WARRENSBURG, Mo. – After battling back from a couple of double-digit deficits, the Fort Hays State women were held scoreless over the final 2:03 and fall 76-69 to No. 24 Central Missouri Thursday night at the Multipurpose Building. The conference leading Jennies (19-4, 13-1 MIAA) closed the game on a 9-0 run, seven of them on free throws.
The Tigers (17-6, 8-6 MIAA, who have lost two straight, trailed by 11 at the end of the first quarter. They scored the first 12 points of the second quarter to go up 22-21 with 4:26 to play in the half.
Down three at halftime, FHSU quickly fell behind by 10 early in the third, but a 9-0 run closed the gap to one at 41-40. Neither team would lead by more than five the rest of the way.
Taylor Rolfs, who got into early foul trouble and only played 14 minutes, hit a layup to tie the game at 47-47 with four minutes to play. It would be the Tigers last field goal. FHSU hit a couple of free throws to go up 69-67 with 2:03 and would not score again.
The Tigers came into the game with the second fewest turnovers in the country but finished with 18.
The Tigers had their worst shooting fourth quarter of the season, hitting only three of their 14 shots and finished 36-percent for the game which included 6-for-20 from beyond the arc.
The Jennies, who had 22 turnovers, shot 45-percent from the floor and were 6-of-19 from three and 24-of-30 from the foul line.
Five players scored in double figures for the Tigers, led by Hobbs' 16 points. The junior added five assists, four rebounds and one steal. Randall tallied 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals, with Bergmann chipping in 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Mittie contributed 11 points, with Barbieri picking up 10 points and two blocks.
Morgan Flemming scored a season-high 29 to lead the Jennies. Fellow senior Megan Skaggs scored 23.