By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
WICHITA, Kan. – Fort Hays State outlasted Newman in a tight battle Thursday night at Fugate Gymnasium. The Tigers moved to 17-7 overall, 12-4 in the MIAA with an 84-77 win over the Jets. Emma Ruddle scored a career-high 21 points to pace the Tigers, while Katie Wagner reached 1,000 points for her career in the victory.
Newman came out of the gates red hot by hitting its first six field goal attempts of the game, half of those being 3-point field goals. But the Tigers were equal to the blistering scoring pace early as they led 18-15 at the first media break about six minutes into the contest, 7-of-9 from the field at that point and a perfect 3-of-3 beyond the 3-point arc. The teams would play to a 22-22 tie by the end of the first 10 minutes. Sydney Golladay provided nine first quarter points to lead FHSU.
The Tigers started to create a bit of separation to open the second quarter, going on a 6-0 run out of the break. However, Newman would eventually counter with a 9-0 run to turn a five-point FHSU lead into a four-point lead of its own with just over a minute remaining before halftime. But the Tigers punched right back with five-straight points from Katie Wagner to take a 39-38 advantage into halftime. Wagner’s jumper with 12 seconds remaining pushed her to 1,000 points in her career at FHSU, the 24th player in program history to accomplish the feat in a Tiger jersey.
The Jets were still red-hot from the field at the half at 55.6 percent as a team. Britney Ho led Newman with 14 first-half points before eventually scoring only two in the second half.
Just like the start of the third quarter, the Tigers opened the third quarter with a run, this time 8-0 to get their lead to nine on back-to-back 3-point field goals by Katie Wagnerand Emma Ruddle and a layup by Megan Earney. But the Jets would storm back again, using an 11-0 run to go from eight down to up three. A 3-point field goal pushed the Jets’ lead to four with 1:25 to go in the quarter, but the Tigers got the game tied again before the Jets moved out in front by just one point, 60-59, after 30 minutes of action.
The Tigers had a 6-0 run early in the fourth quarter to take a five-point lead, but the Jets countered again with five straight points to level the score at 67-67 with six and a half minutes to play. The Tigers finally delivered a big blow by holding the Jets scoreless for about five and a half minutes as they went on an 11-0 run. Jessie Sallach triggered the run with a jumper from the left wing, then Golladay hit a tough fade away from near the same location. Ruddle pushed the lead to seven with a 3-point field goal from the top of the key and then added a pair of free throws to get the margin to nine. Brooke Loewe finished the run with another pair of free throws with only about 45 seconds to play. The Tigers hit six free throws the rest of the way to finish with 25 makes as a team, a new season high. The Tigers shot 89.8 percent as a team at the charity stripe, missing only three free tosses in the game.
Ruddle finished 6-of-11 from the field with three 3-point field goals, while shooting a perfect 6-of-6 at the free-throw line for her career high of 21 points. She also tied her career high of six rebounds and set a new career high in assists with eight. She added two steals and two blocks for her tremendous all-around effort.
Wagner finished with 16 points for the Tigers, moving her career points total to 1,009. She also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds in the game. Hollenbeck and Golladay each finished with 14 points. Sallach was the top scorer off the bench for FHSU with eight. The Tigers finished at 47.3 percent from the field as a team and hit seven 3-point field goals in the game.
Carissa Beck would eventually lead the Newman scoring effort with 17 points and she was a perfect 7-of-7 at the free-throw line. Jordan Hecket also reached double figures with 13 to go with Ho’s 16. Newman drained 12 3-point field goals in the game, shooting 40 percent beyond the arc and 47.5 percent from the field overall.
The Tigers return to action on Saturday (Feb. 4) at Central Oklahoma. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. in Edmond.