FHSU Athletics
PITTSBURG, Kan. – A fast start by Southwest Minnesota State in the NCAA Central Regional Semifinals on Saturday ultimately was too much for Fort Hays State to overcome. The No. 11 ranked Tigers fell to the No. 18 ranked Mustangs by a score of 77-65, seeing their season end with a record of 28-5. The Mustangs moved on to Monday's regional championship game with a record of 28-4.
The Mustangs raced out to an 11-2 lead just over three minutes into the game and the Tigers were left trying to play catch up all night. The 3-point shot was a huge factor for Southwest Minnesota's success as they were 6-of-12 beyond the arc in the first half. The Tigers found themselves in an 11-point hole twice in the first quarter before trimming the lead to eight by the end of the first frame. FHSU had the margin down to four about midway through the second quarter, but SMSU took its lead back to 10 points by halftime.
An 11-3 run by the Tigers for about a four-minute stretch in the third quarter all of the sudden had the Mustang lead down to just two. The Tigers trimmed the lead to two twice more, but could never get over the hump as the Mustangs went into the fourth quarter with a 56-52 lead.
The Tigers went scoreless for about the first four and a half minutes of the fourth quarter and saw the Mustangs open the quarter on a 9-0 run to get the lead out to 13. Eventually they led by 14 before the final margin was 12.Three-point shooting was a big struggle for the Tigers, going just 2-of-16 beyond the arc. Both makes were by Talexa Weeter, who had 21 points and seven rebounds. FHSU had 60 of its 65 points from its top three scorers on the season, while the rest of the squad was held to just five points.
The result closed the careers of two of the most decorated players in FHSU program history. Katie DeGarmo finished with a team-best 22 points and nine rebounds, while Olivia Hollenbeck added 17 points and six rebounds. DeGarmo finished her career with 2,299 points, 1,248 rebounds, 408 assists, and 236 steals. She is the all-time leader in rebounds and second-leading scorer. Hollenbeck moved to third on the career scoring list in the game and finished with 1,933 points, 753 rebounds, 223 blocks, and 204 steals. She passed Kate Lehman on the scoring list and joined DeGarmo as one of the top three scorers in program hist
Bri Stoltzman, the NSIC Player of the Year, led the Mustangs with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Audrey Swanson also had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds. Natalie Nielsen also reached double figures in scoring with 11.
A full detailed box score will be available as soon as technical difficulties with stat software are resolved.