NCAA Women's Division II Second Round - Saturday, March 11
No. 3 Emporia State (28-4)	Game #7 ESU 61 WU 59 Live Stats Box Score	No. 1 Washburn (32-1)

Recap

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Junior forward Casey Henningsen scored 25 of her 27 points after halftime, including the game-winning bucket in overtime, as No. 8 Emporia State handed No. 1 Washburn its first loss in 52 games, 61-59, in the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball South Central Regional final Monday night (March 13) at Lee Arena.

The Lady Hornets (28-4) will face Northeast Region champion American International (Mass.) (24-7) in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, March 22 at 2 p.m., CST, at Summit Arena in Hot Springs, Ark. AIC defeated its region’s top seed, Southern Connecticut State, 48-40, on Monday.

Sophomore forward Michelle Stueve scored 12 points, but finished the regional with a 30.7 scoring average and was named the Most Outstanding Player.

The Lady Blues (32-1) were led by senior guard Jennifer Harris, who scored 32 points in spite of aggravating a back injury late in regulation. She averaged 31.0 points in the regional and made the All-Tournament Team.

Rounding out the All-Tournament list was Henningsen, forward Brooke Ubelaker of Washburn and West Texas A&M senior forward Keisha Monroe.

Emporia State was in a deep hole early, not making a field goal until the 10:39 mark of the first half. Washburn held a 17-2 lead before Henningsen snapped a string of 11 straight misfires from the field with a follow off her initial try -- blocked by Ubelaker.

The Lady Blues kept the Lady Hornets from getting any closer than nine points in the remainder of the first half, taking a 31-20 lead into the intermission. Harris had 13 points for Washburn in the first half.

After making just 6-of-29 from the field in the first half, ESU came out blazing in the second. The Lady Hornets made eight of their first 15 shots from the floor, and combined with nine WU turnovers and 3-of-15 shooting by the Lady Blues took a 42-39 lead with 7:48 to go in regulation.

Junior center Denisa Svarova’s free throw with 7:56 left in the second half gave ESU the lead and equaled the Lady Hornets’ first-half scoring output.

Once ESU grabbed the lead, Washburn would come back and tie four times before regaining the lead with 25 seconds remaining in regulation. Harris aggravated a lingering back injury in trying to stop ESU junior forward Carolyn Dorsey on a layup attempt following a steal at the 2:02 mark, and had been rotated into the lineup afterward for offensive situations in an attempt to give her a break.

The Lady Hornets called timeout with 19 seconds remaining in the second half, and the play went to Henningsen in the post. Her first try was blocked by sophomore forward Amanda Holmes, but Henningsen got the rebound and made her follow with five seconds to go. Henningsen ended up with 19 points in the second half.

Washburn had a chance to get the win in regulation, but a long three-point try by senior guard April Roadhouse missed the mark, sending the game to overtime knotted at 53-53. ESU held WU to 7-of-29 shooting in the second half (29.2 percent).

Henningsen made ESU’s first two buckets of the extra session, but WU had answers from Ubelaker and Roadhouse to keep the game tied.

The door was cracked for Washburn when ESU freshman forward Genae Glasper threw the in-bounds pass after Roadhouse’s bucket away, which gave the Lady Blues possession under their basket with 3:08 to go. WU couldn’t capitalize, as Harris’ three-pointer was off the mark and Stueve grabbed the rebound with 2:52 to go.

The two squads traded turnovers, and Washburn was able to get a 59-57 lead with 1:21 left on a jumper by Harris. ESU senior guard Andi McAlexander made a layup on the ensuing possession to tie the game at 59-59 with 52 seconds left.

Harris missed a shot on the next trip down for the Lady Blues, with 35 seconds left. After an ESU timeout with 25 seconds to go, Henningsen had the ball and the game in her hands again, scoring the go-ahead bucket with six seconds left.

Washburn had a good look at a game-winning shot of its own. Roadhouse drove the lane and dished to junior guard Cindy Keeley on the right wing behind the arc. Keeley’s try rattled out, and Emporia State could make plans for its first Elite Eight trip since 2000.