FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State Women's Basketball (15-7, 10-4 MIAA)
vs. Northwest Missouri State (10-9, 5-8 MIAA)
Saturday, January 28, 2023 • 2 p.m.
Hays, Kan. • Gross Memorial Coliseum
Radio: KJLS (103.3)
Game Sponsor: American Family Insurance - The Brian Ruder Agency
National Anthem: Fort Hays Singers
Halftime: Jackie Creamer's The Dance Studio
The Fort Hays State women's basketball team looks to extend its winning streak over Northwest Missouri State to nine games Saturday (Jan. 28) when the Tigers host the Bearcats beginning at 2 p.m. Both teams are coming off tough one-point losses on Thursday, with FHSU entering the game at 15-7 overall and 10-4 in MIAA play and the Bearcats coming in at 10-9 on the year and 5-8 in league action.
The Bearcats are no stranger to the floor inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. Northwest traveled to Hays earlier this season for a four-team regional classic, defeating Colorado Mesa before falling to No. 15 Minnesota State in November.
Live video of the conference clash 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.
Live radio coverage with voice of the Tigers Gerard Wellbrock will be available over the air on KJLS 103.3 FM and online at hayspost.com.
Tiger Notables
- Fort Hays State has more conference wins over Northwest Missouri State (19) than any other school since the Tigers joined the MIAA in the 2006-07 season.
- Fort Hays State has won 11 in a row at home against the Bearcats, with the last NWMSU victory in the Coliseum coming in the first-ever MIAA meeting between the two schools in December 2006 (12/30/06, 62-70).
- Olivia Hollenbeck has done her fair share of damage against the Bearcats, with the Lincoln, Neb. native averaging 16.4 points per game in five career matchups against NWMSU. She has scored in double figures in all five of those matchups, including 17 points earlier this season and a career-high 25 points in a road win last year.
- Hollenbeck needs four blocks to climb into a tie for sixth at FHSU with 121 (Jamie Heiman, 1999-03). She is nine blocks behind Tatyana Legette (2015-19), who ranks fifth all-time with 126 blocks.
- With 974 points in 80 games over the last three seasons, Katie Wagner is 26 points shy of becoming the 24th 1,000-point scorer at FHSU.
- The Tigers are in pursuit of their 12th-consecutive 20-win season. Their current streak of 11 such seasons is the longest active streak in Division II.
- Fort Hays State has won 225 games since the start of the 2014-15 season, by far the most of any MIAA team (UCM - 196 wins).
- The Tigers are 214-116 (.648) in conference games since joining the MIAA in 2006.
- The Tigers have a chance to win the league for a third-consecutive year, a feat not accomplished in more than 15 years (Washburn 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06).
Home Cooking
- This is the 50th season of basketball inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.
- The women are 555-137 at home over the last 50 seasons, good for a winning percentage better than 80 percent.
- The Tigers have won at least 10 home games in 34 of the last 49 seasons inside the Coliseum, including each of the last 12 seasons and 13 of 14 during the Tony Hobson era.
- FHSU has only two losing records at home during the GMC era.
- The Tigers are 156-17 at home since the start of the 2012-13 season (.902).
- FHSU is 197-34 (.853) at home under Hobson, including a 121-27 record in conference games and a 76-7 mark in non-conference games.
- The Tigers have never lost more than five home games in a season during the Hobson era.
Last Time Out
- The Tigers came away on the losing end of a wild, back-and-forth, double-overtime affair Thursday (1/26) evening, falling to Missouri Western 82-81.
- The Tigers appeared to clinch victory from the claws of defeat when Sydney Golladay dropped in a coast-to-coast layup with 4.8 seconds to go, but a Griffon layup with two ticks on the clock gave the Griffons their second-consecutive one-point win over the Tigers inside the Coliseum.
- Five Tigers scored in double figures, led by Katie Wagner's second-consecutive double-double (20p, career-high 17r).
Series History with Northwest Missouri State
- Fort Hays State holds a 20-10 lead in the all-time series against Northwest Missouri State
- The series has been all Tigers of late, with FHSU winning eight in a row and 16 of 17 dating back to 2011.
- FHSU is 11-2 at home against the Bearcats, including 11-straight home victories for the Tigers.
- The Tigers are 18-4 against NWMSU during the Hobson era, including a perfect 10-0 record inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.
On This Day
- The Tigers are 10-4 in recorded history on January 28.
- Most recently, Fort Hays State defeated Nebraska-Kearney on the road in 2021, 61-49.
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 327-116 as a Tiger and 740-222 all-time.
- Hobson ranks third all-time amongst MIAA head coaches with 327 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 Bearcats
- The Bearcats have lost two of their last three games by a combined two points, falling to No. 5 Central Missouri and No. 13 Nebraska-Kearney by just one point over the last week.
- NWMSU ranks 13th in the country with an average of 12.8 turnovers per game.
- Molly Hartnett leads the MIAA and ranks sixth nationally amongst ranked players with a free-throw percentage of 90.9 percent.
- Kelsey Fields collects a league-high 9.1 rebounds per game.
Looking Ahead
The Tigers return to the road for five of their final seven contests when FHSU travels to Wichita, Kan. to take on Newman on Thursday, February 2 beginning at 5:30 p.m.