
FHSU Athletics
#16 Fort Hays State (10-1, 5-1 MIAA)
vs. Bethany College (6-6, 4-2 KCAC)
Saturday, December 30 • 2 p.m.
Hays, Kan. • Gross Memorial Coliseum
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: The MIAA Network CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
The No. 16 Fort Hays State women's basketball team opens a three-game homestand Saturday when the Tigers host Bethany College in their final non-conference tune-up of the season. First tip is set for 2 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.
Saturday's contest will end a long layoff for each squad, with the Tigers (10-1, 5-1 MIAA) playing for the first time in 11 days and the Swedes (6-6, 4-2 KCAC) taking to the floor for the first time in three weeks.
The Tigers have been virtually unbeatable in regular season, non-conference games over the last 15 seasons. Since the start of the 2009-10 season, Fort Hays State is 99-5 against non-MIAA teams during the regular season. A win Saturday would be FHSU's 100th-such victory over the last 15 seasons.
FHSU's defense continues to lead the conference and rank amongst the best in the country. The Tigers are allowing just 52.3 points per game this season, best in the conference and sixth-best in Division II. Fort Hays State also ranks 15th in the country in field goal percentage defense (34.6 percent) and third in the league with 9.8 steals per night.
The Tigers closed out their last road trip with two of its best shooting performances of the season thus far, combining to hit 23 3-pointers in wins at Newman (10-of-23) and at Central Oklahoma (13-of-21). The 23 made 3-pointers in those two games were more than they had made in the previous five games combined.
Emma Ruddle was a major contributor to the 3-point barrage, knocking down a trio of triples against the Jets before hitting four at UCO. She has hit multiple 3-pointers in each of the last three games and seven times this season.
Katie Wagner leads the team with 17.6 points per game, third-best in the conference, and 8.7 rebounds each night, sixth-best in the MIAA. Her five double-doubles are one off the MIAA lead and tied for 20th-most in the country. She is one rebound shy of moving into eighth all-time at Fort Hays State and recently moved into the top 10 in scoring in program history.
Fort Hays State also ranks second in the league with 16.2 assists per night, with a trio of Tigers ranking in the top 12 in the conference in dishing out assists. Sydney Golladay is ninth with 2.9 per game, with Brooke Loewe close behind in 10th with 2.8 per night and Wagner ranking 12th with 2.7 per contest. No other school has more than two individuals in the top 18 in assists.
Fort Hays State is 21-3 all-time against Bethany, including a 16-3 mark in games played in Hays. The Tigers forced 33 turnovers and knocked down 50 percent from the floor in an 80-46 win over Bethany last season in Hays (12/19/22). The Tigers never trailed in the contest. A balanced offensive attack saw 12 different Tigers score, including nine players with five or more points. Ellie Stearns recorded her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Olivia Hollenbeck paced the team in scoring with 15 points.
The Swedes have wins in each of their last last two games and a 3-1 record on the road. First-year head coach Sarah Bartel took over after spending two seasons as the top assistant for former head coach Keith Ferguson, who is now the head coach at Northeastern State. R'Manie Pulling leads the team with 11.2 points per game, while Lauren Gleason is hitting 52.9 percent from the floor to pace the team.