KANSAS CITY, Mo. - It wasn't always pretty, but a gritty fourth-quarter performance helped the Fort Hays State women's basketball team knock off Emporia State in the quarterfinals of the 2018 MIAA Women's Basketball Championship Thursday afternoon (March 1), 57-54. The Tigers now advance to the conference semifinals for the fifth time in the last six seasons where they will meet the winner of Pittsburg State and Washburn on Saturday (March 3) at noon inside Municipal Auditorium.
 
The loss snaps a 16-game winning streak for the Lady Hornets in the MIAA tournament, bringing an end to a streak of five-straight conference tournament titles.
 
The teams went back and forth all afternoon, with neither side leading by more than seven points. Emporia State took a five-point advantage into the fourth quarter after scoring the final five points of the third quarter, holding FHSU scoreless over the final three minutes, 23 seconds of the third period.
 
Out of the break it was Emporia State who went cold, turning the ball over on six of its first 10 possessions in the final quarter and missing three shots and two free throws on the other trips down the floor. In all, the Lady Hornets turned the ball over nine times in the frame, making just four field goals (4-of-13, 0-for-6 from three). The Tigers took advantage, going on an 8-0 run to take back the lead after the under-5 media timeout.
 
Taylor Rolfs hit the lone 3-pointer of the afternoon to cut the deficit to two, 42-40, before the sophomore made a free throw on the next trip down the floor to close within one. After neither side scored over the next two-plus minutes, Tatyana Legette drew a foul after going up strong with a layup that barely rimmed out with 4:52 on the clock. The forward made both free throws out of the media timeout, putting the Tigers in front for the first time since early in the third quarter.
 
Kacey Kennett knocked away an errant pass on the next trip down the floor, giving the Tigers a chance to extend the lead. Legette got the ball at the top of the key and found Carly Heim darting to the basket unguarded, giving the junior an easy layup to stretch the lead to three.
 
The Tigers showed poise at the free throw line down the stretch, knocking down 14-of-16 from the stripe over the final five minutes to secure the win. Emporia State rallied to tie the game with 2:26 to play, but five free throws helped the Tigers build their largest lead of the game with 49 seconds to play, 52-47.
 
Emporia State closed within two after three consecutive layups off offensive rebounds, but Kennett, Legette, Heim and Rolfs combined to hit 6-of-8 free throws in the final minute to hold on. The Lady Hornets had a look to tie it up with a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but Jacee Kramer's heave bounced off the front iron as the horn sounded.
 
The Tigers trailed by as many as seven early in the first quarter before rallying to tie things up at 13 after a 10-3 run. ESU led by one after one period of play, 16-15, but the Tigers outscored the Lady Hornets 14-4 in the paint in the second quarter to take a four-point lead into the locker room, 30-26.
 
Eight players scored for the Tigers in the victory, including six players with six or more points. Heim led the squad with 13 points, adding four steals. Legette finished with nine points and nine rebounds, adding two assists and one block. Kennett had the only other two assists for the Tigers and finished 7-for-8 from the free-throw line.
 
Fort Hays State hit a season-low 34.8 percent from the floor (16-of-46), but balanced that out by shooting at a 75 percent rate at the charity stripe (24-of-32). The Lady Hornets stayed in the game thanks to offensive rebounds, capitalizing on 19 boards on the offensive glass to the tune of 19 second-chance points. The Tigers made just one 3-pointer in the win, their fewest in a game in more than four years (one vs PSU, 2/15/14). It was Fort Hays State's first win over Emporia State in the postseason under Tony Hobson, moving to 1-4 against the Lady Hornets in March.