FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State (21-6, 15-6 MIAA)
vs. Nebraska-Kearney (18-9, 12-9 MIAA)
Friday, March 1, 2024 • 5:30 p.m.
Hays, Kan. • Gross Memorial Coliseum
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: The MIAA Network CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
Game Sponsor: Tim Cossaart - RE/MAX Pro
National Anthem: O'Loughlin Elementary
Promotions: Senior Night
The Fort Hays State women's basketball team will wrap up the regular season Friday evening when the Tigers host rival Nebraska-Kearney beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.
The Tigers will recognize five seniors before the contest, including Clary Donica, Sydney Golladay, Olivia Hollenbeck, Emma Ruddle and Jessie Sallach.
Fort Hays State (21-6, 15-6 MIAA) is ranked third in the latest NCAA DII Central Region rankings, released Wednesday. Five other MIAA programs are in the top 10. The Tigers have six wins against regionally ranked teams, while all six of FHSU's losses also came against regionally ranked opponents.
The Tigers have secured a trip to Kansas City, Mo. for the 2024 MIAA Women's Basketball Championship Tournament, presented by Southern Bank. With just one week remaining in the regular season, the Tigers can finish anywhere from second to sixth in the jam-packed MIAA standings.
Fort Hays State has reached the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament six-straight times, the longest active streak in the MIAA. Additionally, the Tigers have played in the semifinals in 10 of the last 11 tournaments, three more than any other women's team during that span (ESU 7, UCM 7).
Fort Hays State will begin play in KC in the quarterfinals on either Thursday, March 7 or Friday, March 8, with the women playing the first set of games this year (noon/2:15 p.m.). All-session passes are available for just $60 at the FHSU athletics office, a discount of $25 from the box-office price.
The Tigers lead the MIAA and rank sixth nationally in both assist/turnover ratio (1.23) and turnovers per game (12.9).
Fort Hays State won its 10th home game of the season Saturday against Missouri Southern, reaching double figures in home wins for a 36th time during the Gross Memorial Coliseum era.
The balanced offensive attack of the Tigers saw seven players score at least nine points in the 85-81 win over Missouri Southern, with an eighth Tiger adding seven points. Fort Hays State scored a season-high 26 points in transition in the win while limiting the Lions to just two fast-break points.
Now with 905 rebounds in a Tiger uniform, Katie Wagner moved to third on the all-time rebounds list at Fort Hays State over the weekend. The junior is fifth on the all-time points list with 1,609 over the last four years.
In addition, Wagner needs just six steals to move into the top 10 all-time at Fort Hays State, where she would tie Jamie Heiman with 179 steals. The Maize, Kan. native is closing in on the single-season top 10 list in numerous categories, needing 41 points, 57 rebounds or eight rebounds to tie for 10th in each respective category.
Sydney Golladay passed a pair of former Tigers on the all-time assists chart this weekend, climbing to seventh with 338 assists in her time at Fort Hays State.
Olivia Hollenbeck (1,324 points) is now 12th all-time in scoring, needing 19 points to match Kacey Kennett for 11th. She is just five blocks away from moving into second all-time, where she would tie Ashlee Gustin with 166 blocks.
Fort Hays State leads the all-time series, 61-42. The Tigers have played UNK more than any other school in program history and also have more wins against the Lopers than any other team. FHSU snapped a two-game losing streak with a 70-68 road win over the Lopers earlier this season. The teams have alternated two-game winning streaks over the last five years. Nebraska-Kearney has won three in a row in Hays and five of the last seven dating back to 2018.
Nebraska-Kearney is 18-9 on the year after dropping each of its last two contests. The Lopers were listed as under consideration for regional selection last week but were replaced by Northwestern Oklahoma State in the regional ranks this week. The Lopers own the best rebound margin in the MIAA, ranking seventh nationally by outrebounding opponents by an average of 10.0 boards per contest.
Shiloh McCool leads the team in rebounding, ranking first in the MIAA and 36th in the country with 9.3 rebounds per game. Jillian Aschoff leads the conference in assists, averaging 5.9 per night to rank eighth in Division II. UNK has four players that average in double figures in scoring, led by McCool's 13.8 points per game.