FHSU Athletics
#8 Fort Hays State Women's Basketball (7-1, 1-1 MIAA)
vs. #6 Pittsburg State (6-1, 2-0 MIAA)
Saturday, December 13, 2025 • 2 p.m.
Hays, Kan. • Gross Memorial Coliseum
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: MIAA Network: CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
Game Sponsor: Riverside Chiropractic
Halftime: FHSU tennis player and baton twirler Janae Montoya will perform a twirling routine
Promotions: Toys for Tots Stuffed Animal Toss- Bring a stuffed animal to toss at halftime of the men's game and get a $5 GA ticket. All stuffed animals will be donated to Toys for Tots!
The eighth-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball makes its home debut Saturday when the Tigers host sixth-ranked Pittsburg State in a non-conference, top-10 matchup. Opening tip is set for 2 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.
The contest is one of two Tiger basketball games on Saturday, with the men to follow against William Jewell. It is the first of 10 doubleheaders on the schedule for the 2025-26 season.
The Tigers enter the contest 7-1 overall, while the Gorillas are 6-1 so far this season.
Quick Hits
- Saturday's game is the latest home opener on record for the program. The previous latest home opener for the team was December 10, 1975 when FHSU lost to Northwestern Oklahoma State, 75-45.
- Now with 467 career assists, Brooke Loewe is 12 assists away from breaking the school's career assists record (478, Maisha Prewitt, 1997-01). The senior is third amongst active DII players and ranks 16th across all NCAA Divisions in career assists, while this year she leads all NCAA Divisions with an average of 9.9 assists per game.
- Talexa Weeter leads all Division II and ranks second across all NCAA Divisions with an average of 28.1 points per game. She's scored 23 or more points in seven of eight games this season, including three with 30-plus.
- FHSU is 10-1 coming off a loss during the Talia Kahrs era.
- The Tigers are 29-5 in home openers during the NCAA DII era (since 1991-92). FHSU has won 20 of its last 21 home openers, with the lone loss coming on a buzzer beater against Minnesota State in 2022, 65-63.
- Fort Hays State reached the 20-win plateau for the 14th-consecutive season last year. That is the longest active streak in Division II and is tied for sixth-longest across all NCAA divisions. In comparison, the next longest current streak in the MIAA is four (Missouri Western), while the next longest in DII is Drury with 12.
- FHSU is 4-4 against ranked teams during the Kahrs era.
Roster Report
- Fort Hays State's roster includes seven returners and six newcomers, including five freshmen and one transfer.
- This year's squad includes players from seven different states, including five from Kansas, three from Colorado and one each from Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina and Texas.
- There are three seniors, two juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen on the squad this year.
- The Tigers return two All-MIAA honorable mention selections in Brooke Loewe and Talexa Weeter.
Road Warriors
- Saturday's game is the first home game for the Tigers after eight straight games away from home.
- This is the latest home opener for the team on record (since at least 1973). The current latest date for the Tigers to play their first home game is December 10, 1975 when FHSU lost to Northwestern Oklahoma State, 75-45.
First Time at Home
- The Tigers are 29-5 in home openers during the NCAA DII era, including 18-straight wins from 2004 to 2021 before the Tigers lost on a buzzer beater to Minnesota State in the 2022 home opener.
20 Wins Now the Norm
- Fort Hays State has now reached the 20-win plateau in each of the last 14 seasons, extending the longest active streak of 20-win seasons in Division II. FHSU's streak is tied for the sixth-longest active streak of 20-win seasons across all NCAA Divisions.
- FHSU reached the 20-win plateau just eight times over the first 42 years of the program before the current streak began in 2011-12, including no more than two consecutive 20-win campaigns during that time.
- The next-best active streak of 20-win seasons in the MIAA is four (MWSU), while the next-best streak in DII is Drury with 12.
- Only five DI programs have longer active stretches of 20-win seasons, including UConn (32), Baylor (25), Stanford (23), Florida Gulf Coast (21) and Louisville (15). Fort Hays State's run of 14-straight 20-win seasons is tied with South Carolina and South Dakota State for sixth-best in all NCAA women's basketball.
National Rankings
- FHSU ranks third in the country with 19.0 assists per game while ranking 10th in field goal percentage (46.5 percent) and 25th in scoring offense (76.9 ppg).
- Brooke Loewe's 9.9 assists per game are the most across all NCAA Divisions. The DI lead is 9.4 assists per game, while the second-best average in DII is 7.3 (Lydia Haack, Concordia-St. Paul).
- Talexa Weeter leads Division II and would also rank first in DI with an average of 28.1 points per game. Only Alexa Charles of DIII school Hunter with 33.8 points per game averages more points per game across all NCAA Divisions.
- Loewe's 14 assists in a game, a feat she accomplished twice in five days, are the most in a game by a DII athlete this season.
- Ellie Stearns ranks second in the conference with 2.38 3-pointers made per game.
- Weeter ranks second in the MIAA in rebounds (8.8 per game) and third in the MIAA in field goal percentage (47.6 percent).
- Loewe ranks third in the MIAA with an average of 2.1 steals per game.
Fresh Start
- Olivia Mortensen is the 14th true freshman to start a season opener for the Tigers during the DII era (since 1991-92) and the first since Ellie Stearns in 2022.
MIAA Athlete of the Week x 2
- Talexa Weeter earned two of the first three MIAA Athlete of the Week awards this season.
- The junior averaged 32.5 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 60.5 percent from the floor in the first two games of the season.
- The Goodland, Kan. native then averaged 33.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in the two wins in Denver last week.
Last Time Out
- The No. 3 Tigers dropped their first game of the season, losing to Washburn 67-64.
- FHSU had a shot at the end of the game to tie the score, but Brooke Loewe's 3-point attempt was off the mark.
- Both teams held 11 point leads at some point in the game.
- FHSU scored 18 in a row in the first quarter.
- Talexa Weeter led all scorers with 28 points, while Brooke Loewe recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.
Scouting the Gorillas
- Pittsburg State is 6-1 on the year, including a 2-0 start to conference play.
- The Gorillas' lone loss came against eighth-ranked Texas Woman's.
- PSU is one of the best teams in the country at getting to the foul line, attempting the fourth-most free throws with an average of 28.3 per game. They are third in DII with an average of 21 made free throws per contest.
- The Gorillas lead the MIAA with an average of 44.0 rebounds per game.
- Kaycee McCumber leads the conference and ranks 20th in DII with an average of 10.9 rebounds per game.
- While just two Gorillas are averaging in double figures, six different players score at least seven points per night.
Series History with Pittsburg State
- Fort Hays State holds a 37-31 lead in the all-time series with PSU, including a 22-11 lead in games played in Hays.
- The Tigers have won three of the five meetings during the Talia Kahrs era, including all three regular season contests.
- FHSU has won two in a row at home against the Gorillas, while PSU holds a one game winning streak in the series overall.
- The Tigers lead 3-2 in overtime matchups, with the teams last going to overtime in 2012.
Last Meeting with the Gorillas
- The No. 8 Gorillas defeated the ninth-ranked Tigers in the MIAA Championship game for a second year in a row last March, winning 81-73.
- FHSU spotted the Gorillas a 9-0 lead over the first two minutes before outscoring PSU by one over the final 38 minutes.
- The Gorillas led by 24 early in the fourth quarter before FHSU closed within six in the final minute.
- Talexa Weeter and Olivia Hollenbeck scored 17 points each.
- The Tigers shot 39 percent from the floor.
Career Stats vs. Pittsburg State
- Talexa Weeter - 14.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 0.5 apg in 2 games, 2 games with 10+ points
- Brooke Loewe - 6.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.6 apg in 7 games, 1 double-double, 2 games with 10+ points, 1 game with 10+ assists
- Ellie Stearns - 4.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.0 apg in 7 games, 1 game with 10+ points