FHSU Athletics
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Talexa Weeter of Fort Hays State was named the MIAA Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week for the fourth time this season on Monday, giving her over half of the Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week honors bestowed this season. She had a huge week in a pair of wins for FHSU at home over Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Western, averaging 37 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game.
In the first game back from the holiday break, the Goodland, Kansas junior scored a career-high 45 points in an 84-71 win over Northwest Missouri State on Thursday (Jan. 1), helping the Tigers comeback from a 20-point deficit in the second quarter and 11-point deficit at halftime to win the game by 13. She scored 29 of her points in the second half. Her 45-point game is tied as the high mark in NCAA Division II this season and was just the fourth 40-point game FHSU women's basketball history. She was an efficient 13-of-19 from the field, including a 2-of-3 effort beyond the 3-point line, and 17-of-20 at the free-throw line. Weeter finished just one point shy of the FHSU school record set by Petrece Faulkner in 1993 against Adams State, and matched Annette Wiles for the second-most, who had 45 against Wisconsin-Stout in the 1991 NAIA National Tournament. Along with the 45 points, she added 10 rebounds for a double-double, hit 17 free throws to break Shanell Watson's FHSU single-game record of 16 set in 2004, and added three assists and two steals in the game.
For an encore on Saturday (Jan. 3), Weeter scored 20 of her 29 points against the Griffons in the second half, helping FHSU pull away for a 31-point victory. She matched her career high for rebounds in a game with 14, producing another double-double, while adding three assists, three steals, and three blocked shots. She was a perfect 6-of-6 at the free-throw line in the game.
For the week, Weeter made 63.9 percent of her shots from the field, 55.6 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, and 88.5 percent from the free-throw line. She has scored at least 20 points in 12 of 13 games so far this season and at least 30 points five times. She has five double-doubles in points and rebounds this season. Weeter leads NCAA Division II at 28.9 points per game and field goals made with 132.