Upset bid falls just short against #2 Emporia St.
December 21, 2004LAWTON, Okla. (Dec. 21) - Coach Dick Halterman's Cameron women's basketball team turned in an impressive defensive effort Tuesday, nearly upsetting second-ranked Emporia State.
The Lady Aggies limited ESU's potent offensive attack to a season-low 56 points and a .333 shooting percentage before falling 56-55 to the Lady Hornets. Emporia State (9-0) entered the game averaging nearly 91 points per game with a team shooting percentage of bettern than .500.
Junior guard Brittany Cooksey led all players in the contest, scoring 18 points for the third consecutive game. Cooksey was just 4-of-17 from the field, but was perfect at the line, hitting 8-of-8 while leading an impressive Lady Aggie free throw shooting effort. Cameron, which entered the game converting just 55.7 of its charity tosses to date, hit 20-of-22 from the line Tuesday.
Melissa Steen added 11 points for the Lady Aggies (2-7) and Chelsea Turner went 6-of-6 at the line to finish with eight points. Steen shared team-high rebounding honors with senior Christina Buben, each pulling down eight boards apiece. Five of Steen's pickups came on the offensive end of the court.
The Lady Aggies limited ESU's leading scorer, freshman Michelle Stueve, to just five points in the game. Nicole Patry led the Lady Hornets with 12 points, while Esmary Vargas-Sanchez contributed eight points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Emporia State led virtually the entire contest, but could never shake the Lady Aggies. The Lady Hornets opened up a nine-point advantage midway through the second half, using a Patry layup to take a 43-34 lead. But Cameron answered with an 11-2 run over the next four minutes. Turner's free throws with 7:39 to play knotted the score at 45-45 and had the home crowd cheering for the impressive upset.
Taylor Campbell's jumper provided the sixth tie of the game at 49-49 with 4:21 remaining and Cooksey answered an ESU bucket with a jumper at the 45-second mark to keep the Lady Aggies within a point. A Lady Hornet turnover gave Cameron a chance to win on the final possession of the game. But Cooksey's attempt from the free throw line was blocked by Stueve to preserve ESU's undefeated record.
Cameron will take a week off for the holidays before returning to action on Dec. 29-30, in the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational in Ft. Myers, Fla. The Lady Aggies will face St. Joseph's (Ind.) College on the first day of the event before squaring off with either Tuskegee University or host Florida Gulf Coast University on Thursday, Dec. 30.
