HAYS, Kan. - Sixth-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball erased a nine-point deficit over the final 12 minutes of regulation before beating Missouri Western in overtime on Senior Night, 78-69 (Feb. 23). The Tigers (24-3, 18-3 MIAA) now hold a half-game lead over Missouri Southern in first place in the MIAA standings, with the Lions to play Thursday before both teams wrap up the regular season on Saturday.
Fort Hays State came away victorious for the 10th-consecutive time in overtime, while playing extra time for the first time in nearly two years. The Tigers outscored Missouri Western (20-7, 14-7 MIAA) by six in the fourth quarter and by nine in overtime to complete the come-from-behind win.
Despite hitting just 50 percent from the free-throw line over the first quarters, the Tigers were on point when it mattered most, hitting all eight of their attempts from the charity stripe over the final period of regulation and overtime. Olivia Hollenbeck hit two with 3:15 on the clock in regulation to push the Tiger lead to four while Jaden Hobbs buried 6-of-6 over the final 65 seconds of overtime to secure the victory.
The lead changed hands eight times on the night in a game that also included eight ties. The score was tied at 13-13 after one period after slow starts on both sides - Missouri Western hit just 27.8 percent from the floor (5-of-18), while the Tigers turned the ball over five times over the first 10 minutes.
Fort Hays State seemed to take control with an 11-0 run in the second quarter, including back-to-back buckets from Hollenbeck, but the Griffons closed the half with an 11-4 run to take a 29-28 lead into the locker room.
The Tigers took a quick lead in the third quarter before the visitors pushed the lead to nine behind a 14-4 run. Hobbs kept the Tigers in it with a pair of 3-pointers just 76 seconds apart before MWSU took a 50-44 lead into the final quarter.
Hollenbeck opened the frame with a layup off a pass from Katie Wagner before Hobbs sank her third-consecutive triple, closing gap to one, 50-49. Lauren West followed with a 3-pointer later in the period before hitting a jumper to tie things up at 58 with 5:54 to play. Cydney Bergmann then gave the Tigers the lead with just over four minutes to play with a layup after a dish from Hollenbeck.
Hollenbeck pushed the lead back to four with 68 seconds to play following a Griffon bucket, but Missouri Western scored the final four points of the game to send things to overtime. The Tigers called timeout with 18 seconds to go to draw up a play, but the attempt rattled out.
The Griffons scored first in OT, but it was all Tigers after that. FHSU hit 4-of-5 from the floor in the extra period while limiting Missouri Western to 2-of-6 shooting and forcing three turnovers. West put the Tigers within one with a layup before Whitney Randall put them in front for good with a jumper. The senior playing in her final regular season home game added to the lead with a layup on the following possession before Hobbs finished things off by scoring the final eight points of the contest.
Hobbs led the way with 22 points while dishing out seven assists, eclipsing both 1,000 points and 400 assists at FHSU and becoming the first Tiger in program history to reach both milestones. She is the 23rd player to score at least 1,000 points at Fort Hays State and the third with more than 400 assists.
Hollenbeck added 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting alongside three assists, three steals, three blocks and a team-high seven rebounds, giving the Tigers multiple players with 20 or more points for the second time this season. Randall and West both had nine points, with Wagner chipping in eight points, six rebounds and five assists. Connie Clarke paced Missouri Western with 19 points and 14 rebounds, with Brionna Budgetts adding 17 points.
Now with 1,329 career points, Randall's first basket helped her move into 10th place on the all-time scoring list at Fort Hays State.
The Tigers hit 48.4 percent from the floor in the contest (30-of-62), moving to 17-0 this season with shooting better than 45 percent. The FHSU defense held Missouri Western to just 37.9 percent shooting (25-of-66) while forcing 18 turnovers.
Fort Hays State reached 18 conference wins for the fifth time this season, a feat that has been accomplished just 13 times by an MIAA school since the Tigers joined the league in 2006 (UCM 3, once by five other schools).
The win is head coach Tony Hobson's 306th victory at Fort Hays State, moving him into fourth place all-time amongst MIAA head coaches.
Fort Hays State will look to clinch at least a share of the regular season MIAA Championship Saturday (Feb. 26) when the Tigers take on Northwest Missouri State in Maryville beginning at 1:30 p.m.