BY MAKENNA ALLEN
The 10th ranked FHSU women’s basketball team soundly defeated the Missouri Valley College Vikings in their sixth game this season on Saturday. The Tigers dominated inside GMC, 106-45 in an even greater defeat than the last time the two teams met in 2014.
In this first of six consecutive home games for FHSU, the Tigers ran away from the competition, leading by as many as 67 points during the game’s final quarter.
The Tigers began to pull away from the competition even during the game’s first quarter as they led 22-6 when the clock ran out. The gap widened even further during the contest’s second quarter, as the Tigers carried a 53-21 lead into halftime.
Despite the fact that Head Coach Tony Hobson had his starters sitting the bench at the end of the first half — and for the majority of the game’s second half — junior guard Kacey Kennett can take credit for a large percentage of the game’s points. Kennett rose far above her average of 10.2 points per game as she put up a total of 24 points, 15 of which came from five three-point baskets.
“Kacey got us off to a great start. She played 19 minutes. If she played her usual 32 or 34 minutes, she probably would have had 30 or 35 points,” said Hobson.
It was not just Kennett’s success that allowed the Tigers to emerge from the game with an even greater victory than their meeting with the Vikings four years ago; indeed, it was a team effort that was also the work of returning team players as well as some of the team’s freshmen.
“You could see that we’ve got some good athletes that aren’t getting to play and the only reason they’re not is because they’ve got kids who are a couple years older than them and good players in front of them,” said Hobson. “If they just stay the course and keep working on their game, their time will come.”
The Tigers may be getting used to victories such as these as the team is hot off a five-game winning streak that they have now extended to six games. Though the women have been on the road for the past three games, they’ve managed to score victories over Southwest Minnesota State University, Upper Iowa University, Newman University, the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs, and Chadron State College.
This winning record extends beyond just this season as the women are undefeated and hope to preserve the team’s record of 23 straight victories for the month of December.
The team has not lost at home since December of 2011 and is looking to continue this trend throughout their next six games at home.
Tues., Dec. 4, theTigers will take on the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers at 5:30 in Gross-Memorial Coliseum. This game will officially open conference play for the team as they look towards what they hope will be a championship season.
“They’ll (Nebraska-Kearney) be pumped and ready for us,” said Hobson. “When you have a national ranking, everybody is after you so they’ll definitely be ready.”