The Washburn women’s basketball team took the turnpike to Emporia to compete in the annual rivalry game against Emporia State. ESU came into the game with a 17-2 record and looked to beat Washburn for the sixth consecutive time.

Merissa Quick sparked ESU and led the Hornets in a solid start to the game. After scoring 20 points in the first ten minutes, ESU was on pace to have a high scoring first half and had a 20-11 lead.

Washburn tightened up the defense and held ESU to just eight points the rest of the half. The Hornets led almost the entire first half, but with 12 seconds left Casey Buchman tied the game with a free throw. The two teams were even at 28-28 at halftime.

The Ichabods turned the ball over on their first two possessions and got off to a poor start in the second half. Washburn scored only five points in the first seven minutes. However, ESU began the second half on a 7-0 run.

The rest of the game the two teams were even, but Washburn could never quite catch up to ESU. The major turning point in the game was the first three minutes of the second half. ESU gained a quick 7-point lead and that would be the difference in the end. Emporia State defeated Washburn, 62-55.

Despite the loss, Jayna Smith and Honor Duvall had great performances. Smith finished with her first career double-double, a career high 11 rebounds, and 11 points. Honor Duvall found her shot early and finished with 17 points and 4 rebounds. Casyn Buchman also had a respectable 12 points and 4 rebounds.

WU ended shooting just 31 percent from the field and missed all 13 of their three point attempts. The loss made Washburn 14-7 overall and 6-7 in the MIAA.

Emporia State finished the game shooting 39 percent from the field and made 5-13 3-pointers. With the win Emporia State is now 18-2 and 11-2 in the MIAA.