FHSU (26-2, 18-1 MIAA) won the MIAA Regular Season Championship outright for the first time since joining the league, claiming its first conference title overall in 20 years. This week, FHSU made a strong showing in the MIAA postseason awards as Kate Lehman was named the MIAA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, head coach Tony Hobson earned Coach of the Year honors and four other Tigers were recognized by the league. Lehman was named to the All-MIAA First Team and All-Defensive Team, while Beth Bohuslavsky was picked to the third team and Jill Faxon and Keriann Shaw were tabbed honorable mention. Shaw also joined Lehman on the MIAA All-Defensive Team. The five individual all-conference selections is the most for FHSU since joining the MIAA and the most since 2000-01 when five Tigers were picked to the All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams.
Lehman was also named a CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-American this season and will look to make history on the weekend – closing in on 500 career blocks. She currently had 495 in her career and ranks second all-time in NCAA Division II. Should Lehman reach the 500-block mark, she will be the only NCAA Division II player ever to record 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 blocks in a career. She leads the team this season with averages of 19.2 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game.
The Tigers and RiverHawks squared off in the regular season finale last weekend in Tahlequah, Okla., as FHSU completed the regular season sweep with a 50-28 victory. The 28 points allowed by FHSU was a season-low mark and the fewest points allowed by an FHSU women’s basketball team since Nov. 18, 2011 when Central Christian scored just 24.
NSU (12-15, 7-12 MIAA) reached the quarterfinals by defeating No. 8 seed Washburn, 59-46, last Tuesday in Topeka, Kan. The RiverHawks are led in scoring by Chelsey Beathard (9.7 points per game) and Fontana Tate (9.6 points per game), while Kate Bellamy’s 4.6 rebounding average paces the team.
Fort Hays State has reached the MIAA Semifinals the previous two seasons, falling to Central Missouri both times. FHSU also lost to Central Missouri in the MIAA Quarterfinals in 2011-12. Under head coach Tony Hobson, FHSU is 4-5 in the MIAA Tournament, reaching it in six of seven years. The only time FHSU has missed the MIAA postseason under Hobson was in 2010-11.
The winner of Friday’s game will advance to the semifinals on Saturday and take on the winner of No. 4 Missouri Southern and No. 5 seed Central Missouri.
The Fort Hays State Alumni Association is hosting pre- and postgame parties in Kansas City, Mo., throughout the weekend. The parties will be held at Johnny’s Tavern (1310 Grand Boulevard) just blocks from Municipal Auditorium and will feature daily food and drink specials. The weekend’s schedule is below:
| Friday, March 6 | Postgame | 3-6 p.m. |
| Saturday, March 7 | Pregame | 2-5 p.m. |
| Sunday, March 8 | Pregame | 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. |