Box Score
CANYON – Shelby Adamson scored 21 points for the Tarleton, but Emporia State's Cassondra Boston coupled with an early 22-0 run helped put an end to the TexAnns' season as Tarleton fell 90-71 to the Lady Hornets in the first round of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional in Canyon on Friday.
Tarleton became turnover-prone way too early in the first-half and then went without a basket for a span of eight minutes, allowing Emporia to take a 32-8 lead with 8:02 still left to play in the first-half. Tarleton then behind by as many as 25 points later in the half and used up every ounce of energy they had trying to crawl their way back into the game.
“We just didn't play well in the first half,” Tarleton head coach Ronnie Hearne said. “Everyone in the gym saw that and then they saw the team that was capable of playing in the second-half. We got way down, way too early and that was too much to come back from.”
The TexAnns found themselves down by 23 points at the break, 49-26, but it was the first 12 minutes that put the TexAnns in the large hole.
Tarleton opened the game with a jumper from JoAnne Jones to take an early 2-0 lead, but Emporia State countered with a three-pointer at the other end and most of the first-half would go the Lady Hornets' way.
Brittnie Haley buried a jumper with 15:30 on the clock to make it a 10-8 game with Emporia State on top and that's when Tarleton went cold. The Lady Hornets opened their 22-0 run with a three-pointer from Sophia Leonard and held the TexAnns without a basket for just over eight minutes of play.
The TexAnns finally got on the board with a jumper from Shelby Adamson, but the damage had already been done and Tarleton trailed 32-10 with 7:47 left to play in regulation. Tarleton's offense came back to life over the final 7-plus minutes to play before the break, but still nearly matched them point-for-point and trailed by 23 at the half.
The TexAnns average just over 15 turnovers for an entire game, but they had given the ball up 15 times by halftime on Friday. The TexAnn defense forced 13 turnovers themselves, but it was Emporia's offense that took advantage scoring 19 points off Tarleton turnovers compared with the TexAnns scoring just five points.
The TexAnns looked like a more a calm and relaxed team coming out of the locker room and it showed when Adamson collected a steal at half-court and dished it back to Sonya Sundberg for a layup. That sparked a 6-2 run for the TexAnns who had cut the deficit to 19 points at the 18:48 mark.
Emporia got the game back to 21-point lead and Tarleton countered with a 10-1 run to make it a 57-45 game with 16:01 left to play. The Lady Hornets punched right back with a 7-0 run and Tarleton again countered back with a pair of three-pointers at the 12:06 mark to make it a 64-51 game still in favor of Emporia.
Tarleton's offense then went on a dry spell and Emproria didn't allow the TexAnns to get back within 15 points over the final 10 minutes of the game. Both teams finished the game trading baskets but Emporia had a few more and Emporia came away with the 90-71 win while scoring the most points on a Tarleton defense this season.
The loss dropped the No. 5-seeded TexAnns to 23-7 on the season and Tarleton still ends the season with the most wins in school history since joining the Lone Star Conference and becoming an NCAA Division II member. Emporia improved to 25-5 and advance to the semifinals to take on the winner of the West Texas A&M/St. Mary's game.
Adamson finished the game with a team-high 21 points and Morgan Stehling followed with 12. Jones, playing in her final game as a TexAnn, finished with 10 points. She had four blocks on the night as well and ends her career with the second most blocks in school history (158).
Boston tallied a game-high 22 points for the Lady Hornets and Alli Volkens scored 21 points while coming off the bench.
The TexAnns finished the game shooting 38 percent from the field despite shooting just over 43 percent from the floor in the second half. Emporia made 50 percent of its shots from the field, including a 58 percent effort from beyond the arc.
“I'm proud of these girls for coming back the way they did,” Hearne said. “I hate that our season came to an end the way it did, but this was a good experience for them and we will look forward to getting back here next year.”
