FHSU Sports Information Department
EDMOND, Okla. – Fort Hays State fell in its regular season finale on Saturday (Feb. 27) at Central Oklahoma by a score of 81-73. The No. 9 ranked Tigers finished the regular season at 24-4 overall and 18-4 in the MIAA, tying for second in the conference standings with Pittsburg State.
Central Oklahoma nearly led for the entire game as FHSU held a 3-2 lead early. The Bronchos took the lead for good going on a 14-2 run to take a 16-5 lead. FHSU sliced the lead down to one twice in the second quarter, but UCO pulled away at the end to lead by eight at halftime, 36-28.
The Bronchos scored the first six points of the second half to extend their lead to 14 and it reached 19 with 2:07 to go in the third quarter. FHSU ended the third quarter with an 11-2 run to cut the lead back to 10. The Tigers extended that run to 17-2 by scoring the first six points of the fourth quarter, trimming the UCO lead to four with 8:17 to go in the game. The Tigers cut the margin to four three more times, but could never get over the hump.
Paige Lunsford scored a team-high 16 points, followed by Nikola Kacperska with 14 points and Beth Bohuslavsky with 13. Jill Faxon led the Tigers in rebounding with six.
Central Oklahoma shot the ball too well, hitting 54.8 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from beyond the 3-point line. The Tigers struggled shooting the ball, just 36.8 percent from the field and 24.1 percent beyond the 3-point line.
McKenzie Solberg led UCO with 22 points while Julia Mason followed with 16. Haley Weathers had 12 and Jordan Ward added 11.
Tying for second in the MIAA standings, Fort Hays State will be the No. 3 seed in the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City. Pittsburg State held the tiebreak on FHSU for the No. 2 seed. The Tigers will play at noon on Thursday (Mar. 3) in the quarterfinals against the winner of No. 6 seed Missouri Southern vs. No. 11 seed Northeastern State. Missouri Southern and Northeastern State will meet in Joplin, Mo., on Monday night.