Women's Basketball | 1/6/2019 10:16:12 AM

Each week David Boyce, the MIAA’s featured writer, will cover a key match-up in one of the conference’s sports. In this MIAA Showcase, David Boyce covers a women’s basketball instant classic in the Turnpike Tussle between No. 23 Emporia State and Washburn.

EMPORIA, Kan. - After one clutch shot after another in the fourth quarter and the first overtime, Washburn women’s basketball team took control in the second overtime and came away with a 96-88 victory over rival Emporia State Saturday evening.

A crowd of 2,467 filled historic White Auditorium to watch a thriller that had more dramatic turns than a high-budget Hollywood movie.

“It is pretty special to get a win for the university and for our fans who came out and supported us,” said Washburn junior Reagan Phelan, who finished with 17 points and 11 assists.

With the win, Washburn stayed perfect in conference play, improving to 8-4 overall and 3-0 in the MIAA. Emporia State dropped to 10-3 and 1-2.

“I kept looking up and thinking are overtimes really 5 minutes. Can’t we just play 2 minutes,” joked Washburn coach Ron McHenry. “It was a good battle. In the first half, Emporia shot it so well and we couldn’t get a stop.

“We had some opportunities to win the game. That is hard when you have a chance to win it and you have to keep playing. Our kids did a great job responding. It was just a great basketball game.”

The second half and first overtime were edge-of-your seat drama throughout. Washburn started the third quarter trailing 42-32. A 27-point outburst by the Ichabods in the third quarter gave Washburn a 59-55 lead heading into the fourth.

“We picked up our defense, said Washburn sophomore Hunter Bentley, who finished with a game-high 29 points. “We got stops and some easy baskets off of it. We needed to pick up our defense because we knew we could play better than that.”

Washburn briefly expanded its lead to six at 61-55 in the first minute of the second quarter. Emporia State went on an 8-0 run and regained the lead at 63-61.

As good as those momentum swings were, they didn’t top what occurred in the final minute of regulation. With 46 seconds left and the game tied, Phelan hit a three-pointer to give the Ichabods a 73-70 lead.

“I thought we had it won a couple of times,” Phelan said. “They kept fighting back. It was just a great battle by both teams.”

Indeed.

Emporia State senior Tyra Jones tied the game with a three-pointer with 42 seconds left. Before the fourth quarter ended, Jones fouled out with 24 points.

It appeared Washburn had the game won in regulation when senior Taylor Blue hit a step-back three-pointer with 5.9 seconds left, giving the Ichabods a 76-73 lead.

“No, I didn’t think it was over,” Blue said. “They are good shooters.”

Emporia State used some White Auditorium magic to send the game into overtime. As the buzzer sounded, a three-pointer by Emily Miller rattled in.

Throughout the first overtime, each team hit key shots. Once again, Emporia State needed a basket to extend the game to another overtime. This one came from senior Addie Lackey with 40 seconds left, making it 85-85.

The second overtime belonged to Washburn. Blue continued to be a scoring machine. A basket by her early in the second half gave Washburn a 90-87 lead and all the momentum. The lead kept growing.

“It feels great to win a game like this, especially at Emporia,” said Blue, who finished with 27 points.

Emporia State was so hot on offense in the first half that when Jones went to the bench early in the second quarter with a second foul, the Hornets still kept scoring at a high rate.

Jones’ 12th point staked Emporia State to a 27-18 lead. Soon after, Jones was on the bench. No worries. Junior Jessica Wayne took over. She made a couple of three-pointers that pushed the Hornets’ lead to double digits.

The advantage grew to 14 on a basket by junior Morgan Laudan. Emporia State went into halftime ahead 42-32.

Nine points by Blue and eight by Bentley kept the Ichabods close.

But Washburn had no defense for Jones and Wayne, who each scored 12 points in the first half for the Hornets. Miller added eight for Emporia State.

“It is awesome to come into their gym and be able to come back and get the win,” Bentley said.