By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
KEARNEY, Neb. – The 20th-ranked Fort Hays State women’s basketball team came out on top in a back-and-forth affair Saturday afternoon (Jan. 20) against Nebraska-Kearney, winning 70-68. In a game that featured 18 lead changes and nine ties, the Tigers (14-3, 8-3 MIAA) took the lead for good with 22 seconds to go on free throws from Brooke Loewe before getting a defensive stop to secure the win.
Olivia Hollenbeck won the opening tip before Emma Ruddle kicked things off with a 3-pointer. The Tigers later led by as many as four midway through the first quarter before the Lopers (12-5, 6-5 MIAA) used an 8-2 run take their first lead of the game. Loewe wrapped up the period with FHSU’s third 3-pointer of the frame, giving FHSU a 20-19 lead.
Nebraska-Kearney fought back in the second quarter, leading by as many as eight points after finishing the first half hitting 50 percent from the floor before halftime. Despite hitting just three field goals in the quarter, the Tigers kept things close thanks to an 8-for-8 effort from the free-throw line during the second period. UNK went into the locker room up by three, 39-36, after Earney knocked down a pair of free throws with three seconds on the clock.
Sydney Golladay opened the second half with a game-tying 3-pointer, the first of seven ties in the second half. Nebraska-Kearney broke open a tie with five-straight points midway through the third quarter before Earney answered with a 3-pointer, moving the point differential within one possession where it would stay for the final 15 minutes of action.
An Earney layup and two Hollenbeck free throws gave the Tigers a 50-48 edge before UNK hit back-to-back buckets to go back up three. Hollenbeck answered with a jumper, followed by another Earney 3-pointer that gave the Tigers a three-point lead, 56-53. The Lopers responded by scoring four points in the final minute to take a 57-56 lead into the fourth quarter.
Fort Hays State turned up the intensity on defense in the fourth quarter, limiting UNK to just 5-of-13 shooting in the final frame after the Lopers hit 48.9 percent (23-of-47) over the first three stanzas. Jessie Sallach helped the Tigers close within 59-58 with a stick-back layup early in the frame before Ruddle gave the Tigers the lead with a driving layup.
The Lopers answered two minutes later to go back on top before Hollenbeck dropped in a stick-back layup to put the Tigers up with 3:58 to play, 62-63. The teams again traded buckets, with UNK hitting a jumper and Katie Wagner following with a driving layup.
Nebraska-Kearney again took the lead with two minutes to go before Hollenbeck put the Tigers up by two with a traditional 3-point play, 67-65. The Lopers responded with a 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring, giving the home team a 68-67 lead with 69 seconds to play. Fort Hays State got a stop on defense after a turnover before Loewe drew a foul with 22 seconds to go. The sophomore was perfect on both free throws, putting the Tigers up by one, 69-68.
With two fouls to give before the bonus, the Tigers forced the Lopers to run the clock down inside 10 seconds without taking a shot. UNK finally got a look with four seconds left, but a baseline runner bounced off the front of the rim and into the hands of Golladay. The point guard was then fouled with 0.8 seconds to go, sending the Fremont, Neb. native to the free-throw line. She hit the first to put the Tigers up two before intentionally missing the second, forcing the Lopers to attempt a full-court heave that missed since they were out of timeouts.
The Tigers had four players score in double figures for a second game in a row and for the fifth time this season. Hollenbeck led FHSU in scoring for the second-straight game, scoring 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. Golladay scored 12 points thanks to a trio of 3-pointers, while Wagner scored 11 points and Earney scored 10. Golladay, Wagner and Loewe all distributed three assists each, while Wagner led the way with four steals.
Fort Hays State turned the ball over just eight times while creating 14 Loper turnovers thanks to 10 steals. The Tigers hit eight 3-pointers in the win, reaching that mark for the fourth consecutive game.
The Tigers will play seven of their final 11 games at home starting Thursday (Jan. 25) when FHSU hosts Washburn beginning at 5:30 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.