FHSU Athletics
No. 20 Fort Hays State (13-3, 7-3 MIAA)
at Nebraska-Kearney (12-4, 6-4 MIAA)
Saturday, January 20 • 2 p.m.
Kearney, Neb. • Health & Sports Center
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: The MIAA Network CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
The No. 20 Fort Hays State women's basketball team wraps up a three-game road trip Saturday afternoon with a battle against rival Nebraska-Kearney. First tip between the Tigers (13-3, 7-3 MIAA) and Lopers (12-4, 6-4 MIAA) is set for 2 p.m. in Kearney, Neb.
Saturday's contest serves as the halfway point in the 22-game MIAA schedule for both the Tigers and Lopers. Fort Hays State sits in second in the conference standings, one game out of first place at this point in the season, while the Lopers are tied for fifth and two games back of league-leading Missouri Southern.
The Tigers are the only MIAA school without back-to-back losses this season after moving to 3-0 when coming off a loss with a 68-53 road win over No. 20 Pittsburg State on Saturday.
Olivia Hollenbeck has had some of her best games of the season since returning from the holiday break, with the junior post player averaging 14.4 points, a team-high 7.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in the five games since the break. Her 26 blocks on the year are third-most in the MIAA and good for 35th in the country.
Katie Wagner averages 10.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in eight career matchups with UNK, including six games with 10 or more points. Hollenbeck scores 8.3 points per game in eight games against the Lopers, scoring in double figures three times. Kate Dilsaver and Clary Donica have both scored in double figures once against UNK.
The Tigers have played Nebraska-Kearney more than any other school, with Saturday's meeting serving as the 103rd all-time matchup. Fort Hays State leads the all-time series, 60-42, while the Lopers hold a slim 25-24 lead in games played in Kearney. The teams have alternated two-game winning streaks each of the last 10 matchups, with UNK winning both games last season.
The Lopers started the season 12-2 before dropping both games last week at Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State. UNK is 7-1 at home this year, with the lone loss coming against Northwest Missouri State. The Lopers outrebound their opponents by an average of 11.1 boards per night, the best margin in the MIAA and sixth-best in Division II. They rank third in the league and 20th in the country with a field goal percentage of 45.2 percent. Jillian Aschoff leads the conference and is fourth in the nation with an average of 6.3 assists per game. She also leads the MIAA with 2.4 steals per contest. Three Lopers average in double figures in scoring, led by Shiloh McCool's 12.7 ppg.