{"id":59042,"date":"2021-03-13T21:14:33","date_gmt":"2021-03-14T03:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=59042"},"modified":"2021-03-14T07:13:57","modified_gmt":"2021-03-14T12:13:57","slug":"tiger-women-fall-in-central-region-semis-hobbs-scores-19-in-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=59042","title":{"rendered":"Tiger women fall in central region semis; Hobbs scores 19 in loss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>BY RUSSELL HEITMANN<br>PHOTOS BY BRIAN GROTH<br>VIDEO BY LEXI GROSS<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>WARRENSBURG, Mo., &#8211; Coming to an end where last year\u2019s NCAA tournament never got started, the Fort Hays State University women\u2019s basketball team fell to Central Missouri in the Central Region semifinals, 72-68 on Saturday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Tigers were set to embark on their third straight postseason in March 2020, before COVID-19 forced an abrupt end to the year. A season later, FHSU navigated multiple postponements, injuries to a pair of day-one starters, and the cloud of COVID uncertainty on their way to a 20-2 regular season and the 12th league title in program history. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think this team of ours has been through more than any other team I\u2019ve ever coached from beginning to end, starting last year at this thing getting canceled,\u201d Hobson said. \u201cFor them to be in the position that they were in, which is winning the conference and being in the NCAA Tournament is just remarkable for what they had to deal with.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FHSU drops central region semis to UCM, 72-68\" width=\"790\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T1AI6VNvv_o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>FHSU (22-4) earned the number one seed in the central region, but came up against the Jennies (21-4) in the semifinals on UCM\u2019s home floor. The NCAA predetermined all the regional sites due to COVID-19 protocols, and selected the Multipurpose Building on UCM&#8217;s campus as this year\u2019s site. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The contest featured 13 lead changes; however, it was the Tigers who played from behind for the majority of the second half. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI thought it was a battle &#8211; knew it would be &#8211; every time the last few years we&#8217;ve played these guys it&#8217;s been a game like that,\u201d Hobson said. \u201cI was pleased with the way we hung in there and kept battling back and didn\u2019t go away easily and that is something that can happen when you&#8217;re playing an away game and not having some of the breaks go your way.&#8221;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"790\" 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data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"790\" height=\"527\" data-attachment-id=\"59046\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?attachment_id=59046\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0047.jpg?fit=6720%2C4480\" data-orig-size=\"6720,4480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"5H6A0047\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0047.jpg?fit=370%2C247\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0047.jpg?fit=790%2C527\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0047.jpg?resize=790%2C527\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"59046\" data-link=\"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?attachment_id=59046\" class=\"wp-image-59046\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0047.jpg?resize=1024%2C683 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0047.jpg?resize=150%2C100 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0047.jpg?resize=370%2C247 370w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0047.jpg?resize=768%2C512 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0047.jpg?w=1580 1580w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0047.jpg?w=2370 2370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 790px) 100vw, 790px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>FHSU took the lead, 63-62 on a Whitney Randall layup with 4:05 remaining but back-to-back layups by Graycen Holden and Olivia Nelson &#8211; bookending a Nelson steal &#8211; pushed the Jennies&#8217; lead to 66-63. The Tigers never tied or re-took the lead after that. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jaden Hobbs led FHSU early, with 16 first-half points; however, she was held to just three second-half points. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGigi [McAtee] did a great job on her [Hobbs],\u201d UCM Head Coach, Dave Slifer said. \u201cAnd she [Hobbs]&nbsp; is a player that is about as good as it gets.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hobbs, who played all 40 minutes for the third straight game for the Tigers, said taking on such a large minute-load is something she expects of herself, and has done so from a young age in order to help put her team in the best position to win. Hobbs credits UCM\u2019s defensive pressure for making the second half more difficult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey just did a better job of getting a little bit closer to me and not letting me get as many open looks as I did in the first half, and credit them on that,\u201d Hobbs said. \u201cI just tried to do everything I could to get my teammates an open shot and try to sneak one in every chance I could.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hobbs finished with 19 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Tigers rode Hobbs in the first twenty minutes, as she hit back-to-back three-point shots midway through the second quarter to close a seven-point Jennie lead down to one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the second half, FHSU ran many possessions through Hobbs &#8211; a number of which ended in the senior guard creating her own look toward the end of the shot clock. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe first half, Jaden dribbling the ball over the screens worked pretty well, so we were going to try some of those things again,\u201d Hobson said. \u201cBut no we don\u2019t want to do that all the time, but it was necessary tonight and that is what we were getting. They were locking up about everybody else. Sometimes you don\u2019t have any other options.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Much of the reason for Hobbs\u2019 high workload was the late-season loss of junior guard Cydney Bergmann and freshman guard Sydney Golladay to knee injuries. With so many ball handlers unable to play, Hobson said Hobbs became the Tigers\u2019 only option. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou have to remember we&#8217;ve had to change some things because we have taken some starters out of our lineup,\u201d Hobson said.&nbsp; \u201cA little less ball-handling, so a lot of times our only option as a ball-handler is Jaden.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Injuries have plagued the Tigers in the postseason their last two trips as a one seed. In 2019, starting point guard Carly Heim missed the second half of the season after suffering a knee injury and All-MIAA forward Lanie Page dealt with a foot injury that slowed her down in the later stages of the 2018-19 season. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat I feel snakebitten about is getting people hurt. Every year I have a team I think that if we&#8217;re playing well no one can beat us and we&#8217;ve had a few of them in the last several years,\u201d Hobson said. \u201cWe have a good bench, we have people I can put in there and start and everything just gets thinner. And these guys stepped up and battled the best they could. We still found a way to win the conference, made it to the [MIAA] tournament finals and got here.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou have to be a little lucky, you have to keep healthy to win stuff at the end of the year a lot of times.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the 2020-21 campaign ended in a loss, the future is bright for FHSU, as freshmen Katie Wagner and Jessie Sallach joined Hobbs in double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively. The Tigers started two freshmen for the majority of the year, and saw major contributions from their underclassmen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"790\" height=\"527\" data-attachment-id=\"59047\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?attachment_id=59047\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0051.jpg?fit=6720%2C4480\" data-orig-size=\"6720,4480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"5H6A0051\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0051.jpg?fit=370%2C247\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0051.jpg?fit=790%2C527\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0051.jpg?resize=790%2C527\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"59047\" data-link=\"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?attachment_id=59047\" class=\"wp-image-59047\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0051.jpg?resize=1024%2C683 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0051.jpg?resize=150%2C100 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0051.jpg?resize=370%2C247 370w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0051.jpg?resize=768%2C512 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0051.jpg?w=1580 1580w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0051.jpg?w=2370 2370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 790px) 100vw, 790px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"790\" height=\"527\" data-attachment-id=\"59043\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?attachment_id=59043\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0037.jpg?fit=6720%2C4480\" data-orig-size=\"6720,4480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"5H6A0037\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0037.jpg?fit=370%2C247\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0037.jpg?fit=790%2C527\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0037.jpg?resize=790%2C527\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"59043\" data-link=\"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?attachment_id=59043\" class=\"wp-image-59043\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0037.jpg?resize=1024%2C683 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0037.jpg?resize=150%2C100 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0037.jpg?resize=370%2C247 370w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0037.jpg?resize=768%2C512 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0037.jpg?w=1580 1580w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0037.jpg?w=2370 2370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 790px) 100vw, 790px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>FHSU could also see the return of Hobbs and fellow senior Whitney Randall due to the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility to all athletes this season. Senior guard Madison Mittie celebrated senior night earlier this year and is not expected to return, but FHSU could see the rest of their team back.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a season of so much uncertainty, Hobson knows his team rose above the mental challenges. He said as a coach, it has been a mental battle for him, so he knows his players have dealt with it, too. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese kids have been put to the test mentally because of this and I think they came out pretty well,\u201d Hobson said.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BY RUSSELL HEITMANNPHOTOS BY BRIAN GROTHVIDEO BY LEXI GROSS WARRENSBURG, Mo., &#8211; Coming to an end where last year\u2019s NCAA tournament never got started, the&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":59060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7349,3395],"tags":[12661,14139,69,3448,13357,11323,12016,182,4081],"class_list":["post-59042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-womens-basketball-sports","tag-brian-groth","tag-dave-slifer","tag-fhsu","tag-fhsu-womens-basketball","tag-jaden-hobbs","tag-lexi-gross","tag-russell-heitmann","tag-tony-hobson","tag-ucm-multipurpose-building"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/5H6A0319.jpg?fit=1620%2C1080","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=59042"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59075,"href":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59042\/revisions\/59075"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/59060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=59042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=59042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=59042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}