Lopers to Remain in Kansas, Face Washburn Saturday Afternoon
Kearney, Neb. – Super senior forward Elisa Backes scored 21 points and No. 16 Nebraska Kearney shot as season-high 56 percent from the field to fly past Emporia State, 86-54, Wednesday night in Kansas. The game was moved up a day due to scheduling issues at White Auditorium. The Lopers (17-3, 10-2) win a fourth in a row and notch its 16th all-time victory over the struggling Hornets (9-9, 4-8). Emporia has dropped seven straight, giving up at least 80 points in its last four games. Meanwhile, UNK -- Division II's top defensive outfit -- had held eight straight foes under 56 points. This also marks win 154 for Carrie Eighmey as leader of the Loper program. She moves into third place on the school all-time wins list, trailing only Amy Stephens (197; 1995-92) and Carroll Russell (163; 2003-10). Dan Wurtz won 153 games between 1983-93. Emporia got 21 points from 2021 MIAA Player of the Year Tre'Zure Jobe to hang around for the first 13 minutes. However, Jobe picked up her second foul late in the first quarter and with her on the bench, the Lopers made a big run and never looked back. A 25-11 second quarter for UNK featured 9 of 15 shooting (2 of 5 threes), a 12-5 rebounding advantage and a 5 of 5 effort at the line. "This is a hard place to play and we have a ton of respect for their program. Look at the banners hanging in here…that's some tradition," said UNK assistant coach Devin Eighmey on the KRVN Radio post-game show. "We tried to stay relentless tonight, stay on our path and focus on our group." The 86 points is a season-high for the Blue & Gold with the 32-point margin of victory the third highest this winter. UNK made 32 of 57 shots (9 of 18 threes), went 13 of 15 at the line and had plus 13 rebounding margin. Playing just 24 minutes, Backes (Salina, Kan.) hit four threes and four two-point buckets to reach her point total with reserve post Brooke Carlson (Elkhorn) having a big second half and ending up with 15 points. She made 7 of 9 shots and had four boards in only 12 minutes of work. "We competed, played hard and had fun," said Eighmey. Also for the Lopers, Iowa redshirt junior forward Shiloh McCool had her second straight and 15th career double double (15 points, 10 rebounds) with South Dakota redshirt junior guard Trinity Law going for 16 on 6 of 10 shooting. She's now been in double figures in four of the last six games. Jobe reached her offensive output on 8 of 15 shooting with sophomore guard Ehlaina Hartman (13) the only other Hornet to score more than six points. UNK is at Washburn (7-9, 3-7) on Saturday afternoon. That game tips earlier (1 p.m.) than normal.
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