FHSU Athletics
#21 Fort Hays State (8-1, 3-1 MIAA)
at Newman (1-10, 0-5 MIAA)
Sunday, December 17 • 1:30 p.m.
Wichita, Kan. • Fugate Gymnasium
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: The MIAA Network CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
The 21st-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team returns to conference play Sunday afternoon when the Tigers travel to Wichita to take on the Newman Jets. First tip in the MIAA clash is slated for 1:30 p.m. inside Fugate Gymnasium.
The Tigers (8-1, 3-1 MIAA) bounced back from their first loss of the season with a 24-point win over Tabor College on Monday. It was the fourth time the Tiger defense held a team below 50 points this season, lowering FHSU's points allowed average to an MIAA-best 52.7 points per game, seventh-best in Division II. Newman (1-10, 0-5 MIAA), meanwhile, dropped its fifth-consecutive game Friday evening against Nebraska-Kearney, dipping to 1-5 at home.
The Tigers have dominated the all-time series with Newman, winning 24 of the 25 matchups. FHSU is 9-1 all-time against the Jets in Wichita, with the lone Newman win in the series coming inside Fugate Gymnasium in 2010. FHSU's 14-straight wins over the Jets is its second longest winning streak against an MIAA opponent (W16 vs Lincoln).
Fort Hays State held on to defeat Newman in a sharp-shooting affair last season in Wichita, 84-77 (2/2/23). Both teams hit better than 47 percent from the floor, better than 40 percent from behind the arc and combined to miss just three of 35 free throws. Emma Ruddle erupted for a career-high 21 points and eight assists while matching her previous best with six rebounds. Four other Tigers scored in double figures, including Katie Wagner with 16 and Olivia Hollenbeck and Sydney Golladay with 14 points each.
Hollenbeck averages 12.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in six matchups with Newman, including four games with 10 or more points and one with 20+ points. Wagner averages 11.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in six games against the Jets, including four games with at least 10 points scored. Ellis Stearns averaged 8.5 points in two matchups against the Jets last season, including a career-high 16 points in a win over Newman in Hays. Ruddle puts up 7.7 points and 2.3 assists in six career contests against Newman, including a career-high 21 points and eight assists in a road win last season. Jessie Sallach averages 7.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in six contests against the Jets, including one game with at least 10 points. Golladay averages 5.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists in six games against Newman.
Wagner (1,319 career points) needs two points to match Chris Biser (1986-90) for 11th on the all-time scoring list at Fort Hays State. On Monday the junior guard passed both Kris Osthoff (1991-95) and Belle Barbieri (2016-20) to move into ninth on the all-time rebounding list with 756 rebounds.
The Jets average 60.4 points per game while allowing 75.1 points per contest, ranking 273rd out of 291 NCAA Division II programs. Newman records 4.3 blocks per game, second-most in the MIAA and 29th-most in Division II. Carissa Beck leads the team with 9.5 points per game and ranks in the top 10 in the MIAA with 1.7 3-pointers per game.