Tigers hold on to beat Mavericks

By RAEGAN NEUFELD

Photos by LOREN McQUEENY

Fresh off of their MIAA Tournament championship, the Fort Hays State University women’s basketball team battled Minnesota State University-Mankato in the first round of the NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament on Friday night.

The Tigers came into the tournament ranked first out of the eight teams in the region, making Gross Memorial Coliseum the host site for the entire tournament. In front of more than 2,700 fans, Fort Hays beat the Mavericks in a close contest, 66-61.

The last time the two teams met was in the quarterfinals of the 2015 regional tournament, also hosted by Fort Hays, resulting in a 74-57 win for the Tigers. This time, the biggest challenge the Tigers (29-3) had to overcome was the high-pressure defense by MSU (21-7). Throughout the season, the Mavericks used a full-court press to rack up 14.6 steals per game. 

“We tried to prepare for their press, but when you don’t do something like that, you can’t simulate it,” said FHSU head coach Tony Hobson. “We tried to do what we could. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. It’s just a matter of execution and having your kids sharp. I thought at times we were and we got easy shots, and sometimes we didn’t.”

The game started out at a fast pace and remained that way for the full 40 minutes. MSU took a narrow lead in the first quarter behind its pressure defense, but the Tigers made their way back in front to take a 15-12 lead.

Neither team had much control, but Fort Hays managed to slowly build momentum in the second quarter and led 36-23 at the half.

The Mavericks stuck around for the rest of the game and outscored the Tigers 18-12 in the fourth quarter. Trailing 61-60 with one minute to play, Katie Wagner grabbed her fifth offensive rebound after a missed free throw. Her effort extended the play and allowed Cydney Bergmann to score, regaining a one-point lead for Fort Hays. Wagner scored the final four points of the game on a fast break layup and two free throws, sealing the win.

“It was a pretty ratty game,” Hobson said. “We knew that they were really quick and played hard and pressured the whole game. They didn’t disappoint. We got exactly what we knew was coming. I thought fatigue kind of got us a little bit, but it doesn’t matter how fresh you are if you’re not comfortable trying to break that pressure. We found a way to win. We did a good job on the boards, and defensively we were pretty solid for most of the game.”

Hobson also acknowledged the pressure his team felt from the game itself.

“We struggled with everything, just with the moment,” he said. “We need to win to keep people in this gym for this regional. I think the kids felt it a little bit; we played a little nervously. They just don’t want to lose so badly for our crowd. We’ll take it and move on. I’m not going to apologize for any win, no matter how ugly it was.”

Despite missing some close-range shots, this is the third game in a row where the Tigers have been the team to make the big plays and win the game down the stretch.

“I have to give a ton of credit to Fort Hays. They’re a great basketball team, and they made some great plays down the stretch to really give them a chance,” said Mavericks head coach Emilee Thiesse.

Leading the game for the Tigers was Wagner. The second-year freshman guard led all players with 23 points and 16 rebounds. The next stat leader for Fort Hays was Jaden Hobbs, who had 11 points and nine rebounds to go along with four assists. Following her was Whitney Randall with eight points and nine rebounds, six of which were offensive.

The rebounds turned out to be a difference, as neither team shot more than 40 percent overall. However, Fort Hays outrebounded the Mavericks in total, 58-35. While 41 of their rebounds were defensive, the Tigers also scored 11 second-chance points off 17 offensive boards.

Fort Hays shot just 15% from 3-point range in the game.

“I think it started on the defensive end and the defensive rebounding,” Hobbs said. “They did press on a miss, so that made it difficult to outlet. But Katie mentioned earlier, that also gave us a lot of opportunities to transition. When we did get past half court in transition, we took advantage of that and that’s what helped us get the win today.”

“It was a lot different than how we normally play,” Wagner said. “We’re usually more slowed down on offense to get good shots, but this was a faster pace.”

Hobson also noted the fast pace and how MSU’s game plan was the opposite of what most teams do.

“These guys didn’t try to slow us down. They wanted to see if we could last,” she said.

MSU was paced by Joey Batt’s 21 points. Destinee Bursch (12) and Taylor Theusch (11) also hit double figures.

FHSU improved to 15-2 in games decided by single digits this season.

Saturday’s semifinal game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. against St. Cloud State (24-4), which beat Missouri Southern in overtime, 69-67.

Fort Hays was the only higher-seeded team to win at the regional in Hays on Friday.

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