FHSU Athletics
#6 Fort Hays State Women's Basketball (10-1, 1-1 MIAA)
vs. Northwest Missouri State (9-3, 2-0 MIAA)
Thursday, January 1, 2026 • 5:30 p.m.
Hays, Kan. • Gross Memorial Coliseum
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: MIAA Network: CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
Game Sponsor: Redeem Designs
Promotions: Retro t-shirt giveaway, retro concession prices on select items ($1 popcorn, $1 small drinks)
The sixth-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team rings in the new year when the Tigers host Northwest Missouri State on Thursday. First tip in the conference clash is set for 5:30 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.
Quick Hits
- The Tigers poured in a school-record 69.8 percent from the floor in their most recent game, a 92-49 win over Chadron State. It was the best shooting performance by a DII team so far this season.
- This is the first New Year's Day game for the Tigers in team history. They were scheduled to play on January 1, 2022, but that game at Northeastern State was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols with the RiverHawks.
- Now the program leader in career assists, Brooke Loewe entered the holiday break as the DII active career leader with 502 career assists. She ranks 10th in career assists amongst active players across all NCAA divisions and leads all divisions with her average of 10.4 assists per game this season.
- Loewe accounts for 15 percent of the 39 double-digit assist performances in DII so far this season.
- Talexa Weeter leads Division II and ranks third across all NCAA divisions with an average of 27.5 points per game. She's scored more than 20 points in 10 of 11 games this season, including four with 30-plus.
- The Tigers have started off hot all season, averaging more points in the first quarter (22.1) than any other.
- FHSU is averaging nearly 19 fast break points per contest while allowing less than six points in transition per night.
- The Tigers have won 14 in a row at home against Northwest Missouri State.
- Fort Hays State leads Division II with an average of 20.7 assists per game.
20 Wins Now the Norm
- Fort Hays State has now reached the 20-win plateau in each of the last 14 seasons, extending the longest active streak of 20-win seasons in Division II. FHSU's streak is tied for the sixth-longest active streak of 20-win seasons across all NCAA Divisions.
- FHSU reached the 20-win plateau just eight times over the first 42 years of the program before the current streak began in 2011-12, including no more than two consecutive 20-win campaigns during that time.
- The next-best active streak of 20-win seasons in the MIAA is four (MWSU), while the next-best streak in DII is Drury with 12.
- Only five DI programs have longer active stretches of 20-win seasons, including UConn (32), Baylor (25), Stanford (23), Florida Gulf Coast (21) and Louisville (15). Fort Hays State's run of 14-straight 20-win seasons is tied with South Carolina and South Dakota State for sixth-best in all NCAA women's basketball.
National Rankings
- FHSU leads in the country with 20.7 assists per game while ranking fourth in field goal percentage (48.8 percent), fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.25), ninth in 3-point percentage (37.3 percent), 11th in winning percentage (90.9 percent), 14th in scoring offense (79.1 ppg) and 14th in fewest fouls (13.6 per game).
- Brooke Loewe's 10.4 assists per game are the most across all NCAA divisions. The DI lead is 9.2 assists per game, while the second-best average in DII is 6.8 (Lydia Haack, Concordia-St. Paul).
- Talexa Weeter leads Division II and ranks third across all NCAA divisions with an average of 27.5 points per game.
- Loewe's 14 assists in a game, a feat she accomplished twice in five days, are the most in a game by a DII athlete this season.
- Loewe has six games with 10-plus assists, the most of any DII athlete. Only two other DII student-athletes have had multiple 10-plus assist games this season (CSP's Lydia Haack - 4, UNK's Jillian Aschoff - 2). There have been 39 double-digit assist performances so far this season in Division II - Loewe accounts for 15 percent of those.
- Ellie Stearns ranks fifth in the conference with 2.1 3-pointers made per game.
- Olivia Mortensen ranks second in the MIAA with a field goal percentage of 53.5 percent
- Weeter ranks second in the MIAA in rebounds (8.6 per game) and fourth in the MIAA in field goal percentage (51.2 percent).
- Loewe ranks sixth in the MIAA with an average of 2.0 steals per game.
MIAA Athlete of the Week x 3
- Talexa Weeter earned two of the first three and three of the first five MIAA Athlete of the Week awards this season.
- The junior averaged 32.5 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 60.5 percent from the floor in the first two games of the season.
- The Goodland, Kan. native then averaged 33.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in the two wins in Denver last week.
- Weeter then totaled 32 points and 13 rebounds in a blowout win over No. 6 Pittsburg State.
Fresh Start
- Olivia Mortensen is the 14th true freshman to start a season opener for the Tigers during the DII era (since 1991-92) and the first since Ellie Stearns in 2022.
On This Date
- This is the first game in recorded history for the women's basketball team on New Year's Day.
- The Tigers were scheduled to play on January 1, 2022 at Northeastern State, but that game was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols within the RiverHawk program.
- FHSU has played four times on New Year's Eve, going 2-2.
Last Time Out
- The No. 7 Tigers shot a school-record 69.8 percent from the floor in a 92-49 win over Chadron State last year (12/19/25).
- FHSU hit 13-of-13 in the second quarter alone and shot 82.1 percent (23-of-28) in the first half.
- Olivia Mortensen hit 12-of-13 from the floor to rack up 27 points.
- Talexa Weeter scored 22 points in 22 minutes of action.
- Brooke Loewe distributed 13 assists in less than 21 minutes on the floor, pushing her over 500 assists for her career.
Scouting the Bearcats
- After dropping three of their first four games, the Bearcats have won eight in a row. It is the longest active winning streak in the MIAA and 12th-longest in Division II.
- The Bearcats lead the MIAA in field goal percentage defense, allowing teams to shoot just 34.4 percent from the floor.
- Bailey Birmingham hits an MIAA-best 2.55 3-pointers per game.
- Sadie Maas ranks second in the conference with an average of 1.83 blocks per contest.
- Andrea Lopreato scored 40 points in a game earlier this season against Sioux Falls. She is the only player in the MIAA to score more points in a game than Talexa Weeter this year.
Series History with Northwest Missouri State
- Fort Hays State is 26-11 all-time against the Bearcats, including a dominant 22-2 run since 2011.
- The Tigers are 14-2 at home against the Bearcats, including wins in each of the last 14 games. NWMSU won its first two games in Hays in 1986 and 2006 but hasn't won since.
- The Tigers have won four in a row overall.
- FHSU is 5-1 against NWMSU under head coach Talia Kahrs, including a 2-0 record at home.
- The Tigers and Bearcats have never played an overtime game.
- FHSU is 23-8 against Northwest in MIAA regular season contests.
Last Meeting with the Bearcats
- 7th-ranked FHSU picked up its ninth 20-plus point win of the season, defeating Northwest Missouri State 84-60 (1/18/25).
- FHSU hit 63.3 percent from the floor in the first half before cooling a bit in the second half, shooting 53.8 percent overall.
- Five Tigers scored in double figures, including Brooke Loewe who recorded 13 points and 11 assists for her third double-double of the season.
Career Stats vs. NWMSU
- Talexa Weeter - 7.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.0 apg in 3 games - 1 game with 10+ points
- Brooke Loewe - 5.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 3.6 apg in 7 games - 1 double-double
- Ellie Stearns - 3.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.9 apg in 8 games
Looking Ahead
The Tigers wrap up a five-game homestand on Saturday, January 3 when they host Missouri Western. First tip is set for 4 p.m., with the women playing second in the doubleheader due to the men's game being picked as the 38 the Spot MIAA Game of the Week.