FHSU Athletics
No. 15 Fort Hays State (12-3, 6-3 MIAA)
at No. 20 Pittsburg State (12-2, 6-2 MIAA)
Saturday, January 13 • 1:30 p.m.
Pittsburg, Kan. • John Lance Arena
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: The MIAA Network CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
The No. 15 Fort Hays State women's basketball team heads to Pittsburg, Kan. Saturday afternoon for a top-25 battle against No. 20 Pittsburg State. First tip between the Tigers (12-3, 6-3 MIAA) and Pittsburg State (12-2, 6-2 MIAA) is slated for 1:30 p.m.
The Tigers sit one-half game behind first-place Pittsburg State in the log-jammed MIAA standings, where just one game separates first place and ninth place.
The Fort Hays State defense continues to lead the conference in points allowed, ranking ninth nationally with just 54.5 points per game against. Katie Wagner is fifth in the league with a team-best 17.2 points per game, while Sydney Golladay (45 assists) and Brooke Loewe (44 assists) are both in the top nine in the conference in total assists.
Wagner has thrived against the Gorillas in her career, scoring at least 12 points in each game and nearly averaging 20 per contest. She averages 19.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest against PSU, including her first 30-point outing as a Tiger when she scored 30 points last season in Pittsburg. Olivia Hollenbeck averages 11.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in four games against the Gorillas. She's scored in double figures twice, including one game with 20 points.
Fort Hays State is 34-29 all-time against Pittsburg State, while the Gorillas lead 17-12 in games played in Pittsburg. The Gorillas swept the season series last year, ending a nine-game Tiger winning streak in the series that stretched back to 2017 and was the longest winning streak for either team in series history. The Tigers are 2-9 in Pittsburg since 2010.
Pittsburg State is tied for first in the MIAA with an overall record of 12-2 and a conference mark of 6-2. The Gorillas lead the league and rank sixth in the country with a field-goal percentage of 47.4 while ranking eighth in the country with an average of 78.9 points per game, the most in the MIAA. Grace Pyle is second in the conference and 26th in the country with an average of 18.8 points per game while also ranking first in the league and ninth in DII with just over three 3-pointers per game.