FHSU Athletics
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Fort Hays State's Olivia Hollenbeck has been named the first MIAA Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week, presented by Southern Bank, for the 2024-25 season, announced Tuesday by the league office.
Hollenbeck is off to a stellar start to her fifth season in a Tiger uniform, averaging 24.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.5 steals per game across a pair of FHSU victories last weekend at the Central Regional Crossover Challenge in St. Joseph, Mo. The graduate student leads the league in both points and shooting percentage (67.7 percent) and is tied for the league lead in blocks while she ranks seventh in steals and 12th in rebounds.
The Lincoln, Neb. native opened the season with 29 points in 29 minutes in a win over Augustana after knocking down 12-of-17 from the floor. She scored 25 points after halftime and finished the game with three blocks, two steals and seven rebounds. Hollenbeck followed that up with 19 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks in less than 22 minutes of action in a victory against MSU Moorhead.
Hollenbeck scored her 1,450th career point on Saturday, moving her past Naomi Bancroft (1,449 points, 2006-10) to climb into ninth on the all-time scoring list at FHSU.
This is the first time the four-time All-MIAA selection has been selected for a conference weekly award. It is the third time FHSU has had the first MIAA Athlete of the Week out of the last four years, with Katie Wagner DeGarmo receiving the honor early in the 2021-22 season and the 2023-24 campaign.
The Tigers will make their home debut this weekend when they take on Adams State on Friday, 5:30 p.m. and MSU Denver on Saturday, 5 p.m..