Story by MAYAN PAZ Photos by DANIELA SALINAS
Tiger Media Network
The Fort Hays State University women’s basketball team is off to a great start after going 2-0 at home this weekend and improving to 4-0 overall. FHSU is now the only MIAA team still undefeated after knocking off MSU Denver 75-52 on Saturday.
“That’s exactly how we wanted to start out the year. And so I feel really good about it,” said FHSU Head Coach Talia Kahrs.
After FHSU struggled to find a basket in the opening minutes of the game, Talexa Weeter came off the bench and scored eight points at the end of the first quarter, including two three-pointers, to give the Tigers an eight-point lead, from which MSU Denver could not bounce back throughout the rest of the game.
The Tigers slowly increased their lead as the game went on, as defensively, they held the Roadrunner offense to under 15 points in every quarter and forced 15 turnovers. Having the lead from the first quarter, the Tigers gained a double-digit lead at the beginning of the second quarter and never looked back, finishing the first half with an 11-point lead, 39-28.
Olivia Hollenbeck, the recipient of the MIAA Player of the Week award in the previous week, struggled in the first half, scoring only five points on 2-7 shooting from the field. However, in the second half, she made her adjustments and added another nine points to her tally, leading the way for the Tigers to continue increasing their lead until the final score was set at 75-52.
Even when things didn’t quite work for Hollenbeck on the offensive side, she proved her value to the team on the other end of the court with four steals.
“I definitely pride myself on my defense, and that’s something that I always like to be able to fall back on, even if I’m not doing quite as well as I want to offensively,” Hollenbeck said. “I always try to be a solid defender, and defense is what wins games ultimately.”
The Tiger bench contributed 26 points during the game, led by Weeter’s 12 points and 10 rebounds. Kahrs took some pride in the effort from FHSU’s bench.
“I thought we did a great job as a group of not letting down when we subbed off the bench. We were really engaged. There was no letdown,” she said. “I thought overall, on both ends of the ball, we did a really good job of just playing good team basketball.”
The Tigers will now enjoy a 10-day break to prepare for their next game. FHSU hosts Tabor College on November 26. Kahrs said the time off will allow the Tigers to focus on improving their game.
“I know there are some things in the next few days that we’re going to tweak, based on what we’ve done the last couple weeks, and then we’ll look forward to the next three games,” she said.
FHSU and Tabor will tip off at 6 p.m. on Nov. 26 from inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.
Statistical Leaders:
FHSU – Olivia Hollenbeck (14 points, 6 rebounds), Katie DeGarmo (14 points, nine rebounds), Kate Dilsaver (12 points), Talexa Weeter (12 points, 10 rebounds), Brooke Loewe (nine points, seven assists).
MSU Denver: Mikylah Espinosa (17 points), Jackie Pippett (14 points), Neveah Millard (eight points, five rebounds).