FHSU Athletics
HAYS, Kan. - The seventh-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team picked up a convincing 76-60 win over fifth-ranked Pittsburg State on Saturday at Gross Memorial Coliseum, ending a 15 game Gorilla winning streak and handing them their first loss of 2025.
The Tigers (24-2, 15-2 MIAA) poured in 51.7 percent from the floor (31-of-60), eclipsing a field goal percentage of 50 percent for the eighth time this season and posting the best shooting percentage by a Gorilla opponent this season.
The FHSU defense, meanwhile, held Pittsburg State (24-3, 16-1 MIAA) to a season-low in points. The Gorillas entered the game ranking ninth in Division II with an average of 80.5 points per night but were held to more than 20 points below that average. It was the largest margin of defeat for the Gorillas in three years (74-54 vs. UCM, 2/7/22).
Fort Hays State honored six seniors before the game, including Katie DeGarmo, Kate Dilsaver, Megan Earney, Olivia Hollenbeck, Sasha Koenig and Bailey Wilborn.
The win extends FHSU's winning streak to 11 games, tied for the eighth-longest winning streak in program history.
Brooke Loewe totaled 11 assists in the victory, giving the junior 177 assists for the season. After tying the school record on Thursday, Loewe became the school's single season assists leader with her first assist of he game.
Pittsburg State opened the scoring but led for all of 15 seconds with Hollenbeck tied the game with a layup. The graduate student went on to score the first seven points for the Tigers, doing so with three consecutive strong post moves.
The Gorillas stopped Hollenbeck's run with a bucket before the Tigers scored nine in a row, building a double-digit lead less than five minutes into the contest, 16-4.
Wilborn opened the run with a 3-pointer before Loewe contributed a driving layup. Talexa Weeter then scored on three-straight trips down the floor, helping the Tigers go 8-for-9 to start the game while scoring their first eight possessions.
The Black and Gold cooled off over the back half of the first quarter, ending the frame up by a baker's dozen, 25-12.
Ellie Sterns promptly added to that lead with a 3-pointer on the first possession of the second quarter after grabbing an offensive rebound. Dilsaver pushed the lead as high as 18 with a fast-break layup on the next trip down the floor, FHSU's largest lead of the game.
Pittsburg State called a timeout after that basket just 60 seconds into the quarter. The Gorillas responded to coach Amanda Davied's message, closing the gap to eight by halftime.
The Gorillas closed within six soon after the break, but a DeGarmo-led 11-point run helped Fort Hays State put the hammer down. The program's all-time leading scorer took control in the third quarter, scoring eight points during the 11-0 run and 10 points total in less than four minutes.
That spurt pushed the Tiger lead back to 17 with 14 minutes to play, 55-38. Fort Hays State led by 13 at the end of the frame, 57-44, before a pair of Gorilla 3-pointers helped the visitors pull within single digits early in the fourth, 61-53.
The fifth-year duo of DeGarmo and Hollenbeck put away the Gorillas once and for all, combining help the Tigers to an 11-2 run over the next four minutes to all but seal the deal. DeGarmo opened the run with a 3-pointer while Hollenbeck dropped in three more layups. The Tiger defense contributed by forcing three Gorilla turnovers during the run.
Hollenbeck and DeGarmo tied for the team lead with 17 points each, with DeGarmo chipping in five rebounds and Hollenbeck adding two rebounds and two steals.
Loewe recorded her fourth double-double of the season thanks to 10 points and 11 assists. It is the fifth time the point guard has totaled 10 or more assists, a feat only one other MIAA player has accomplished more than once this season.
Weeter totaled 11 points while Stearns drilled a trio of 3-pointers, finishing the game with nine points, four rebounds and three assists. Dilsaver also scored nine points, giving the Tigers six players with at least nine points.
UP NEXT
Fort Hays State will wrap up its home schedule on Wednesday when they Tigers host Nebraska-Kearney beginning at 5:30 p.m. before turning around and taking on the Lopers three days later in Kearney to conclude the regular season.