No. 3 Fort Hays State continued its dominance at home, knocking off rival Nebraska-Kearney, 69-52, on Thursday (Feb. 5) in its annual Pink Game.
FHSU (21-1, 13-0 MIAA) has now won 20 straight on the year, tying its longest single-season win streak in program history. Additionally, the win helped FHSU maintain a two-game lead in the MIAA standings with just six games to go in the regular season and remain upbeaten at Gross Memorial Coliseum (14-0).
After three straight games against teams ranked or receiving votes in the WBCA Top 25, Thursday night’s contest was potentially a trap game for the Tigers. That threat, however, never developed as FHSU took a 12-2 lead in the game’s first 4:09 and stayed in control throughout.
After a three-pointer from UNK’s Tori Payne cut the lead to five (14-9) near the 11-minute mark, the Tigers tore off a 15-4 run with bursts of five and six unanswered in the next 7 minutes, stretching the lead to 16 (29-13) with 3:08 to go in the half.
FHSU continued to push, going on a 10-3 run to close the half, and take the largest lead of the game (21) into the break at 39-18.
The second half proved much more of a battle for the Tigers, as the Lopers cut the back to 16 (49-33) with 10:57 to go in the game. Soon after (8:37), a layup from Amarah Williams sparked UNK to a 10-0 run that brought the deficit back to 10 (55-45) near the six-minute mark.
That was as close as things came, however, as a layup from Kate Lehman on the opposite end stopped the run and helped the Tigers put the game away. Over the final five and a half minutes, FHSU outscored the Lopers, 14-7.
Lehman recorded her second 15-15 game of the year, leading the team with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Early in the game, Lehman pulled down her 1,000 career rebound and is now the only player in FHSU history with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds while wearing a Tiger uniform. The center added five blocks as well, moving within 15 blocks of No. 3 all-time in NCAA Division II history.
Joining Lehman in double-digits was Beth Bohuslavsky, who had an efficient 11 points, finishing 4-of-6 from the field and 3-of-3 from the line. Bohuslavsky, who hit double-digits for the first time since Dec. 14, was tied with Nikola Kacperska for the team lead in assists with three.
Keriann Shaw just missed her fourth double-double of the season, pulling down nine rebounds while adding nine points.
The win was FHSU’s ninth straight against the Lopers (dating back to 2009-10) and moved the Tigers to within two victories of tying the program’s NCAA Division II wins record (23).
FHSU is back in action this Saturday, Feb. 7 with a rematch against No. 6 Emporia State. The Top 10 matchup is the second contest between the two squads this season, with FHSU (ranked sixth at the time) defeating the Lady Hornets (then-ranked second) on the road, 65-55. Game time for Saturday is 2 p.m., from Gross Memorial Coliseum.