 22 seconds left and No. 21/20 Nebraska-Kearney made two late defensive stops to rally past No. 26/18 Emporia State, 59-58, Thursday night in Kansas.

This was the MIAA opener for both teams. UNK (6-1) wins at White Auditorium for the second time in three trips while the Hornets (5-2) see a modest two-game win streak come to an end.

The Lopers led for just 1:56 on the night but never let the deficit get bigger than 10 points. Down 57-49 with 5:07 left, UNK started a 10-1 closing run with a shot in the lane from junior forward Elisa Backes (Salina, Kan.). The Lopers leading scorer on the year was limited to just 19 minutes tonight because of foul trouble.

Emporia missed its last five shots as UNK cranked up the defense. Back-to-back threes from point guard Haley Simental (Pueblo West, Colo.) tied things at 57 by the 56 second mark; it was the second and final tie of the game. The Hornets made 1 of 2 freebies 10 seconds later with Carlson’s game winner coming after a Loper timeout and off a pass from Simental.

Carlson (Elkhorn) was fouled on the play and missed the subsequent free throw. However, ESU star Tre’Zure Jobe saw her jumper with eight seconds left hit iron and Carlson was there to grab the rebound. The Hornets then were forced to foul several times with Simental finally going to the line with just three ticks left. While she missed both, the defense was strong again. Backes first tipped an inbounds pass, taking some more time off the clock. Finally, ESU got the ball in with junior Karsen Schultz getting off a contested and deep 25-footer the fell well short of the rim.  

The Lopers overcame a 11 of 22 effort at the line by getting 22 bench points and out scoring ESU inside by a 22-18 margin. Also down 9-0 right off the bat, UNK scored 19 in the second quarter to not only erase that early deficit but also grab a brief lead.

Carlson finished with a game-high 19 points thanks to seven freebies and six buckets. In 24 minutes off the bench she also grabbed a eight boards (seven defensive) and drew 10 fouls. Next, junior forward Shiloh McCool (Pleasant Hill, Ia.) record another double, this time going for 15 points and a career-best 16 boards (10 defensive). That total is two off the school-record, shared by Heather Steffen (2003) and Julie Volquardson (1985). Finally, Simental knocked down four threes to score 12 with Backes at seven boards and four points.

As usual Jobe paced Emporia to the tune of 20 points, three rebounds and two assists with five others between five and eight points. That group included forward Emily Weathers (seven points & 10 rebounds).

UNK heads to Washburn on Saturday afternoon. The Ichabods fell to 1-5 after a 72-50 setback to 2nd-ranked Fort Hays State on Wednesday. 

Kearney, Neb. – Guard Tray Buchanan, Division II’s leading scorer, got going in the second half and Emporia State closed on an 18-7 run to defeat Nebraska-Kearney, 81-70, Thursday night in Kansas.

This was the MIAA opener for both with the Lopers (3-3) falling in White Auditorium for the sixth time in its last seven trips. The Hornets, meanwhile, improve to 4-0 at home and 6-1 overall.

Things couldn’t have gone better in the first half for UNK as they had a 19-11 rebounding advantage and sunk 19 of its first 28 shots (2 for 3). That 67% was buoyed by 17 points from junior reserve forward Winston Cook (Wahoo). He went 8 of 10 from the field as the Lopers led 42-34 at the break and then tallied the first bucket of the second half.

However, ESU responded with a 29-12 run over the next 12 minutes to grab a 63-56 lead. Buchanan, a graduate transfer from South Dakota State, had 15 points during this stretch with UNK finally cooling off. Buchanan came in averaging 27 points but had just a single point in the first half on 0 for 5 (0 for 3 threes) shooting. He made up for lost time by making 6 of 8 field goals (3 for 4 threes) and 8 of 10 free throws over the final 20 minutes to tally 23.

UNK had one more run in them as they tied things at 63 on a jumper from point guard David Simental (Pueblo West, Colo.). The shot came with 6:19 left and after a driving layup by Cook and a corner three from freshman Sean Evans (Parker, Colo.). But E-State scored the next seven and the Lopers didn’t get closer than four the rest of the way.

Kearney out shot Emporia, 52-48%, but the Hornets made three more triples and eight more freebies. ESU also scored 16 points off of 11 Loper turnovers and had 14 second chance points.

Cook finished with a career-high 21 on 10 of 13 shooting while also grabbing seven rebounds. Next, Utah senior forward Darrian Nebeker had his second career double double (17 points & 10 rebounds) with Alliance senior forward Austin Luger at 12 points. Finally, Simental went all 40 minutes and tallied 11 points, three assists and two steals.

Besides Buchanan’s heroics, Emporia got 18 points from All-MIAA guard Jumah’Ri Turner and 16 points from 6-10 post Mayoum Buom.

UNK heads to Washburn on Saturday afternoon. The beat up Ichabods (3-4) fell to Fort Hays on Wednesday, 68-58. 

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