FHSU Athletics
2026 NCAA Division II Championship
Central Regional - Quarterfinals
#14 (3-seed) Fort Hays State (24-5)
vs. #20 (6-seed) Harding (24-6)
Friday, March 13, 2026 • Noon
Mankato, Minn. • Bresnan Arena/Taylor Center
The 14th-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team will face off with No. 20 Harding in the quarterfinal round of the 2026 NCAA Division II Central Region Championship tournament Friday afternoon. Tipoff between the Tigers (24-5) and Lady Bisons (24-6) is slated for noon inside the Taylor Center on the campus of Minnesota State in Mankato, Minn.
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: NCAA CLICK HERE TO WATCH
Quick Hits
- The Tigers have now qualified for the NCAA Championship tournament 11 times, including 10 appearances in the last 12 years, three more than any other school over the last dozen years (PSU and UCM, 7 each).
- This is the third-straight season the Tigers have been the No. 3 seed in the Central Regional.
- FHSU is 9-9 all-time in the tournament, 2-1 against GAC schools, 6-2 in the quarterfinal, 2-2 as the No. 3 seed, 2-0 against the No. 6 seed and 3-8 against nationally ranked teams.
- The Tigers are 5-1 all-time in games played in the state of Minnesota, including wins in four in a row.
- Talexa Weeter has been named D2CCA Central Region Player of the Year after also earning MIAA Player of the Year honors. Brooke Loewe was also a first team All-MIAA pick while Olivia Mortensen was on the third team.
- Now with a Division II-best 783 points this season, Talexa Weeter is 14 points away from tying the MIAA record for points in a season (797, Jennifer Harris, Washburn, 2005-06). With 27.0 points per game, Weeter leads DII and ranks second in scoring across all levels of NCAA women's basketball.
- Brooke Loewe leads all NCAA basketball, men and women spanning all divisions, with an MIAA-record 290 assists this season, breaking a 27-year-old MIAA record. Her 290 assists are 11th-most in DII history.
- After recording the first FHSU triple-double in 4,076 days two weeks ago against ESU, Loewe needed just nine days to record another one, tallying 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in the overtime win over PSU. She is one of three DII players and one of eight across all NCAA women's basketball with multiple triple-doubles.