FHSU Athletics
HAYS, Kan. - The fifth-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team led wire-to-wire in a 78-65 win over Central Oklahoma Saturday afternoon. The Tigers (18-1, 9-1 MIAA) buried 10 3-pointers in the win, matching the team high for the season.
While the weather was quite cold outside, the Tigers were white hot in the first half. FHSU knocked down 58.1 percent (18-of-31) from the floor over the first 20 minutes, including an impressive 10-of-12 in the second quarter.
Talexa Weeter poured in a pair of 3-pointers in the opening frame, helping the junior lead the Bronchos (7-12, 2-8 MIAA) on her own, 11-10, and giving the Tigers a 22-10 lead after 10 minutes of action.
Kaitlin Schumann took over in the second quarter, with the freshman scoring 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting and a 2-for-2 effort from the charity stripe. Three of those baskets were on back-to-back-to-back possessions over a 90-second span midway through the frame. Her final bucket of the frame gave the Tigers a 23-point lead, 47-24, before the Bronchos hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to close within 20 at the break.
Olivia Mortensen, Avery Lowe and Weeter all drilled 3-pointers in the third quarter, allowing FHSU to build its lead to 24 by the end of the frame, 63-39. A Weeter layup four minutes into the fourth quarter pushed the lead as high as 25, 71-46. The Bronchos closed the game on a 19-7 run, but the Tigers had done enough over the first 35 minutes to seal the win.
Weeter led all scorers with 29 points after hitting a career-high five 3-pointers while also dishing out a personal-best five assists. She also led the team with nine rebounds and matched her career-high with three blocks.
Mortensen contributed 22 points after hitting 3-of-4 from behind the floor and an impressive 9-of-11 from the floor. The Broomfield, Colo. freshman also matched her career high with eight rebounds, doing so for the second-consecutive game.
Schumann finished the game with 11 points, three rebounds and one block, while Brooke Loewe dished out a team-high six assists.
Nykaiya Dillard led the Bronchos with 16 points and three steals.
The Tigers finished the game shooting 47.6 percent from both the floor (30-of-63) and behind the arc (10-of-21). They outrebounded UCO by nine, 41-32.
Fort Hays State has now won 11 in a row, tied for the ninth-longest winning streak in team history. The Tigers will look to make it 12 straight on Thursday (Jan. 29) when they host Washburn beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.