FHSU Athletics
#3/#4 Fort Hays State (12-0, 3-0 MIAA)
at Missouri Western (8-3, 3-0 MIAA)
Saturday, January 4, 2025 • 11 a.m.
St. Joseph, Mo. • MWSU Fieldhouse
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The third-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team will look to continue its undefeated season Saturday (Jan. 4) when the Tigers take on Missouri Western beginning at 11 a.m. inside the MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph, Mo. Opening tipoff has been moved up 2 1/2 hours due to the impending winter weather.
The matchup will feature two of the last three teams that are undefeated in MIAA play, with the Tigers entering the contest 12-0 overall and 3-0 in MIAA play and the Griffons heading into the weekend 8-3 on the year and 3-0 in conference action. 14th-ranked Pittsburg State (11-2, 3-0 MIAA) is the only other MIAA women's basketball team yet to lose a conference game this season.
Fort Hays State is hoping to avenge a pair of losses from last year when the Griffons completed the season sweep of FHSU thanks to a pair of come-from-behind wins.
Katie DeGarmo nearly averages a double-double when playing Missouri Western, with the graduate student averaging 17.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 10 games against the Griffons. She's scored 20-plus in each of the last four meetings and has five double-doubles and seven games with 10 or more points against MWSU.
DeGarmo heads into the contest with 1,910 points in her storied career, seven behind tying Tiger Sports Hall-of-Famer Kate Lehman for second all-time on the FHSU scoring list (1,917 points).
After totaling 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting to help the Tigers defeat Northwest Missouri State on Thursday, Olivia Hollenbeck climbed to third across all Division II with a shooting percentage of 67.2 percent. She ranks fourth in the conference with a team-best 17.3 points per game while she leads the conference with 2.83 steals per game and sits fourth in the league with 1.67 blocks per night.
Hollenbeck has scored in double figures eight times in 10 tries against the Griffons, averaging 13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists when playing the Griffons.
Kate Dilsaver opened the new year with a sharp-shooting effort in Maryville, with the senior knocking down a career-best four 3-pointers on seven attempts in Thursday's win. She has now scored in double figures five times this season, more than any other season in her FHSU tenure.
Dilsaver has scored in double figures three times in eight career matchups with Missouri Western.
Brooke Loewe dished out six more assists in the win over the Bearcats, giving her 74 dimes for the year, fourth-most in all Division II. She leads the conference and ranks ninth in DII with an average of 6.2 assists per game. That pace would set the all-time program record for season assist average, breaking All-American Jaden Hobb's mark of 6.0 assists per game in the 2020-21 season.
The Tigers are 34-27 all-time against the Griffons, while Missouri Western leads 17-11 in games played in St. Joseph, Mo. The Griffons hold a two-game winning streak after the Tigers had won nine of 12 meetings from 2018 to 2023. Fort Hays State is 0-2 against MWSU during the Talia Kahrs era, including an 0-1 mark on the road. The road team has won six of the last eight on-campus meetings. Fort Hays State is 17-12 against the Griffons in MIAA regular season conference contests.
The defending MIAA champions are 8-3 on the year and 3-0 in conference play. After starting the year 2-3, the Griffons have rattled off six-straight wins and have not lost since November 20. First-year head coach Ashton Feldhaus' team lives and dies by the 3-pointer, with the Griffons currently ranking fourth in all Division II in both long-range makes (9.9 per game) and attempts (29.5 per game). Alyssa Bonilla leads the team and ranks sixth in the MIAA with an average of 16.5 points per game, while she is second in the league behind Loewe with an average of 4.9 assists per contest. Matilda Soderlund hits more than three shots from behind the arc per contest, tops in the MIAA and eighth-most in DII.