FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State
at Kansas State
Exhibition
Monday, October 31, 2022 • 6:30 p.m.
Manhattan, Kan. • Bramlage Coliseum
Radio • KJLS (103.3)
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN LIVE
Before opening the 53rd season in program history early next month, the Fort Hays State women's basketball team will play in one final tune-up game Monday evening when the Tigers travel to Manhattan, Kan. for an exhibition contest against Kansas State. First tip between the Tigers and Wildcats is slated for 6:30 p.m. inside Bramlage Coliseum.
The game will be broadcast on the ESPN+/Big XII NOW streaming platform. Those with active ESPN+ subscriptions can watch the game at no additional cost, while others can sign up at a cost of $9.99 for a month-long subscription. The game is not included in subscriptions to The MIAA Network.
Live audio from voice of the Tigers Gerard Wellbrock will also be available on KJLS 103.3 FM and streaming online at hayspost.com.
The Tigers are coming off the fourth 30-win season in program history after winning both the MIAA regular season and conference tournament championships in 2021-22. The Tigers are trying to become the first team to win three consecutive regular season MIAA trophies since 2004-06 (Washburn).
Fort Hays State returns eight student-athletes from last year's squad, including two All-MIAA performers in Katie Wagner (second team) and Olivia Hollenbeck (2x honorable mention). Head coach Tony Hobson brought in six new players this season, including four transfers and two true freshmen.
The Tigers are remarkably young on paper, with all but one player entering the season with at least three seasons of eligibility remaining. This year's team includes one graduate student, 11 players with a sophomore designation and two freshmen.
While the roster looks young on paper, the Tigers bring in plenty of experience at the collegiate level. Eight of the 12 non-freshmen have played in at least two seasons of collegiate basketball, with those 12 veterans combining for 3,012 career points in 538 games played.
Hobson enters his 15th season at Fort Hays State and his 31st season as a head coach at the collegiate level in 2022-23. He is 312-109 as a Tiger and 725-215 all-time. Hobson ranks third all-time amongst MIAA head coaches with 312 wins with the program. He ranks in the top 30 in win percentage amongst all active NCAA head coaches and in the top 10 in Division II. Hobson earned the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Women's Four-Year College Coach of the Year award last season, his 19th career coach of the year award.
The Tigers finished last season ranked seventh in the final WBCA Division II Coaches poll after reaching the Central Region championship game for the third time in school history. The Tigers also topped all DII in both GPA (3.814) and attendance (2,184 fans per game). FHSU was one of two schools to rank in the top 25 in all three end-of-season ranks (Ashland - 6th academic, 9th coaches poll, 11th attendance).
This will be the seventh exhibition meeting between the Tigers and Wildcats, with all seven coming during the Hobson era. The teams last played in 2019, with K-State holding on to win 78-60 (11/1/19). Just two players remain on either roster from that contest in KSU's Ayoka Lee and Emilee Ebert. The teams were slated to play an exhibition inside Gross Memorial Coliseum to start the 2020 season before the game was canceled due to COVID protocol.
The teams played 13 times in the early years of each program between 1969 and 1976, with K-State winning 11 of those matchups. The Tigers have never won in Manhattan, going 0-4 in the regular season and 0-6 in exhibition play.
Fort Hays State last played on Halloween in 2010 in an exhibition game against Kansas. The Jayhawks came away with the victory in Lawrence, 83-62. Melissa Nelson led the team with 25 points and six rebounds.
K-State reached the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament last season, defeating Washington State 50-40 before falling to NC State 89-57. The Wildcats ranked ninth in the country last year with 170 blocks and 20th in assist/turnover ratio at 1.21. Serena Sundell ranked second in the Big 12 and 23rd nationally with 5.3 assists per game last season. She was named to the preseason All-Big 12 team this season after earning a spot on the Big 12 All-Freshman team and honorable mention All-Big 12 status a year ago. Jeff Mittie, father of former Tiger Madison Mittie, enters his ninth season with the Wildcats with a career record of 599-345 in 30 years as a head coach.
After battling the Wildcats early in the week, Fort Hays State will take a few days to prep for the regular-season opener on Saturday (Nov. 5). The Tigers will head to Kansas City, Mo. and historic Municipal Auditorium, the annual site of the MIAA Championship Tournament, for the 2022 D2CCA Tip-Off Classic. FHSU will play West Texas A&M, a national quarterfinalist from last season, on Saturday and Southern Nazarene on Sunday (Nov. 5), with both c