By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
WICHITA, Kan. – A season-high 20 points from Lanie Page fueled the 11th-ranked Fort Hays State women’s basketball team in Tuesday’s 72-60 win over Newman (Nov. 19). The Tigers improve to 3-0 on the year while the Jets dip to 3-2 overall.
After trailing at the end of the first quarter, a 3-pointer from Hailey Walker early in the second quarter put the Tigers in front for good, 21-18. Fort Hays State led by as many as 11 in the opening half before the Jets soared within three with 82 seconds to play before halftime. A layup and-one from Carly Heim and a jumper from Whitney Randall in the final minute put the Tigers back in front by eight at the break, 38-30.
The teams traded punches for the entirety of the second half, with neither side putting together much of a run. The Jets closed within seven with 2:37 to play, but Page scored the final six points for FHSU, including a 4-for-5 effort at the line down the stretch to secure the Tiger victory.
Page added three blocks and two steals in the victory, while Heim tallied 11 points, three assists and two steals. Tatyana Legette grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, including 10 after halftime, to go along with four points and two assists.
Fort Hays State grabbed six more rebounds than the Jets while sinking eight more shots at the charity stripe. Both sides poured in eight shots from behind the arc, with Newman opening the game a perfect 4-for-4 from deep in the first quarter. The Tigers finished the game 24-for-56 from the floor (42.9 percent) while the Jets posted a shooting percentage of 40.0 percent (22-of-55).
The Tigers will return to action this weekend when they travel to Kearney, Neb. to take on a pair of former RMAC rivals. First up is UC-Colorado Springs at 5 p.m. Saturday before they take on Chadron State at 2 p.m. Sunday.