Emily Gartner

If there’s one thing you can be certain about year in and year out is that the Big 7 League will be one of the toughest and most competitive leagues throughout the entire state of Kansas.

Because of that several area athletes have had the opportunity to play at the Division I level in college, but recently none have had the opportunity to do what former Hiawatha Redhawk Emily Gartner is about to do and that is play in the NCAA Tournament.

Gartner, a senior on the Missouri State Women’s Basketball team, has helped the Bears earn a 21-2 record and a 5-seed in the upcoming tournament after playing in all 23 games this season averaging 5.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

She is also shooting 52 percent from the floor this season which is first on the team and tops in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Gartner has been in double-figures three times this season including a 15-point, 12 rebound performance against Southern Illinois in January.

Last season is when Gartner really shined scoring nearly 10 points per game while pulling down nearly 7 rebounds a contest while this year turning into more of a roll player off the bench with around 15 minutes per game.

During her time at Hiawatha, she set not only became the school’s all-time leading scorer but the leading rebounder as well.

Gartner went captured both of those records in her junior season where she also went over the 1,000-points mark averaging 21.4 points, 13.3 boards and 4.0 blocks earning her all-state recognition.

In her senior campaign she was even better earning a second-team all-state selection averaging 21.7 points on 70 percent shooting, 13 rebounds and 7.0 blocks per game.

She also captured a state discus title as a junior and finished fourth in the discus as a senior, and fourth in the shot put her junior year.

Gartner will look to continue her strong play and help Missouri State to a deep run in the NCAA Tournament as the Lady Bears have UC Davis in the first round on Monday at 6:30 in San Antonio, Texas.