FHSU Athletics
No. 15 Fort Hays State (12-2, 6-2 MIAA)
at Missouri Southern (9-4, 5-2 MIAA)
Thursday, January 11 • 5:30 p.m.
Joplin, Mo. • Leggett & Platt Athletic Center
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: The MIAA Network CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
The 15th-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team opens a three-game road trip Thursday when they take on Missouri Southern. Tipoff from the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center in Joplin, Mo. is slated for 5:30 p.m.
The Tigers (12-2, 6-2 MIAA) are undefeated away from home this season (5-0 road, 3-0 neutral), making FHSU one of 10 Division II schools without a loss away from home this year. This is MSSU's (9-4, 5-2 MIAA) third home game on the year, with the Lions going 2-0 at home so far this season.
Katie Wagner continues to lead the team in both scoring (17.4 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg), with the junior ranking in the top five in the MIAA in both categories. Her six double-doubles are second-most in the MIAA and 12th-most in Division II.
Sydney Golladay distributed a career-best nine assists in the win over Lincoln on Saturday, sixth-most by an MIAA student-athlete in a single game this season. The point guard now ranks 10th in the conference with an average of 3.0 assists per game, with Brooke Loewe close behind in 12th with 2.9 assists per game.
Olivia Hollenbeck added a pair of blocks in the win over the Blue Tigers, her sixth game this season with multiple blocks. She now ranks fourth in the conference in blocks per game (1.4) and moved up to third on the all-time career blocks list at FHSU with 143.
The Tigers came up on the losing end of a back-and-forth affair in the most recent meeting with the Lions, falling at Missouri Southern by three, 61-58 (2/18/23). The Tigers trailed by eight early on but scored 10 in a row spanning halftime to take the lead. Wagner tallied her second double-double of the weekend, recording 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Fort Hays State is 38-20 all-time against the Lions, while MSSU leads in Joplin, 15-10. The Tigers have won nine of the last 11 meetings and 14 of the last 17 going back to 2014. The teams have split the last eight games played in Joplin, with each side winning four games inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center since 2011.
Wagner averages 10.2 points and 9.0 rebounds in six career games against the Lions, including two games with 10-plus points and one double-double. Hollenbeck averages 9.2 points in six games against MSSU, including three games scoring 10 or more points and one 20-point performance as a true freshman. Kate Dilsaver scored a career-high 16 points in a home win over the No. 11 Lions last season on 6-of-10 shooting (1/5/23). Brooke Loewe and Ellie Stearns both scored in double figures once against the Lions last season.
Missouri Southern opened the season 3-4 but has won six consecutive games since, including three wins over ranked opponents. Thursday's contest is just the third home game for the Lions this year, where they are 2-0 with an average margin of victory of 31. Four Lions average in double figures, led by Kryslyn Jones with 12.4 ppg. The Lions rank sixth in the country and lead the MIAA in free-throw shooting, hitting 79.4 percent from the stripe, while ranking second in the league and 13th nationally with a 3-point shooting percentage of 36.8 percent.