FHSU Athletics
2024 Big Island Holiday Classic
#5/#4 Fort Hays State (9-0, 2-0 MIAA)
vs. Truman State (5-6, 2-1 GLVC)
Thursday, December 19 • 8 p.m. (4 p.m. HT)
Hilo, Hawaii • Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium
vs. Quincy (6-4, 1-2 GLVC)
Friday, December 20 • 10 p.m. (6 p.m. HT)
Hilo, Hawaii • Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium
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The fifth-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team will wrap up non-conference play this week with two games at the 2024 Big Island Holiday Classic in Hilo, Hawaii. The Tigers will first match up with former MIAA rival Truman State at 8 p.m. Central (4 p.m. HT) on Thursday before facing off with Quincy on Friday beginning at 10 p.m. Central (6 p.m. HT).
The Tigers are 9-0 to start the season, making FHSU one of 12 remaining undefeated teams in Division II. One more win would give FHSU 10-straight wins to start a season for the fourth time in program history, while it would also be the 15th 10-game winning streak in team history.
Friday's matchup features two of the top rebounding teams in the country, with FHSU ranked 10th in Division II with 44.9 rebounds per night and Quincy close behind in 14th with an average of 44.5 rebounds per contest.
The Tigers also rank in the top 10 nationally in several other categories, including third in field goal percentage defense (31.0 percent), third in defensive rebounds per game (32.4), sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.34), seventh in scoring margin (+24.4), eighth in assists per night (18.6) and ninth in fouls per game (13.2).
Katie DeGarmo scored in double figures again in FHSU's most recent win, a 30-point blowout against Washburn two weeks ago (83-53, 1/7/24). The graduate student now needs one more double-digit performance to reach 100-such outings in her FHSU career.
DeGarmo and Olivia Hollenbeck are tied for the team lead with eight double-digit scoring performances this season, while Talexa Weeter is close behind after scoring 10 or more in each of the last seven contests.
Hollenbeck ranks fifth in the nation among qualified players with a shooting percentage of 67.0 percent, second-best in the MIAA. She leads the conference with an average of 3.2 steals per night, ranking 18th in the country. The forward from Lincoln, Neb. has performed well in neutral site matchups this season, averaging 24.0 points across a pair of neutral-site wins.
Brooke Koewe continues to lead the conference in assists, averaging 5.9 per contest to rank inside the top 10 in all Division II.
While this is the women's basketball team's first trip to Hawaii in program history, they are not the first FHSU program to venture to the Aloha State. The volleyball team played in the 2013 Hawaii Invitational, while the men's basketball team made trips to Hawaii in January 1985 and in November 1978. The Tigers went 2-0 at the 1985 Brother Aiu Classic with wins over Alaska-Anchorage and Chaminade while going 1-2 with a win over BYU-Hawaii and two losses against Chaminade in 1978.
However, the women's basketball team does have some experience playing on a tropical island. FHSU traveled to Nassau, Bahamas to play in the Great Goombay Shootout in January 1988, where they defeated Marvyille 82-45 and lost to Washburn 58-56.
The Tigers are 57-17 against current GLVC programs, however the Tigers are just 3-0 when playing a team while they are a part of the GLVC at the time of the game. All three games against at-the-time GLVC members were against Rockhurst, with the most recent coming in a 34-point home win in December 2018 (89-55, 12/17/18).
The Tigers are 7-7 all-time against the Bulldogs, including a 7-6 lead in MIAA matchups while the teams were in the same conference between 2006 and 2013. Truman State won the lone neutral site meeting, defeating the Tigers 86-73 in Topeka, Kan. early in the 1998-99 season (11/27/98). The Bulldogs hold a one-game winning streak in the series, winning the most recent matchup in double overtime nearly 12 years ago (57-55, 1/26/13).
While no current Tigers have any experience playing Truman State, there are two individuals on the bench that have laced up the sneakers against TSU. Head coach Talia Kahrs (then Miller) knocked down a 3-pointer in three of her four career matchups against Truman State in 2010 and 2011, while assistant coach Paige Lunsford played one game against the Bulldogs as a true freshman in 2013 and recorded two points, three rebounds and one steal.
Truman State is 5-6 overall and 2-1 in GLVC play so far this season. The Bulldogs have played three MIAA schools this season, going 1-2 with a win over Newman and losses against Arkansas-Fort Smith and Washburn. Jordan Cunningham leads the GLVC and ranks 22nd nationally with 191 points so far this season, averaging a team-high 17.4 points per contest. The Bulldogs are attempting more than 24 3-pointers per game, second-most in the GLVC.
Quincy enters the weekend 6-4 overall and 1-2 in GLVC action. The Hawks won their only other matchup against an MIAA program this season, beating Washburn 70-67 at home. Quincy averages 44.5 rebounds per game, 14th-most in Division II. Their rebound margin of +12.7 is eighth-best in the country. Cymirah Williams collects a team-best 9.2 rebounds per night, second-most in the GLVC. Nicole McDermott, an NAIA All-American graduate transfer, leads the Hawks with an average of 17.2 points per night.
This is the first-ever matchup between Fort Hays State and Quincy in women's basketball.
Looking ahead, FHSU will jump back into conference play after the new year when they travel to Maryville, Mo. to take on Northwest Missouri State on Thursday, January 2 beginning at 5:30 p.m.