FHSU Athletics
MARYVILLE, Mo. - The third-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team improved to 12-0 with a 70-60 win over Northwest Missouri State Thursday evening inside Bearcat Arena.
The Tigers (12-0, 3-0 MIAA) rallied from a two-point deficit at halftime, just the second time FHSU has not led at the break this season. It was the Tigers' 11th double-digit victory of the year.
Fort Hays State shot a blistering 51.0 percent from the floor (26-of-51), its best shooting game against a DII team on the year.
The teams traded the lead twice in the first quarter. Kate Dilsaver got the Tigers going with a jumper before adding a 3-pointer on the next possession, propelling the visitors to a 12-6 lead. The Bearcats (7-6, 0-3 MIAA) bounced back by scoring the last seven points of the quarter, leading 13-12 after 10 minutes of action.
Fort Hays State responded early in the second quarter, scoring 13 of the first 17 points to race in front by eight, 25-17. Talexa Weeter scored five points during the run, with Olivia Hollenbeck adding a pair of baskets. Northwest Missouri State mounted another rally, however, with the Bearcats using a 13-4 run to go in front by one, 30-29.The lead changed hands two more times in the frame, with the Tigers trailing by as many as four late in the frame before a Hollenbeck bucket pulled them within 38-36 at the break.
After shooting 76.9 percent from the floor in the second quarter (10-of-13), the Tigers continued their hot shooting in the third period, knocking down 8-of-16 from the floor. FHSU also ratcheted up the defense in the third, limiting the Bearcats to eight points on 3-of-10 shooting while forcing eight turnovers in the stanza.
The momentum shifted for good midway through the frame when Dilsaver drilled back-to-back 3-pointers, helping the Tigers turn a four-point deficit into a 44-42 lead. FHSU led the rest of the way, going up by as many as 13 late in the final period.
Dilsaver, Hollenbeck and Katie DeGarmo all scored over the next two minutes, stretching the Tiger run to 12-0 and building the lead to eight, 50-42. A pair of Hollenbeck baskets in the final minute of the frame gave FHSU a 56-46 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Dilsaver knocked down her career-best fourth 3-pointer midway through the final frame, helping FHSU maintain a three-possession lead. The Tigers hit 7-of-7 from the free-throw line in the final stanza to secure the win.
Hollenbeck led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting while adding three steals and two blocks. Dilsaver contributed a season-high 16 points, one off her career high, while adding five rebounds, three steals and two assists. DeGarmo chipped in 12 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Brooke Loewe dished out six assists alongside seven points, four rebounds and two steals.
Fort Hays State created 15 Bearcat turnovers thanks to 11 steals, with the Tigers scoring 15 points off those turnovers. Both teams collected 28 rebounds in the game.
UP NEXT
The Tigers will wrap up the weekend on Saturday when the play Missouri Western beginning at 11 a.m. in St. Joseph, Mo. That game was moved up 3.5 hours due to this weekend's predicted winter storm.