Fort Hays State looks to bounce back after a loss on Thursday at Pittsburg State when it plays at Missouri Southern on Saturday (Feb. 13). Game time is set for 1 pm at the Leggett and Platt Center in Joplin, Mo. The No. 5 ranked Tigers enter at 20-3 overall, 14-3 in the MIAA, while the Lions are 16-8 overall and 10-8 in the MIAA.
The Tigers ran into a hot shooting Pittsburg State team on Thursday evening in Pittsburg, falling 79-69. The Tigers still hold a half-game lead over Pittsburg State for second place in the MIAA standings but fell a game and a half behind conference-leading Missouri Western. Pittsburg State, the No. 23 ranked team in the nation is red hot winning its last nine games to crowd the Tigers in the MIAA standings.
To ensure staying in front of the Gorillas, FHSU will have to knock off a tough Missouri Southern squad in Joplin on Saturday. FHSU won the first meeting of the season in Hays by a score of 68-60. The Lions have played well against ranked teams in their home building this year with a win over Emporia State (ranked No. 3 at the time) and only a one-point loss to Missouri Western (ranked No. 6 at the time) on a four-point play with just over a second remaining.
Chelsea Mason led the scoring effort at Pittsburg State on Thursday evening with 15 points, going over 1,100 for her career at FHSU. She leads the team in scoring for the season at 13.0 points per game. Beth Bohuslavsky added 14 and Jill Faxon had 13. Paige Lunsford was a point shy of double figures with nine. All four average double figures in scoring.
Missouri Southern is coming off a 76-53 win over Nebraska-Kearney on Thursday at home. The Lions have won two in a row, the last win coupled with a road win at Washburn last week.