FHSU Sports Information Department
Fort Hays State Women’s Basketball plays in its second top-five match-up of the season tonight in St. Joseph, Mo. The No. 3 ranked Tigers take on No. 5 ranked Missouri Western at 5:30 pm inside MWSU Fieldhouse.
Fort Hays State enters as the higher ranked team in the national rankings, but Missouri Western has a one-game lead on FHSU in the MIAA standings. The Griffons are still unbeaten on the season at 17-0 overall and 11-0 in the MIAA while the Tigers are 16-1 overall and 10-1 in the MIAA. This will be the only meeting between the teams in the regular season. Even though there are still plenty of games left in the season, this game could have key postseason implications later in the year.
Fort Hays State won the first top-five battle it engaged in earlier this year when it defeated No. 1 Emporia State on December 5 as the No. 5 ranked team in the nation. That win vaulted FHSU to the No. 1 ranking. The Tigers have been No. 3 in the last three polls released.
Missouri Western, much like FHSU last year, started the season unranked but continues to soar upward in the rankings. The Griffons jumped five spots in the latest poll after wins at Washburn and Emporia State last week. Emporia State was ranked No. 9 in last week’s meeting while the Griffons were No. 10.
Chelsea Mason leads a list of four Tigers averaging double figures in scoring. Mason averages 13.8, while Jill Faxon is at 12.7 per game, Paige Lunsford is at 10.6 per game, and Beth Bohuslavsky averages 10.5 per game. The Tigers continue to lead the nation in turnover margin at +12.3 and fewest turnovers per game committed (9.2).
The strong Tiger defense looks to slow down one of the nation’s top offenses as Missouri Western ranks second in the nation in field goal percentage (.500) and third in scoring offense (85.9 points per game). LaQuinta Jefferson leads the Griffons and the MIAA in scoring at 23.1 points per game while ranking third nationally.