By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post
KEARNEY, Neb. - In a game that saw nine ties and 18 lead changes, the 20th-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team came away with a 70-68 win over Nebraska-Kearney Saturday afternoon at the Health and Sports Center.
Brooke Loewe hit two free throws with 22 seconds to play to give the Tigers (14-3, 8-3 MIAA) a one-point lead. Fort Hays State then got a defensive stop to secure the win. UNK (12-5, 6-5 MIAA) lost at home for only the second time this season and has lost three-straight overall.
FHSU's biggest lead was four midway through the first quarter. The Lopers led by eight with 7:13 to play in the second quarter but the Tigers were able to close the gap to three at halftime.
Sydney Golladay hit a 3-pointer to open the third quarter to tie the game at 39-39. It was the first of seven ties in the second half. Nebraska-Kearney scored five-straight points midway through the quarter before Megan Earney scored five-straight to tie the game at 48-48. Neither team would lead by more than one possession the rest of the way.
Fort Hays State limited UNK to 5-of-13 shooting in the fourth quarter after the7 Lopers hit 48.9 percent (23-of-47) over the first three stanzas. Jessie Sallach helped the Tigers close within 59-58 with a stick-back layup early in the frame before Ruddle gave the Tigers the lead with a driving layup.
The Lopers answered two minutes later to go back on top before Hollenbeck dropped in a stick-back layup to put the Tigers up with 3:58 to play, 62-63. The teams again traded buckets, with UNK hitting a jumper and Katie Wagner following with a driving layup.
Nebraska-Kearney again took the lead with two minutes to go before Hollenbeck put the Tigers up by two with a traditional 3-point play, 67-65. The Lopers responded with a 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring, giving the home team a 68-67 lead with 69 seconds to play.
Fort Hays State got a stop on defense after a turnover before Loewe drew a foul with 22 seconds to go. The sophomore was perfect on both free throws, putting the Tigers up by one, 69-68.
With two fouls to give before the bonus, the Tigers forced the Lopers to run the clock down inside 10 seconds without taking a shot. UNK finally got a look with four seconds left, but a baseline runner bounced off the front of the rim and into the hands of Golladay. The point guard was then fouled with 0.8 seconds to go. The Fremont, Neb. native hit the first free throw to put the Tigers up two before intentionally missing the second, forcing the Lopers to attempt a full-court heave that missed.
The Tigers had four players score in double figures for a second game in a row and for the fifth time this season. Hollenbeck led the way with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. Golladay scored 12 points thanks to a trio of 3-pointers, while Wagner added 11 points and Earney scored 10. Golladay, Wagner and Loewe all distributed three assists each, while Wagner led the way with four steals.
Fort Hays State turned the ball over just eight times while creating 14 Loper turnovers thanks to 10 steals. The Tigers hit eight 3-pointers in the win, reaching that mark for the fourth-consecutive game.
The Tigers will play seven of their final 11 games at home starting Thursday when FHSU hosts Washburn beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.
FHSU Sports Information contributed to this story