FHSU Athletics
HAYS, Kan. - The 7th-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team used a balanced offensive attack and stifling defense to cruise past Central Missouri in Thursday's (Dec. 5) MIAA opener, winning 74-44. The 30-point win is the second-largest margin of victory in series history.
The Tigers improved to 8-0 to start the year and 1-0 in conference play, making this the fourth-best start in team history. The Jennies dip to 7-4 overall and 0-1 in MIAA action.
Fort Hays State was firing on all cylinders, with five players scoring in double figures for the first time all season on the offensive end and the defense keeping a potent Jennie squad in check. FHSU forced 18 UCM turnovers, its highest total of the season, while limiting the Jennies to a season-low shooting percentage of 33.3 percent (17-of-51) and a season-low point total.
The Jennies took a momentary lead two minutes into the contest before FHSU rattled off 10-straight points to take the lead for good. After trailing by as many as eight, the visitors closed within two by the end of the first period, 18-16, before FHSU scored the first nine points of the second frame to pad the lead to double figures.
Talexa Weeter opened the frame with a 3-pointer and later added another basket while Brooke Loewe dropped in a pair of layups to give the Tigers a 27-16 advantage. A pair of Ellie Stearns 3-pointers helped FHSU pad the lead to 13, but the Jennies managed to close within 10 by the break, 37-27.The Tiger defense clamped down in the third quarter, forcing eight turnovers and limiting the Jennies to six points, tied for the lowest scoring quarter by an FHSU opponent this season. Fort Hays State built the lead to 19 by the end of the third stanza, 52-33.Stearns poured in two more triples in the fourth quarter while Weeter scored seven of her team-high 21 points in the frame, helping the Tigers build the lead as high as 34 before settling for a 30-point win.
Four other Tigers joined Weeter in double figures, with Olivia Hollenbeck contributing 13 points, three blocks and a career-high 14 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and the eighth of her career. Loewe and Stearns each scored 12 points, with Loewe adding five assists, two steals and one block. Katie Wagner DeGarmo totaled 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Fort Hays State dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Jennies 46-27. The Tigers turned 17 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points while UCM managed just two points following offensive rebounds.
UCM's Reese Schaaf, a transfer from Drury that was named GLVC Player of the Year last season, led all scorers with 23 points, while the rest of the Jennie squad combined for just 21 points in the contest.
UP NEXT
Fort Hays State will wrap up the first MIAA weekend of the season Saturday (Dec. 7) when the Tigers host Washburn beginning at 2 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.