FHSU Athletics
#7/#14 Fort Hays State (23-2, 14-2 MIAA) vs.
#5/#5 Pittsburg State (24-2, 16-0 MIAA)
Saturday, February 22, 2025 • 2 p.m.
Hays, Kan. • Gross Memorial Coliseum
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: MIAA Network: CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
The 7th-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team hosts 5th-ranked Pittsburg State in a top 10 battle Saturday afternoon beginning at 2 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.
The Tigers improved to 23-2 overall and 14-2 in MIAA play with a 55-64 win over Missouri Southern on Thursday, while the Gorillas are now 24-2 on the year and 16-0 in league action thanks to an 81-74 road win over Nebraska-Kearney.
Fort Hays State will recognize six seniors 10 minutes before the game, including Kate DeGarmo, Kate Dilsaver, Megan Earney, Olivia Hollenbeck, Sasha Koenig and Bailey Wilborn. The group has combined to appear in 554 games at FHSU while winning 120 contests over the last five seasons.
Fort Hays State (10 straight wins) and Pittsburg State (15 straight wins) are two of 15 Division II schools that currently hold a double-digit winning streak.
The Tigers also opened the year with 12 consecutive victories, making this the third season in program history with multiple double-digit winning streaks. The current stretch is FHSU's 16th double-digit winning streak in team history.
Fans have been flocking to the Coliseum in droves this season, helping FHSU lead Division II in attendance with an average of 1,990 fans per home contest. That total would rank 89th in Division I and is more than 277 DI programs.
The Tigers reached 20 wins for the 14th season in a row this year, the longest active streak of 20-win seasons in Division II and tied for fifth best across all NCAA divisions. The next-best active stretch of 20-win seasons in the MIAA is three (MWSU, MSSU, PSU), while the next-best streak in DII is Drury with 11. Only four DI programs have longer active stretches of 20-win seasons, including UConn (32), Baylor (25), Stanford (23) and Florida Gulf Coast (21). Fort Hays State's run of 14-straight 20-win seasons is tied with Louisville, South Carolina and South Dakota State for fifth best in all NCAA women's basketball.
Brooke Loewe distributed three assists in Thursday's win over the Lions, giving her 166 for the season to tie a 34-year-old program record set in 1990-91 by Kristi Leeper-Meis. The junior is second in Division II in total assists and fourth in assists per game, averaging 6.9 assists each night. She leads the MIAA in each category while ranking seventh in the conference with 1.75 steals per contest. A native of Huxley, Iowa, Loewe recently cracked the all-time top 10 list in assists at Fort Hays State with 321 career assists.
Dilsaver and Hollenbeck are each averaging 2.08 steals per night, tied for second-most in the conference. The Tigers as a team top the conference with 9.8 steals per outing.
Hollenbeck also ranks second in the league and fifth nationally with a shooting percentage of 62.4 percent while ranking fifth in the association with a team-best 16.7 points per game. The forward continues to climb the all-time charts at Fort Hays State, now ranking second in blocks with 213, fourth in points with 1,819, fourth in field goals with 687 and ninth in steals with 189. She needs 42 rebounds to crack the top 10 in that category as well.
Already the program's all-time leader in rebounds with 1,176, DeGarmo also ranks second in school history with 2,145 points, second with 805 field goals, fourth in assists with 380 and fifth in steals with 225.
Dilsaver scored in double figures for the 14th time this season on Thursday, totaling 10 points while finishing one rebound shy of her career-high with eight. She has now scored in double figures nine times in the last 12 games.
Fort Hays State is 36-30 all-time against Pittsburg State, including a 21-11 record at home. PSU holds a one-game winning streak in the series, but the Tigers have dominated of late, winning 11 of the last 14 meetings since 2017. The Tigers are 2-1 against the Gorillas under head coach Talia Kahrs, including a 1-0 record at home. At 16-14, Pittsburg State is one of two schools to hold a winning record over FHSU in regular season MIAA matchups (ESU). Fort Hays State leads 3-2 in games that reach overtime. The Tigers are 2-0 against the Gorillas on February 22, including a home win exactly one year ago.
Pittsburg State tops the MIAA standings at 24-2 overall and 16-0 in MIAA action. The Gorillas have won 15 in a row, the seventh-longest active winning streak in Division II. The Gorillas lead the MIAA with an average of 80.5 points per game, ninth-best in Division II. They hit a Division II-best 48.3 percent from the floor while ranking second in the country with a shooting percentage of 38.8 percent from behind the arc. Karenna Gerber leads the team in points and rebounds, ranking seventh in the MIAA with 15.7 points per night and fourth in the league with 8.3 boards per contest.