FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State (24-6)
vs. Pittsburg State (23-7)
Sunday, March 10, 2024 • 1 p.m.
Kansas City, Mo. • Municipal Auditorium
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: The MIAA Network CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
The Fort Hays State women's basketball team will play in the title game of the 2024 MIAA Basketball Championship, presented by Southern Bank, Sunday when the Tigers take on Pittsburg State beginning at 1 p.m. inside historic Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo. The third-seeded Tigers (24-6) are playing in their sixth title game and are in search of their third conference tournament trophy, while the fifth-seeded Gorillas (23-7) are 0-2 in MIAA championship games.
Fort Hays State beat Pittsburg State twice in the regular season, holding the Gorillas to their two lowest-scoring games of the season. FHSU limited the MIAA's top-scoring offense to 49 points in Hays and 53 points in Pittsburg. The next-lowest scoring game for the Gorillas this season was 59 points.
The Tigers secured their spot in the title game with a 56-49 win over Northwest Missouri State on Saturday, while Pittsburg State recorded a convincing 75-55 win over regular season champion Missouri Western.
FHSU reached 20 wins for a 13th-consecutive season this year, extending the longest active streak in DII to 13 (since 2011-12). It's tied for the seventh-longest across all NCAA Divisions. The next-best streak in DII is 11 (Drury), while the next-best streak in the MIAA is three (MWSU, MSSU).
Katie Wagner has scored 148 points in 10 career games in the MIAA Championship tournament, 10th-most in a career in tournament history. She is just 24 points away from tying for third on the list (Full list page 5).Wagner moved into fourth on the all-time scoring list at FHSU, now with 1,673 career points. With 934 career rebounds, she is 26 boards away from tying for second all-time at FHSU. Her 179 career steals are tied for 10th-most in program history.
Olivia Hollenbeck blocked two shots on Saturday, giving the Lincoln, Neb. native 166 career blocks, tied for second most in school history. She now sits in 11th all-time at FHSU in scoring with 1,369 points, 27 behind Whitney Randall for 10th.
Sydney Golladay has 348 assists in her career, seventh-most in team history.
Jessie Sallach hit a career-high four 3-pointers Saturday against NWMSU. After hitting one 3-pointer in seven of her first 117 games as a Tiger, the forward has now buried multiple triples in each of the last three games.
The Tigers are playing in their fifth title game over the last seven years, two more than any other school during that span.
Fort Hays State has won eight of its last 10 games in the MIAA Championship tournament.
Wagner averages 16.0 points per game in six matchups against Pittsburg State, scoring in double figures five times, scoring 20 or more twice and scoring 30 once. Hollenbeck averages 13.3 points per game in six games against the Gorillas, including an average of 17.5 ppg in the two meetings this year.
Fort Hays State is 22-12 all-time in the MIAA tournament, 17-11 in Municipal Auditorium, 2-1 against Pittsburg State, 2-3 in the championship game, 5-2 as the No. 3 seed and 1-0 against the No. 5 seed.
Fort Hays State leads the all-time series, 36-29. The Tigers are 2-1 against the Gorillas on a neutral floor. FHSU is 2-1 against Pittsburg State in the MIAA Tournament. The Tigers are on a two-game winning streak after sweeping the season series.
After finishing the season with two losses in their final two games, the Gorillas are playing in their third MIAA title game thanks to wins over Missouri Southern (73-65) in the quarterfinals and No. 18 Missouri Western (75-55) in the semifinals. The Gorillas are 0-2 all-time in the championship game and are 14-32 all-time in the tournament. This is their 33rd trip to the MIAA Championship tournament. Pittsburg State leads the MIAA in offense, averaging 76.8 points per game. They are second in field-goal percentage, hitting .488 from the floor.
The Gorillas turn the ball over more than any team in the league, averaging 14.2 turnovers per contest. They also rank last in the league with a -3.47 turnover margin and second-to-last with an assist/turnover ratio of 0.96. Karenna Gerber (16.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.8 bpg) and Grace Pyle (15.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.8 apg) were both first team All-MIAA selections, with Harper Schreiner (7.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.6 spg) garnering honorable mention accolades.