A late rally by UAFS fell just short on Friday night as the Lady Lions lost a hard-fought game 66-60 to the host Emporia State Lady Hornets in the LaQuinta Inn/Quality Inn Thanksgiving Classic at White Auditorium in Emporia, Kan.

It was the Lady Lions' first game of the four-team, two-day classic, and UAFS (1-5) will play the East Central Lady Tigers at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon in its final game of the holiday event. Live statistics and live stream will be available.

UAFS trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half before settling on a 10-point deficit (35-25) at halftime. The Lady Lions fell behind by as many as 13 points in the second half before finding their shooting touch.

The Lady Lions shot 48 percent from the field in the second half (11 of 23), including an impressive 50 percent (7 of 14) in the fourth quarter as they twice whittled their deficit to as few as four points – the last time (55-51) coming on a layup by junior forward Tamera Gulley with less than five minutes left in the game.

Emporia State responded and twice extended its lead to as many as nine points in the final minutes – the last time (63-54) on a layup by guard Jessica Wayne with two minutes left in the game.

Senior guard Mariah Green led UAFS with 13 points, while senior guard Daijah Brown had 11 and senior forward Ellie Lehne had 10. UAFS shot 36 percent from the field (20 of 55) – it was only 3-of-10 shooting from 3-point range – and shot 85 percent from the free-throw line (17 of 20).
Brown topped off her double-double with 11 rebounds, helping the Lady Lions out-rebound the Lady Hornets by four rebounds.

Emporia State (4-1) shot 36 percent from the field (21 of 58) – it was only 3-of-13 shooting from 3-point range – and shot 68 percent from the free-throw line (21 of 31). Guard Kali Martin led the Lady Hornets with 18 points, while forward Tyra Jones and Wayne had 15 and 12 points, respectively.

Wayne topped off her double-double with 11 rebounds.
 
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
LAQUINTA INN/QUALITY INN THANKSGIVING CLASSIC
EMPORIA STATE 66, UAFS 60
UAFS              12        13        17        18        --          60
Emporia State 20        15        16        15        --          66
UAFS (1-5): Green 13, D. Brown 11, Lehne 10, Brown 9, Terry 6, Gulley 4, Richardson 3, Culley 2, Elkins 2
Emporia State (4-1): Martin 18, Jones 15, Wayne 12, Laudan 6, Handy 5, Moala 4, Miller 3, Lackey 3