No. 1 Emporia State 65, No. 5 Pittsburg State 57
(SEARCY, AR)---Kathryn Flott posted 26 points and 14 rebounds as top-seeded Emporia State eliminated cross-state and Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association rival Pittsburg State 65-57 in an NCAA Division II Central Region women's basketball tournament semifinal.
Kelly Moten added 15 points for the Hornets as they improved to 28-4. Pitt State (25-5) received a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds from Paige Lungwitz and 14 points from Brenlee McPherson.
Keyed by seven Flott points, Emporia State roared to a 14-4 lead in the opening minutes. However, the Gorillas held ESU without a field goal over the final 4:27 of the quarter to pull back within 19-15 at the quarter break.
Pitt State took its first lead of the game at 29-28 when Alvarado canned one of two free throws at the 2:36 mark of the second quarter. A Flott layup, her 20th point of the half, tied the game 32-32 at the break.
ESU connected on five of its first six shots coming out of the locker room to open up a 43-36 lead and force a Pitt State time out four minutes into the second half. The Hornets remained hot, but couldn't get any separation from PSU. ESU hit its last five shots of the quarter, but the Gorillas used five steals in the stanza to stay within 53-49 at the end of three quarters.
PSU tied the game for the final time with 3:59 remaining on a pair of McPherson free throws. Emporia State grabbed the lead for good on a Moten layup on the following possession. The Gorillas missed seven of their final eight shots down the stretch as Emporia State salted the game away.
The Hornets connected on 26 of 52 field goals, while PSU was limited to 18 of 51 shooting. Emporia State won the rebounding battle 40-26, but Pitt State did force 16 Hornet turnovers while only committing nine miscues.
The Hornets advance to Monday's championship contest to face either host Harding or Central Missouri.
