FHSU Athletics
#23/#22 Fort Hays State Women's Basketball at
2024 Central Region Showcase
St. Joseph, Mo. • Civic Arena
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: MIAA Network: CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
vs. Augustana
Friday, November 8 • 12:30 p.m.
vs. MSU Moorhead
Saturday, November 9 • 12:30 p.m.
The #23/#22 Fort Hays State women's basketball team opens the 2024-25 season this weekend with a pair of regional matchups at the Central Region Showcase inside the Civic Arena in St. Joseph, Mo. The Tigers will first battle Augustana on Friday before taking on MSU Moorhead on Saturday (Nov. 9). Both contests will begin at 12:30 p.m.
Daily tickets are available in advance online or at the door at a cost of $10 for adults or $5 for youth k-12, college students and seniors. Children five and under are admitted for free.
Live video will be available on a pay-per-view basis on The MIAA Network. Fans with an all-access pass ($140) or a monthly subscription ($30) will already have access to the games. Additional purchase options include $15 for a single day, which is good for all four games in the Showcase on a single day, or $25 for a weekend pass that is good for all eight games.
Radio coverage will be available for both games on KJLS 103.3 FM and online here, while live stats will be available online here.
2024 Central Region Showcase Schedule
Friday, November 8
12:30 p.m. - #23 Fort Hays State vs. Augustana
2:45 p.m. - Northwest Missouri State vs. MSU Moorhead
5:15 p.m. - Emporia State vs. #1 Minnesota State
7:30 p.m. - Missouri Western vs. Sioux Falls
Saturday, November 9
12:30 p.m. - #23 Fort Hays State vs. MSU Moorhead
2:45 p.m. - Northwest Missouri State vs. #1 Minnesota State
5:15 p.m. - Emporia State vs. Sioux Falls
7:30 p.m. - Missouri Western vs. Augustana
This is the fifth time the Tigers have opened the regular season in St. Joseph, Mo. over the last nine years. The Tigers are 14-9 in St. Joe during the DII era (since 1991-92), including an 8-0 mark in neutral site matchups. The Tigers are 4-0 inside the St. Joseph Civic Arena, defeating Minot State and Minnesota State to start the 2023 season and beating Minnesota Duluth and Concordia-St. Paul to open the 2019 campaign. FHSU is 2-1 in St. Joseph during the Talia Kahrs era.
Fort Hays State enters its 56th season of women's basketball with 982 wins in program history. The Tigers need 18 victories to reach 1,000 wins all-time.
The Tigers return nine players from last year's squad that went 25-8, finished second in the MIAA regular season, reached the MIAA Tournament championship game and advanced to the Central Region semifinals in 2023-24. FHSU brings back 68.4 percent of their scoring offense from last season, 73.7 percent of their rebounding and 61.7 percent of their assists.
Seven players on this year's roster are entering at least their third year in the program. Katie Wagner DeGarmo and Olivia Hollenbeck are in their fifth year on the team, while Kate Dilsaver and Megan Earney are starting their fourth years as Tigers. Sasha Koenig, Ellie Stearns and Brooke Loewe are all beginning their third season in Hays.
Second-year head coach Talia Kahrs added four players to the roster this year, including two transfers and two freshmen. Transfers include Bailey Wilborn (Wichita, Kan.), a senior that spent time at Maine and Wyoming, and Sarah Lawless (Shawnee, Kan.), a junior transfer from Cloud County CC. True freshmen on this year's team include Callie Ott (Omaha, Neb.) and Maddy Powell (Wake Forest, N.C.).
Fort Hays State reached 20 wins for a 13th-consecutive season last year, extending the longest active streak of 20-win seasons in Division II. It is tied for the sixth-longest active streak of 20-win seasons across all NCAA Divisions. The next-best active streak of 20-win seasons in the MIAA is three (MWSU, MSSU), while the next-best streak in DII is Drury with 11. Only five DI programs have longer active stretches of 20-win seasons, including UConn (31), Baylor (24), Stanford (23), Florida Gulf Coast (20) and Louisville (14).
The Tigers are ranked 23rd in the WBCA DII Coaches Poll and 22nd in the D2CSC National Media Poll to begin the 2024-25 season. It is the sixth time in school history that the Tigers have been ranked in each preseason poll. It is also the sixth time FHSU has been ranked 23rd in the coaches poll and the first since November 2022. FHSU is 3-4 when ranked 23rd and 157-43 all-time when ranked.
Fort Hays State tops this year's MIAA Preseason Media Poll, while the Tigers are second in the Coaches Poll. The Tigers have been no lower than fifth in each of the last 13 preseason coaches polls, including four appearances at No. 2 and a pair of picks to win the league.
The Tigers played in one official exhibition game during the preseason, traveling to Storrs, Conn. to take on the UConn Huskies. FHSU gave the second-ranked team in Division I all it could handle in the first quarter, trailing 15-11 after 10 minutes, before ultimately falling by a final score of 89-49. Eleven different Tigers scored in the game, including nine points, four rebounds, three blocks, three steals and one assist from Olivia Hollenbeck. FHSU hit seven 3-pointers, including two from Ellie Stearns and one each from Megan Earney, Bailey Wilborn, Talexa Weeter, Maddy Powell and Sasha Koenig. Paige Bueckers scored 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting while adding nine rebounds.
Katie Wagner DeGarmo became the sixth player in team history to earn All-America status last season, receiving honorable mention status from the WBCA. The Maize, Kan. native enters her fifth year at FHSU with 1,732 career points, fourth-most in school history. She is third on the DII active points list. DeGarmo also ranks second in team history with 965 career rebounds.
Olivia Hollenbeck became the fourth player in team history to earn all-conference honors in four consecutive seasons last year, picking up third team All-MIAA honors. She is 10th in team history with 1,402 points while ranking second with 169 career blocks.
Ellie Stearns has started 42 games over the last two seasons, contributing 4.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game during that span.
Kate Dilsaver scored a career-high 17 points in her most recent outing, doing so on 6-of-11 shooting in the Central Region semifinal matchup against Minnesota State. The Lincoln, Neb. native enters her senior season with 397 career points, 237 career rebounds and exactly 100 career steals.
Megan Earney heads into her senior season with 93 career 3-pointers made, including 30 last season. She needs seven more to reach 100 career 3-point makes.
Brooke Loewe is FHSU's top returning assister from a year ago, dishing out 91 dimes for an average of 2.8 per game in 2023-24. The Huxley, Iowa native has totaled 155 assists across 61 games over her first two seasons in a Tiger uniform.
Fort Hays State has had success against teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in the past, accumulating an all-time record of 47-19 against current NSIC programs.
The Tigers are 0-2 all-time against Augustana, losing to the Vikings in 1991 and 2022. Both of those matchups were also at a neutral site. FHSU led for nearly 30 minutes before Augie rallied for a 62-59 win two years ago (11/11/22).Fort Hays State won its only matchup with MSU Moorhead, eliminating the Dragons from the 2019 NCAA Division II Central Region Championships in the semifinals (3/16/19). The Tigers won 71-60 on their home floor to advance to the regional title game.
Augustana was picked 11th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll after turning in a record of 7-20 last season. Nate Vogel is in his first year as head coach at Augustana after earning a career record of 137-66 in seven years as a head coach, including a 79-57 mark in five years at Texas A&M International. The Vikings return just five players from last year's roster while adding 11 new players, including nine transfers and two freshmen. Missouri Southern transfer Hannah Burg was named a NSIC Preseason Player to Watch.
MSU Moorhead is ranked sixth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll after posting a record of 13-16 a year ago. Natalie Jens was a first team All-NSIC pick last year, averaging 14.7 points, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Head coach Karla Nelson is beginning her 25th season at MSUM with a lifetime record of 412-257.