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By RAEGAN NEUFELD
Tiger Media Network
Fort Hays State University women’s basketball will play in the MIAA tournament championship game for the third time in four years on Sunday, following a 56-49 win over Northwest Missouri State University in the semifinals.
Just like Friday against the University of Central Missouri, the Tigers battled with the Bearcats for 40 minutes. The lead changed eight times and was tied twice throughout the first half, but FHSU was able to take a two-point advantage into the break. NWMSU tied the game once more on their first possession of the third quarter, but FHSU regained and maintained their lead for the rest of the game.
“We just never gave up,” Head Coach Talia Kahrs “In the first half we could not get a shot to go in the basket, but they didn’t give up on it and they kept battling. We kept executing, and then defensively in the second half, we just did a really good job of making them always have to take a tough shot.”
Defense proved to be one of the deciding factors of the game. Both teams shot 36.4% from the field and FHSU (24-6) only made one more 3-pointer than the Bearcats (23-7). On the other end of the court, the Tigers forced 12 total turnovers, six of which came from steals. They also blocked five shots and forced two shot-clock violations.
“Things will come on offense, but I think what’s helping us win these games close at the end especially is our defense,” junior Katie Wagner said.
Senior Jessie Sallach echoed Wagner’s sentiment.
“We talked about it this week,” Sallach said. “We were talking about our defense and how that should be our identity and that if something goes wrong on the offensive end, we always can rely on our defense to keep us in it until we can start making shots.”
Wagner led the Tigers on offense with another double-double performance, scoring 17 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Sallach had another big game from beyond the arc, scoring all 12 of her points on four 3-pointers. Olivia Hollenbeck chipped in eight points while also snagging five of the team’s six steals.
NWMSU was led by Lindsey Kelderman and Molly Hartnett who had 13 and 12 points, respectively. Kelsey Fields was the next leading Bearcat with eight points and 12 rebounds.
The game was the seventh straight semifinal appearance for FHSU. Seven of the nine Tiger players who saw the floor have been in the program for either three or four years, with their wealth of experience playing a big role in their success.
“We’ve been the team that’s struggled a lot towards the end and lost a couple of those heartbreak games, and we’ve been the team that’s won those,” Wagner said. “The experience from that is very valuable, especially with the majority of us being upperclassmen. It’s just big, especially in an environment out there like that.”
The Tigers will face the Pittsburg State Gorillas on Sunday for the MIAA Championship. FHSU beat PSU twice in the regular season, but the Gorillas are coming off a 73-65 win against Missouri Southern and a convincing 75-55 win over No. 1 seed Missouri Western.
According to Kahrs, the games leading up to the postseason prepared her team for the tough stretch at the end.
“The pressure is like this for us on the court, this is what it feels like every game,” she said. “We’re thankful for the atmosphere out here today, but we know we just have to grind and grind and grind every single possession all throughout the year. We’re thankful to be playing for a trophy tomorrow.”
Tip-off for the championship game is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. The game will be broadcast on the MIAA Network, and be followed by coverage from Tiger Media Network.