FHSU Sports Information Department
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Fort Hays State escaped Northeastern State on Thursday night with a 59-56 win, keeping hopes alive for a second-straight conference regular season championship. But the Tigers nearly let the game slip away late and had to come up with key plays down the stretch to avoid the upset. FHSU moved to 24-3 overall, 18-3 in the MIAA, while the RiverHawks moved to 8-19 overall, 5-16 in the MIAA.
The teams traded the lead four times in the first quarter with FHSU holding a 13-12 edge heading into the second quarter. With shot percentages not very high in the first quarter, they took an even worse dip in the second quarter. FHSU outscored NSU just 8-3 in the second quarter and held a 21-15 lead at halftime. FHSU shot just 27.6 percent from the field in the opening half, but held NSU to an abysmal 16 percent.
Chelsea Mason provided an offensive spark for FHSU early in the second half by scoring Fort Hays State’s first 10 points of the third quarter. It gave FHSU a 10-3 run to push its lead to 11 with 5:47 to go in the third quarter. A Nikola Kacperska 3-point field goal made it a 12-point advantage at the 3:41 mark of the quarter. But just as it looked FHSU was pulling away, NSU scored the last four points of the third quarter and trimmed the lead back to seven at 37-30.
The Tigers pushed their lead back to nine early in the fourth, but then went cold shooting the ball, hitting only one field goal from the 9:00 mark to the 2:33 mark. That shot was a Taylor Chandler layup at 6:50 to put the Tigers up seven. But FHSU went scoreless over the next four minutes and NSU gained confidence, going on a 9-0 run to take its first lead since the first quarter on a Kylie Looney 3-point field goal.
Beth Bohuslavsky finally silenced the run with a 3-point field goal of her own to put FHSU back up by one with 2:33 to go. Looney buried another three to push NSU back ahead by two, but Bohuslavsky drained a pair of free-throws to make it 50-50 with 1:50 to play.
The Tigers vaulted back ahead when Paige Lunsford slashed to the basket for a layup, then Chelsea Mason had a steal and a fast-break layup to make it a four point lead. After NSU hit a bucket, Jill Faxon converted a 3-point play to make it a five-point advantage with 54 seconds to play.
Two of FHSU’s top free-throw shooters struggled at the line late trying to put the game away. Bohuslavsky hit one of only four attempts inside 25 seconds remaining and Kacperska hit one of two with two seconds remaining to stretch the lead to three. NSU could not get a shot off before the final horn.
Mason led the Tigers in scoring with 19 points going 8-of-19 from the field, which included three 3-point field goals. Bohuslavsky finished with 11 and Lunsford added nine. Kacperska led in rebounds with eight. The Tigers forced 13 turnovers and committed just three. FHSU shot 32.8 percent overall for the game, while NSU finished at 34.6 percent.
Cailyn Long led the RiverHawks in scoring with 15 points and Kylie Looney hit four 3-point field goals for her 12 points. Eriyonna Irvin (11) and Kate Bellamy (10) also reached double figures.
The Tigers play their final regular season game on Saturday at Central Oklahoma. Game time is set for 1:30 pm. FHSU is one game back of Missouri Western in the MIAA standings. An FHSU win coupled with a Missouri Western loss would give the Tigers a share of the MIAA regular season title. More importantly, a win would strengthen FHSU’s case in the chase for the No. 1 seed in the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament.