FHSU Athletics
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Despite holding a 19-point lead late in the first half, the sixth-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team had to hold on down the stretch to fend off Missouri Western on Thursday, winning 66-60. The Griffons (5-11, 1-6 MIAA) pulled within one with 63 seconds to play, but a 5-for-6 effort at the free throw line and two big defensive stops helped the Tigers (15-1, 6-1 MIAA) hang on for the win.
This is the fifth time in program history that FHSU has won 15 contests in its first 16 games and the first such occurrence since 2021-22.
Both teams struggled out of the gate, combining to shoot just 19 percent (4-of-21) from the floor over the first five minutes. But the Tigers were able to break out of the funk, hitting six of their final eight shots to end the quarter on a 16-2 run and lead 18-6 after 10 minutes of play.
Talexa Weeter and Brittan Zeka both hit 3-pointers during the run, with Weeter opening the second quarter with another triple to push the lead to 15. The Tigers continued their sharp shooting, knocking down 8-of-11 in the quarter to push the lead as high as 19 late in the frame. Weeter nearly outscored the Griffons herself in the half, totaling 22 points while the Tigers led 40-23 at the break.
The Griffons battled back in the second half, outscoring the Tigers by a dozen in the third quarter to pull within five. The home team hit four 3-pointers in the frame while holding FHSU to its lowest scoring third quarter of the season.
Missouri Western scored first in the fourth quarter to pull within one possession, but four points each from Weeter and Kaitlin Schumann helped FHSU push the lead back to eight with 6:19 to play, 60-52.
The Tigers did not hit another field goal the rest of the way, but the defense held the Griffons to just 3-of-13 from the floor down the stretch to hang on for the win. MWSU pulled within 61-60 with 63 seconds remaining before Brooke Loewe and Weeter combined to hit 5-of-6 from the line down the stretch.
FHSU made two big defensive stops in the final 30 seconds, with Schumann poking the ball away under the basket leading to an Olivia Mortensen steal before the Tigers forced a contested 3-pointer on the next possession that rattled out.
Weeter finished the game with 33 points, her seventh 30-point game of the season and the eighth of her career. Loewe totaled 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Schumann added seven points and five rebounds. Mortensen totaled five steals, tied for the most in a game by a Tiger this season.
The Tigers grabbed a season-low five offensive rebounds, leading to a season-low one second-chance point, however FHSU was able to collect a season-best 38 defensive rebounds to even out the rebounding battle at 43.
FHSU finished the game shooting 49 percent from the floor (25-of-51) while holding the Griffons to their second-worst shooting game of the season at 30.8 percent (24-of-78).
Up next
The Tigers will wrap up a four-game road swing on Saturday when they take on Northwest Missouri State beginning at 1:30 p.m. in Maryville, Mo.