JOPLIN, Mo. – Fort Hays State battled its way to a 68-62 win on the road Saturday (Feb. 13) at Missouri Southern. FHSU held a six-point halftime lead and eventually won by that margin, holding off the Lions late. The No. 5 ranked Tigers improved to 21-3 overall, 15-3 in the MIAA, remaining alone in second place in the MIAA standings.
With the win, FHSU sealed a bye in the MIAA Tournament, automatically punching its ticket to Kansas City for the quarterfinal round. The Tigers remained just a game and a half back of Missouri Western for the conference lead and a half game up on Pittsburg State for second.place in the MIAA.
Both teams shot the ball well in the first quarter, but FHSU ended the period on a 9-0 run to take a 22-18 lead. The lead changed hands seven times between the teams in the opening quarter.
Fort Hays State’s run grew to 14-0 by scoring the first five points of the second quarter, taking a nine-point lead. The lead touched 10 points three times, but with the last four points of the quarter, Missouri Southern (16-9, 10-9 MIAA) cut the lead back to six at halftime, 38-32.
The Tigers scored the first two baskets of the second half, pushing their lead back to 10 for the fourth time in the game, but the Lions went on a 12-2 run to tie the game 44-44 with 5:46 to go in the third quarter. FHSU promptly responded with an 8-0 run of its own to go back ahead by eight and then headed to the fourth quarter with a six-point lead.
The Lions pulled within two three times in the final quarter but could never push past the Tigers. Solid free-throw shooting from Nikola Kacperska and Paige Lunsford inside the final minute of the game kept a comeback out of reach and the final margin settled at six.
Chelsea Mason led the Tigers with 16 points, going 8-of-19 from the field. Nikola Kacperska added 15, going a perfect 8-of-8 at the free-throw line. Taylor Chandler, Beth Bohuslavsky, and Lunsford all had nine points. Jill Faxon and Elle Stein led the way on the boards, each with seven rebounds.
Deb Holcomb led MSSU with 19 points and seven rebounds while Dru Clark added 14 points.
Fort Hays State shot 46 percent overall for the game and 79.2 percent from the free-throw line. The Tigers held the Lions to just 36.8 percent shooting. FHSU outrebounded MSSU by three and won the turnover battle by two. MSSU committed just 11 turnovers, a new season low for a Tiger opponent, but FHSU had only nine. FHSU took full advantage of those turnovers, though, scoring 18 points off the miscues.
The Tigers return to Hays for the final two home games of the regular season on Thursday and Saturday (Feb. 18 and 20). The Tigers take on Lindenwood and Lincoln during the home stand.