By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
After taking Kansas and Kansas State to the brink in a span of five days last week in exhibition play, the Fort Hays State women’s basketball team had eight days to fine-tune things to prepare for the regular season. That long wait ends Friday (Nov. 9), as the 12th-ranked Tigers open the year for the fourth-consecutive season against Southwest Minnesota State and Upper Iowa.
It is the Tigers’ turn to host this time around, meaning the Mustangs, Peacocks and the Missouri Western Griffons will all start what they hope to be a successful season inside Gross Memorial Coliseum this weekend. Fort Hays State will play in the second game each day, taking on SMSU at 7 p.m. Friday before facing off with UIU on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. MWSU will take on the opposite team two hours prior each evening. *Fans can get into Saturday’s doubleheader FREE with their football ticket stub.*
Fort Hays State is 3-0 all-time against both teams, opening the year with victories each year since 2015.
A win Friday would be Fort Hays State’s 15th-straight victory in a season opener, dating back to 2003. Overall the Tigers are 32-17 in the first game of the season.
Fort Hays State has won its last 46 regular season non-conference home games, with the last such loss coming in 2008.
Southwest Minnesota State returns its entire starting lineup from last year’s team that finished 5-21 overall and 4-18 in the NSIC. The Mustangs were picked to finish 12th in the preseason NSIC Coaches poll with junior forward Caleigh Rodning being named an NSIC Player to Watch. Rodning is the leading scorer (12.9 ppg) and rebounder (7.5 rpg) returning for the Mustangs, with Sadie Stelter dishing out a team-best 1.9 assists per game last season. Abuk Akoi ranked fourth in the league with 1.9 blocks per game. Head coach Tom Webb is in his third season at the helm in Marshall, Minn., guiding the Mustangs to an 8-45 mark over the last two years.
Upper Iowa returns nine letter winners, including three starters, from last year’s squad that posted a 2-27 overall record and an 0-22 mark in league play, losing its last 25 contests. The Peacocks were selected to finish 16th according to the NSIC preseason Coaches poll. Senior Blair Klostermann was named an NSIC Player to Watch after earning first team All-NSIC honors as a sophomore. She missed more than half of last season due to injury, leading the team with 12.3 points per game before sitting out the final 15 games of the year. Micha Thompson enters her third year as head coach of the Peacocks with a 6-50 career record.
Click in the graphic below for a more in-depth season preview for the Tigers.
Complete Weekend Schedule:
Friday, November 9
UIU vs MWSU 5 p.m.
SMSU vs FHSU 7 p.m.
Saturday, November 10
SMSU vs MWSU 5:30 p.m.
UIU vs FHSU 7:30 p.m.