HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State women raced out to an early lead but could never put Northeastern State away, defeating the RiverHawks 67-58 in front of 3,045 on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at Gross Coliseum. The win gave the Tigers 20-wins for a ninth-consecutive season, the longest streak in program history and the longest active streak in the MIAA.
The Tigers (20-6, 11-6 MIAA) never trailed, racing out to a 17-3 lead in the first five and-a-half minutes and led by 16 with eight minutes to play in the second quarter.
The Riverhawks (5-20, 3-15 MIAA) closed the gap to 11 at halftime and got as close as seven with three minutes to play in the fourth quarter but the Tigers scored the final four points to hand NSU their seventh straight loss and 13th in the last 14 games.
After hitting 6-of-11 shots in the first quarter, the Tigers made only 14-of41 the rest of the way and were only 3-of-17 from beyond the arc and 24-of-37 from the foul line.
Jaden Hobbs led three Tigers in double-figures with 14 points but had six turnovers and only one assist. Kacey Kennett scored 12 despite going 1-for-5 from beyond the arc. Whitney Randall came off the bench to add 11.
It was the final home game for the senior class of Belle Barbieri, Kyleigh Kasper, Kacey Kennett, Lanie Page and Taylor Rolfs, a group who joined last year’s senior class as the only to win 100 or more games in their career.
Fort Hays State wraps up the regular season with road games at Central Oklahoma Thursday and Newman Saturday afternoon.