#4 Fort Hays State Home-Opening Weekend
Friday-Saturday, November 19-20, 2021
Hays, Kan. • Gross Memorial Coliseum
Friday vs. St. Cloud State • 6 p.m.
Saturday vs. Cameron • 4 p.m.
Radio: KJLS (103.3-FM)
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The fourth-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team makes its home debut this weekend (Nov. 19-20) with a pair of tough matchups against St. Cloud State Friday at 6 p.m. and Cameron Saturday at 4 p.m. Both the Huskies and Aggies reached the NCAA DII national tournament a year ago.
The Newman Jets will also be in Hays this weekend, playing the same teams in reverse order. The Jets will battle Cameron on Friday beginning at 4 p.m. before opening the day Saturday against St. Cloud State at 2 p.m.
General admission tickets are available in advance and at the door for $12 per day and will be good for both games that day.
The Tigers (2-0) are off to a solid start to the year after a pair of wire-to-wire victories last weekend in St. Joseph, Mo. Cameron heads to Hays with a 3-0 record after beating teams by an average of 25.3 points, while this is the first game of the season for SCSU.
Katie Wagner was named MIAA Athlete of the Week after her stellar performance during the opening weekend of the season. The second-year freshman paced the team in scoring and rebounding in each contest, averaging 24.5 points and 12.0 rebounds per game while shooting 70.4 percent from the floor. She tallied a career-high 23 points and nine rebounds against SEOSU before racking up 26 points and 15 rebounds against USF. Both totals were personal-bests as she recorded her third double-double in the process. Fifteen of those points came in the fourth quarter on Saturday, helping the Tigers hold off a late Cougar run. It was the first 15-15 game by a Tiger since 2017.
Olivia Hollenbeck averaged 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game last weekend, including a 16-point outing against Sioux Falls. Whitney Randall scored 15 points against the Cougars on Saturday, averaging 9.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
Despite playing just four minutes in the second game of the weekend, Jaden Hobbs leads the team with an average of 4.5 assists per game. She now has 423 collegiate assists, fourth-most on the active list in Division II.
The Tigers hit 52.5 percent from the floor during the opening weekend, ranking seventh in the country in field goal percentage. FHSU hit more than 45 percent of its shots in both games, moving the Tigers to 113-4 when shooting at least 45 percent from the floor under Hobson.
Fort Hays State has won its last 17 home openers dating back to 2003. The Tigers have been nearly unstoppable against non-conference opponents at home under head coach Tony Hobson, going 59-2 inside the Coliseum against non-MIAA teams during the regular season. Fort Hays State has won its last 45 non-conference games during the regular season and 78 of the last 79 such contests. In addition, the Tigers have won 65 of 70 games played in the month of November during the Hobson era.
Series History
-Fort Hays State is 2-0 all-time against St. Cloud State, winning once in Hays and once in St. Cloud, Minn.
-Both wins came under Hobson.
-The Tigers are 3-0 all-time against Cameron, with all three games being played in Hays.
-Hobson is 2-0 against the Aggies.
Scouting St. Cloud State
-The Huskies have qualified for the last two NCAA Championships after winning the NSIC Tournament two years ago and reaching the championship game last year.
-Like the Tigers, SCSU also had its season ended by national semifinalist Central Missouri last season.
-The Huskies were 12-6 last season. This is their first game of the new year.
-St. Cloud State was picked to finish second in the NSIC preseason polls.
-Every player from last year's team is back in some capacity, including 14 that are still playing and one that transitioned to an assistant coach.
-The Huskies added just one new player to the roster this year.
-Tori Wortz earned first team All-NSIC status and was an honorable mention WBCA All-American a year ago, while Brehna Evans is the reigning NSIC Defensive Player of the Year.
-Wortz, Nikki Kilboten, Erin Navratil and Caitlyn Peterson all opted to return for a second senior season.
Last Meeting with the Huskies
The Tigers bounced back from a slow start to defeat the Huskies almost exactly five years ago in St. Cloud, 88-73 (11/18/16). St. Cloud State led by as many as nine early in the first quarter before the Tigers took a nine-point advantage into the locker room. FHSU pulled away in the third, leading by as many as 26 points. Emma Stroyan scored 20 points on 9-of-9 shooting, which was in the middle of her conference-best 22 made field goals in a row. FHSU distributed 25 assists on 32 made shots. Full box score available here.
Scouting Cameron
-The Aggies qualified for the third NCAA tournament in team history last year, advancing to the second round via a no contest against Arkansas Tech before falling to eventual national champion Lubbock Christian in the South Central Regional semifinals.
-Cameron is off to a 3-0 start this season, including home wins over Adams State, UCCS and Midwestern State by an average of 25.3 points.
-The Aggies return three All-Conference performers, including Maighan Hedge, Stephanie Peterson and Whitney Outon, and one all-freshman team member from last year in Katie King.
-Logan Collyer returned for a second senior season.
-Head coach Emma Andrews also added three transfers and two true freshmen.
-Maighan Hedge leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks 11th naitonally with an average of 24.7 points per game.
-The Aggies were picked to finish fourth in the LSC behind Lubbock Christian,
Last Meeting with the Aggies
Fort Hays State trailed by three early before blowing out Cameron two years ago in Hays, 89-47 (11/16/19). The Tigers led by as many as 48 midway through the fourth quarter. Three Tigers scored 16 or more points, including 16 from Jaden Hobbs. FHSU scored 23 points off 22 turnovers. Full box score available here.
All-Time vs. Cameron
Jaden Hobbs scored 16 points and added three assists against Cameron in her second home game as a Tiger two years ago. Whitney Randall had two points and four rebounds, while Cydney Bergmann scored five points.
On This (These) Day(s)
Since the 1979-80 season (when dates of games are known), the Tigers are:
10-3 on November 19, with the most recent result a 91-58 win over Bemidji State in 2016, and
10-3 on November 20, with the most recent result a 72-60 win over Newman in 2018.
Looking Ahead
Fort Hays State will host NAIA powerhouse Sterling College on Tuesday (Nov. 23) in the first men's and women's doubleheader of the season before opening the conference slate on the road in early December.