BY TRISTAN SASSE
Women’s Recap
Looking to avenge their first home loss of the season, the Fort Hays State University women’s basketball team was back in action on Thursday to host the Missouri Western Griffons. After allowing a season-high 78 points in their last outing, the Tiger defense buckled down and cruised to a 58-36 victory. Thursday was the fewest points Missouri Western has scored since joining the NCAA in 1988.
In the early going, Fort Hays set the tone and led 16-6 after Q1. FHSU built off their lead and went into halftime ahead 28-16. Fort Hays shot 44.4% in the opening half, while holding the Griffons to 25% (5-of-20) from the field.
Lanie Page was the leading scoring in the first half with eight points to guide FHSU. Tatyana Legette added seven points and five rebounds, while Emma Stroyan had five points of her own. For MWSU, Melia Richardson had eight points and five rebounds.
The Tigers continued their second-half dominance against MWSU. FHSU held the Griffons to 2-of-14 shooting in the third quarter, and extended their lead to 42-24 heading into the final frame.
In the matchup, FHSU shot 50% and held the Griffons to 23.4%. Fort Hays was out-rebounded 35-31, but forced 18 turnovers.
Nine Tigers scored on the night. Stroyan led the squad with 14 points and three rebounds. Legette was also a major contributor with 13 points and eight rebounds. For Missouri Western, Richardson finished with 13 points and six rebounds. Additionally, Dossou Ndiaye added eight points and 10 rebounds, while Savannah Lentz added eight points and four rebounds.
Up next, FHSU (13-4 overall, 4-4 in MIAA) will finish their homestand against the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats (1-16, 0-9) on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Griffons (10-8, 3-6) will head to Kearney, Nebraska to take on the Lopers (13-3, 5-3).
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Men’s Recap
On Thursday, the Fort Hays State University men’s basketball team looked for their second straight conference win. Hosting the Missouri Western Griffons, the Tigers took command early but the Griffons fought back.After a highly contested first half, FHSU came away with a 61-42 victory. The Tigers improved to 10-0 at home this season. Additionally, Fort Hays was without their second-leading scorer, Brady Werth (11.1 ppg and 4.5 rpg).
To start the game, FHSU pulled ahead by eight in the opening minutes but struggled to build their lead. After a strong start, the Tigers cooled off from the field and just over midway through the half, Fort Hays’ lead was trimmed to 17-16. Shortly after, Missouri Western took their first lead of the game. The Griffons continued their strong finish to the half, and went into the locker room with a 28-24 lead.
Missouri Western shot 50% in the first half, while holding the Tigers to 27.3% (6-for-22). Additionally, FHSU was out-rebounded 19-13 and was outscored in the paint 20 to 2. For the Griffons, Alex Martin led the way with seven first-half points. TJ Evans and Beau Baker added six points each. Aaron Nicholson led the Tigers with six points, while Hadley Gillum and Marcus Cooper both had four points.
The second half began with nine straight points by Fort Hays, including a 0-for-5 start from the field by the Griffons. The Tigers extended their lead to eight with just over 12 minutes left in the game. Fort Hays opened the half on a 20-2 run and Missouri Western shot 1-for-13 in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
With under 10 minutes remaining, FHSU led 44-30. The Griffons weren’t able to pull closer than 10 in the final minutes as FHSU proved to be too much in the second half, outscoring the Griffons 37-14.
Fort Hays shot 35.3% on the night, while Missouri Western finished at 33.3% (3-for-21 in the second half). FHSU also won the rebounding battle 39-32 and forced 13 turnovers.
Leading the Tigers was Gillum with 19 points and seven rebounds. Nicholson added nine points, Trey O’Neil had eight points, and Cooper finished with seven points and 11 rebounds.
Martin led the Griffons with 10 points. Evans added nine points and Cole Clearman had eight rebounds.
Looking ahead, FHSU (12-5 overall, 5-3 in MIAA) will host No. 2 Northwest Missouri State (15-2, 7-2) on Saturday. Additionally, Missouri Western (3-13, 1-8) will take on UNK (7-10, 3-5) from Kearney.