FHSU Athletics
No. 3 Fort Hays State Women's Basketball (2-2, 0-0 MIAA)
vs. No. 15 Minnesota State (1-0, 0-0 NSIC)
Friday, November 18 • 6 p.m.
Hays, Kan. • Gross Memorial Coliseum
Game Sponsor: Riverside Chiropractic
National Anthem: FHSU Pep Band
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK TO LISTEN
Promotion: Canned Food Drive - Bring a canned food item to get a $5 general admission ticket. Food will be donated to the FHSU Tiger Food Exchange.
No. 3 Fort Hays State
vs. Colorado Mesa (0-2, 0-0 RMAC)
Saturday, November 19 • 3 p.m.
Hays, Kan. • Gross Memorial Coliseum
Game Sponsor: Riverside Chiropractic
National Anthem: FHSU Pep Band
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK TO LISTEN
Promotion: Canned Food Drive - Bring a canned food item to get a $5 general admission ticket. Food will be donated to the FHSU Tiger Food Exchange.
The third-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team opens the 50th season of Gross Memorial Coliseum this weekend with a pair of non-conference contests. The Tigers will take on 15th-ranked Minnesota State on Friday (Nov. 18) at 6 p.m. before hosting former RMAC rival Colorado Mesa on Saturday (Nov. 19) at 3 p.m.
Northwest Missouri State will also be in town this weekend, taking on both sets of Mavericks in reverse order. The Bearcats will play CMU on Friday at 4 p.m. and MSU on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Fans can purchase a general admission ticket for just $5 when they bring a canned food item to donate to the FHSU Tiger Food Exchange.
Live video of all four contests will be available on The MIAA Network, presented by Tiger Media Network. Fans can purchase access to a single contest for $10, a month-long pass for $25 or a season-long, all-access pass for $125. Both the monthly and year-long passes gain access to any event in any sport streamed on The MIAA Network.
Opened in 1973, Gross Memorial Coliseum is now in its 50th year of operation. The Tigers are 547-133 all-time inside the Coliseum, good for a winning percentage of .804. The Tigers have won at least 10 home games in 34 of the last 49 seasons inside the Coliseum and have posted a losing home record only twice during that span.
Last Time Out
The No. 3 Tigers turned in their second 1-1 weekend of the year during their trip to the Courtyard Sioux Falls Tip-Off Classic last weekend (11/11-12/22). Fort Hays State led Augustana for nearly 30 minutes before the Vikings rallied in the fourth quarter to win by three, 62-59, before FHSU hit 50 percent from the floor to defeat Sioux Falls by double digits, 66-50. Olivia Hollenbeck averaged 15 points and six rebounds over the two games, including 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting against the Cougars. Whitney Brown led the team with 12 points against Augustana before scoring 10 in the win over USF.
Tiger Notables
- The Tigers have won 61 consecutive regular season, non-conference games inside Gross Memorial Coliseum (last loss - 68-74 vs Kansas Wesleyan, 11/24/2008). The Tigers are 63-2 in regular season, non-conference home games during the Hobson era.
- Fort Hays State has won its last 18 home openers, with the last loss coming at the start of the 2003-04 season (70-88 vs. Southwestern College, 11/21/2003). The Tigers are 26-4 in home openers since joining the NCAA Division II in 1992-93.
- Katie Wagner's three double-doubles are the most amongst all NCAA Division II players so far this season. She ranks third nationally with 42 rebounds on the year.
- Wagner scored 23 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds in last year's 66-61 Central Region quarterfinal win over Minnesota State.
- Olivia Hollenbeck's 21 points against Sioux Falls was one of 18 20-point performances so far across the MIAA.
- Newcomer Whitney Brown scored in double figures in both games last weekend. She is tied with Wagner with a team-high three double-digit scoring performances so far this year.
- Ellie Stearns became the 13th true freshman to start a season-opener for the Tigers during the Division II era earlier this season. She has stayed in the starting lineup all year and was joined by fellow freshman Brooke Loewe in both contests last weekend.
- Four different players have led the Tigers in scoring through four games this year, including Wagner, Stearns, Brown and Hollenbeck.
Series History
- The Tigers have two wins in three tries against Minnesota State, with both wins coming inside Gross Memorial Coliseum in the NCAA Division II Central Region Championship. The lone Maverick win came on a neutral floor in Kearney, Neb. in 2005.
- Fort Hays State holds a 14-12 lead in the all-time series with Colorado Mesa, including an 8-3 edge in games played in Hays. The teams have not played during the Hobson era, with the last matchup coming in 2006, a 73-59 road win for the Tigers (1/6/06).
The Coach
- Tony Hobson enters his 15th season at Fort Hays State and his 31st season as a head coach at the collegiate level in 2022-23.
- He is 314-111 as a Tiger and 727-217 all-time.
- Hobson ranks third all-time amongst MIAA head coaches with 314 wins at FHSU.
- He ranks in the top 30 in win percentage amongst all active NCAA head coaches and in the top 10 in Division II.
- Hobson earned the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Women's Four-Year College Coach of the Year award last season, his 19th career coach of the year award.
- He has coached four All-Americans, four Academic All-Americans, two conference players of the year and 48 All-MIAA performers over the last 14 seasons.
Scouting the (Purple) Mavericks
- Minnesota State played DIII North Central for its season opener this week, winning 110-42. As a result, the Mavericks lead all Division II in numerous categories, including assists per game, rebound margin, rebounds per game, scoring margin, scoring offense, steals per game, three-point percentage defense, turnover margin and turnovers forced per game.
- The Mavericks won the NSIC South title last year and finished third overall in the league standings. They finished the year 21-7 overall, falling to FHSU in the Central Region quarterfinals in Hays.
- MSU returns two All-NSIC selections in Joey Batt, a first team All-NSIC pick last year, and Destinee Bursch, last year's NSIC Freshman of the Year.
- Emilee Thiesse is in her 11th season at the helm at MSU. She is 170-106 with the Mavericks after leading her team to the NCAA tournament three out of the last 10 years.
Scouting the (Maroon) Mavericks
- Colorado Mesa is 0-2 so far this season after neutral site losses against No. 6 West Texas A&M and Texas Permian Basin last weekend in Rapid City, S.D.
- The Mavericks qualified for the NCAA Division II South Central Region Championships last year after finishing the year 23-7 overall and 17-5 in the RMAC, good for second in the league standings. CMU fell on the road to West Texas A&M in the regional quarterfinals, 70-64.
- Olivia Reed is hitting 78.6 percent (11-for-14) from the floor through two games, ninth-best in DII. She tallied a double-double in the loss against UTPB with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
- Monica Brooks (14.0 ppg), Olivia Reed (12.0 ppg) and Jamisyn Heaton (10.0 ppg) are all averaging in double figures so far this season.
- Taylor Wagner is in his 11th season as head coach at Colorado Mesa. He has led the Mavericks to the NCAA Tournament six out of the last 10 years, including one regional title in his first season (2012-13).