FHSU Athletics
No. 3/9 Fort Hays State Women's Basketball (1-1, 0-0 MIAA)
at the Courtyard Sioux Falls Tip-Off Classic
Sioux Falls, S.D. • Stewart Center
vs. Augustana (0-0, 0-0 NSIC)
Friday, November 11 • 5:30 p.m.
Radio • KAYS (94.3/1400)
CLICK TO LISTEN LIVE
at Sioux Falls (0-0, 0-0 NSIC)
Saturday, November 12 • 3:30 p.m.
Radio • KFIX (96.9)
CLICK TO LISTEN LIVE
The third-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team heads north for the Courtyard Sioux Falls Tip-Off Classic this weekend (Nov. 11-12), hosted by the University of Sioux Falls. The Tigers (1-1) will face off with Augustana on Friday at 5:30 p.m. before clashing with the host Cougars Saturday at 3:30 p.m. This is the first action of the season for both Augustana and Sioux Falls.
Fans traveling to Sioux Falls are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance via the Sioux Falls box office. Both reserved seating ($15) and general admission ($10) are available each day.
Live video is scheduled to be provided free of charge on the NSIC Network. Radio coverage will be available on KAYS 94.3 FM/1400 AM on Friday and on KFIX 96.9 FM on Saturday. Live stats will also be available throughout the weekend.
Last Time Out
The No. 3 Tigers turned in a 1-1 record last weekend at the 2022 D2CCA Tip-Off Classic inside historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., falling to No. 6 West Texas A&M 71-58 before defeating Southern Nazarene, 45-43. Katie Wagner earned a spot on the All-Classic team after recording a pair of double-doubles and averaging 13.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. Whitney Brown scored 11 points in her Tiger debut, while Ellie Stearns led the team with 11 points in the win over the Crimson Storm.
Tiger Notables
- This is the first recorded regular season trip to South Dakota for the women's basketball program.
- The Tigers went 1-1 on the campus of Augustana at the 2018 NCAA Division II Central Region Championship, FHSU's only other trip to the Mount Rushmore State.
- Fort Hays State is 21-2 against teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference under head coach Tony Hobson and 48-16 all-time.
- The Tigers have three 30-win seasons over the last eight years. In that time (since 2014-15), the rest of the MIAA has a combined one-such season (UCM in 2017-18).
- Fort Hays State has won 83 of its last 85 non-conference, regular season games.
- The Tigers are 2-0 in recorded history on November 11, with the most recent win coming over Southwest Minnesota State (84-42) in 2017.
- FHSU is 3-1 on November 12, including most recently an 81-65 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State last season in St. Joseph, Mo.
- This weekend will be the 23rd and 24th times the Tigers have played when ranked third in the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll. FHSU is 18-4 when ranked third. The Tigers have played more often at just one other spot in the poll, No. 5 (26 matchups).
Series History
- The Tigers are 0-1 against Augustana all-time, with the Vikings prevailing 91-50 on the first day of the Chef's Oven Lady Loper Classic in Kearney, Neb. on December 5, 1991. Kris Osthoff led the Tigers with 12 points in the loss.
- Fort Hays State and Sioux Falls met up for the first time last season, with the Tigers winning 82-73 at the Hillyard Women's Basketball Tip-Off Classic in St. Joseph, Mo. (11/13/21). Katie Wagner erupted for 26 points and 15 rebounds in the win before going on to win MIAA Athlete of the Week honors for that week.
The Coach
- Tony Hobson enters his 15th season at Fort Hays State and his 31st season as a head coach at the collegiate level in 2022-23.
- He is 313-110 as a Tiger and 726-216 all-time.
- Hobson ranks third all-time amongst MIAA head coaches with 312 wins at FHSU.
- He ranks in the top 30 in win percentage amongst all active NCAA head coaches and in the top 10 in Division II.
- Hobson earned the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Women's Four-Year College Coach of the Year award last season, his 19th career coach of the year award.
- He has coached four All-Americans, four Academic All-Americans, two conference players of the year and 48 All-MIAA performers over the last 14 seasons.
Roster Breakdown
- Fort Hays State returns eight players from last year's MIAA champions while adding six new faces, including two true freshmen and four transfers
- The Tigers bring back a pair of All-MIAA performers in Katie Wagner (second team) and Olivia Hollenbeck (2x honorable mention).
- The Tigers are remarkably young, with all but one player entering the year with at least three years of eligibility remaining. FHSU boasts one graduate student, 11 sophomores and two true freshmen on the squad this year.
- Players hail from four different states, including five from Kansas, five from Nebraska, three from Iowa and one from Oklahoma
- Nine players signed with FHSU out of high school, while five current Tigers are transfers.
A Look at the Schedule
- Because FHSU was selected to play in the 2022 D2CCA Tip-Off Classic, the Tigers are scheduled for 30 regular-season contests this year. It is the longest regular season schedule in the program's DII history and the third-most regular season contests in team history (32 games in both 1982-83 and 1986-87).
- The MIAA will once again play a 22-game schedule. FHSU will play Washburn and Emporia State once on the road, Northeastern State and Rogers State once at home and the other nine schools twice, once at home and once on the road.
- Six of FHSU's eight scheduled non-conference games are against DII opponents, with all six picked to finish no worse than fifth in their conference preseason polls.
- Nine scheduled games are against teams that qualified for the 2022 NCAA DII Championship Tournament, including West Texas A&M (South Central region champ), Minnesota State, Colorado Mesa, Missouri Southern, Missouri Western (Central region champ) and Nebraska-Kearney.
- The Tigers are scheduled to play four teams for the first time during the Hobson era - West Texas A&M, Southern Nazarene, Augustana and Colorado Mesa.
Scouting the Opponents
Augustana
- Augustana returns 12 players from their 2021-22 roster that turned in a record of 13-11. The Vikings fell in the NSIC tournament opening round at home against Northern State, 76-66.
- The Vikings are picked third in the preseason NSIC Coaches Poll.
- Aislinn Duffy was picked as the NSIC South Division Preseason Player of the Year after averaging a double-double last season with 15.0 points and 10.8 rebounds on the year. She was a first team All-NSIC selection last season after earning second team honors in 2020-21.
- The Vikings return one other All-NSIC performer in Lauren Sees, who garnered second team honors for the second year in a row after leading the team with 15.4 points per game.
- Head coach Dave Krauth enters his 34th year at Augustana in 2022-23. He is tied for the 12th-longest tenure at a single school amongst all NCAA women's basketball coaches and third-longest in Division II.
Sioux Falls
- Sioux Falls returns 16 student-athletes from last year's squad that went 16-12 before falling at home to UMary in the NSIC tournament opening round, 62-55.
- The Cougars enter the new year ranked fourth in the preseason NSIC Coaches Poll.
- Megan Fannin is the Cougars' top returner, earning second team All-NSIC honors last season before picking up NSIC Player to Watch recognition heading into this season. She led the Cougars with 12.9 points per game a year ago.
- Head coach Travis Traphagen begins his 15th season patrolling the sideline at Sioux Falls this fall. The Cougars have turned in 12 winning seasons under Traphagen's leadership, including six 20-wins campaigns.
Looking Ahead
The Tigers return to Gross Memorial Coliseum next weekend (Nov. 18-19) to make their home debut with a pair of non-conference contests. FHSU will host No. 15 Minnesota State on Friday at 6 p.m. before taking on Colorado Mesa Saturday at 3 p.m. Northwest Missouri State will round out the four-team crossover, playing the teams in reverse order two hours before FHSU's scheduled game times.