FHSU Athletics
#7 Fort Hays State (7-0, 0-0 MIAA)
vs. Central Missouri (7-3, 0-0 MIAA)
Thursday, December 5, 2024• 5:30 p.m.
Hays, Kan. • Gross Memorial Coliseum
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: MIAA Network: CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
Game Sponsor: Domino's Pizza
National Anthem: Tiger Tots
Promotions: Toys for Tots Stuffed Animal Toss - Bring a stuffed animal to toss at halftime of the women's game and get a GA ticket for just $5. All stuffed animals will be donated to Toys for Tots!
FHSU Student Night: All FHSU Students in attendance have the chance to win a prize. Multiple prizes will be distributed throughout the evening.
The seventh-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team returns to Gross Memorial Coliseum this weekend to open the 2024-25 conference schedule. The Tigers will open league play Thursdaywhen they host Central Missouri beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The Tigers are off to a 7-0 start to the season, tied for the fourth-best start in program history. It is the third time in the last four seasons that FHSU has opened the year with seven consecutive victories. FHSU is one of 19 remaining undefeated teams in NCAA Division II.
The Tigers aren't just winning this season - they are dominating opponents. The Tigers are second in the MIAA and 17th in Division II with an average scoring margin of +22.9. The FHSU defense ranks sixth in DII in field goal percentage defense, limiting teams to just 30.5 percent from the floor.
Fort Hays State is dishing out 18.6 assists per game, the most in the MIAA and 10th-most in DII. Brooke Loewe is 10th individually in the country with an average of 6.4 assists per game, which is on pace to break the school's all-time record for assist average in a season (Jaden Hobbs, 6.0 a/g, 2020-21).
Katie DeGarmo currently ranks second amongst active DII players with 1,837 points, 1,016 rebounds and 130 games played. She became the second player in program history to reach 1,000 points and rebounds last week against Tabor.
Olivia Hollenbeck is leading the MIAA with an average of 17.7 points per game and 3.14 steals per contest, which ranks 22nd in Division II. The graduate student from Lincoln, Neb. has hit 68.5 percent of her field goal attempts this season, third-best in the country.
Talexa Weeter has scored in double figures in each of the last five games. The sophomore is averaging 12.4 points in just 18.0 minutes per contest this year.
Ellie Stearns knocked down four 3-pointers in Saturday's win over Colorado School of Mines, tying her career high and setting a new single game high for the Tigers this season. The junior guard is averaging 6.3 points per game this season after averaging 4.2 points per contest across her first two seasons in a Tiger uniform.
Kate Dilsaver has more than doubled her average offensive output this season, averaging 9.0 points per contest after putting up 3.97 points per night across her first three seasons in Hays. The senior matched her career high with seven rebounds in the overtime win over Regis on Friday.
Central Missouri holds a 24-18 lead in the all-time series, while the Tigers are 10-4 at home against the Jennies since the series began in 1993. Fort Hays State holds a one-game winning streak in the series after snapping a five-game skid thanks to a gritty 65-63 win over the Jennies in the quarterfinals of the 2024 MIAA Women's Basketball Championship, presented by Southern Bank (3/8/24).
UCM is one of just two schools to hold a winning record against FHSU during the Talia Kahrs era. The Jennies are 2-1 during that span, while Missouri Western is 2-0. The Jennies have won two-straight road games against FHSU after the Tigers had won eight in a row at home against UCM from 2011 until 2022.The Tigers and Jennies have twice played on this date, with FHSU winning 95-50 at home in 2012 before UCM won 72-51 in 2013 in Warrensburg. Coincidentally, both games happen to be the largest margin of victory by either team in series history.
Playing the Jennies seems to bring out the best of DeGarmo, who averages 16.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 10 career games against UCM. She has surpassed 20 points in each of the last four meetings, recording double-doubles in three of those four games. She's scored in double figures in nine of her 10 games against the Jennies and totaled a career-high nine assists in 2023 and recorded a career-best seven steals against UCM in 2022.
Hollenbeck averages 9.2 points per game in 11 career matchups against UCM, including reaching double figures in each of the last two matchups. Loewe averages 4.8 points per game in six tries against the Jennies, including a career-high 17 points at home against UCM last season.
The Jennies are 7-3 so far this season after going 1-1 over the weekend at the Hoops in Hawaii Classic. UCM is 3-0 in true road games, defeating MSU Moorhead, Augustana and Hawaii Pacific on the road. Through games played Monday (12/2) UCM has played more games than all but three teams in Division II (Gannon 10-1, Missouri Southern 7-4, Dominican 6-5). The Jennies lead the MIAA and rank eighth in DII with an average of just 12.0 turnovers per game.
Reese Schaaf ranks second in the MIAA behind Hollenbeck with an average of 17.6 while she leads the league with 9.4 rebounds per night. The junior Drury transfer is one off the national lead with an MIAA-best four double-doubles. Lauren Frost leads the team and ranks fifth in the MIAA with an average of 4.0 assists per contest.
Looking ahead, Fort Hays State will wrap up the weekend on Saturday, December 7 when it hosts Washburn at 2 p.m. before traveling a mere 3,636 miles to play Truman State and Quincy in the Big Island Holiday Classic in Hilo, Hawaii December 19-20.