GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post
HAYS, Kan. - Olivia Hollenbeck recorded a double-double and the 16th-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team forced 25 turnovers and cruised to a 75-41 win over Bethany College 75-41 Saturday afternoon at Gross Memorial Coliseum.
It's the sixth time this season the Tigers (11-1, 5-1 MIAA) have held an opponent under 50 points this season.
Hollenbeck scored 15 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and sixth of her career. Six of her rebounds were on the offensive glass, helping the Tigers to 20 second-chance points.
The Tigers matched their season high with 42 points in the paint while outrebounding the Swedes by 18. They finished the game with a season-high 22 offensive rebounds.
Both teams were sluggish out of the gates, combining to hit 22 percent from the floor over the first eight minutes of action before Clary Donica scored seven points over the final 1:45 of the first quarter to give FHSU a 13-9 lead.
The Swedes (6-6) scored the first five points in the second quarter before Hollenbeck gave the Tigers the lead for good with a traditional 3-point play. The Lincoln, Neb. native finished the contest a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line, tied for the most single-game FT makes without a miss in her career.
Hollenbeck's bucket prompted a 12-0 Tiger run spanning the next four-plus minutes, propelling the Tigers to a 25-14 lead. The FHSU defense forced six turnovers and four missed shots during the run.
After Bethany cut within nine, Megan Earney responded with FHSU's first 3-point basket late in the second quarter, putting the Tigers back up by double figures, where the lead remained for the rest of the afternoon.
FHSU limited the Swedes to just three made baskets in each of the final two quarters, doubling them up in the third quarter, 18-9, and outscoring them by 13 in the final frame, 22-9.
Landon Forbes finished the game with a career-high seven points, including her first-career 3-pointer with less than one minute to go. Donica finished the day with 13 points in 12 minutes of action off the bench, with Katie Wagner scoring in double figures for the 11th time this season with 12 points and a team-high four steals. Brooke Loewe dished out six assists and added a career-high two blocks in the win. All 12 Tigers to see the floor scored at least one point, with seven scoring five or more points.
The Tigers will return to conference play for the rest of the season beginning Thursday (Jan. 4, 5:30 p.m.) when FHSU hosts No. 14 Central Missouri.