Women’s hoops take early lead against Griffons, sink 19 free throws en route to conference win
By: Austin Jacobsen
24 seconds was all it took for the Lady Lopers to establish a lead they never gave up Saturday against a familiar conference opponent, winning 62-53.
UNK (12-7, 5-5) returned home after a week on the road. They fell Thursday night to Northwest Missouri State, and they looked to fight off some early game demons on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Lopers came out strong against Missouri Western with an opening possession three-pointer from freshman guard Shiloh McCool.
McCool wasn’t the only freshman to play significant minutes and get an impressive stat line. Brooke Carlson the 6-foot-1 center from Elkhorn dominated throughout most of the evening. She aided scores for the Lopers on multiple possessions, finishing the game with 15 points on only 19 minutes of play.
After another three-pointer from sophomore Kelsey Sanger, the Lady Lopers continued to run the floor and dictate the tempo of the game. UNK controlled the clock and snuffed out offensive possessions from Missouri Western, holding them to only 10 points in the second quarter. Adreon Bell, a 5’6” guard from Independence, MO contributed to the offensive drought for Missouri Western with three steals in the first half.
Once the third quarter began, the pace of the game slowed significantly, resulting in 48 combined team fouls and 51 free throw attempts combined for both teams. UNK held the efficency advantage at the charity stripe, sinking 19-26 compared to MWSU’s 23-35. The 35 free throw attempts are the most allowed by UNK so far this season.
Into the second half, the Lady Lopers showed off their skillful shooting prowess, sinking shots all over the court including an 11-0 run beginning at the nine minute mark of the third period. This culminated on a Klaire Kirsch jumper that gave UNK a 43-29 advantage. Kirsch finished the game with 11 points.
After a slow beginning to the fourth quarter, MWSU showed some fight by clawing back into the game with free throws from Simone Walker (nine points) and KeShara Scott (four points). The final nail in Missouri Western’s coffin was a decisive foul called against forward Jessica Davies that sent her out of the game by reaching the foul limit. Davies ended the game with 10 points and five rebounds.
After trading fouls throughout the end of the game, UNK sank five straight free throws to close the victory out on Buckle Court.
UNK improved from eighth in the conference to seventh. MWSU will drop to 4-5 in the conference.
The Lady Lopers will be back with a tough contest this Saturday as 18-1 Fort Hays State travels to the Health and Sports Center. UNK hopes to steal a win under the lights of Buckle Court.
