By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 3/1 Fort Hays State women’s basketball team built up a big lead over the first three quarters before holding off a late Washburn run Saturday (Jan. 19), moving back into first place in the MIAA standings with a 59-51 victory. The Tigers are now 16-1 overall and 7-1 in MIAA play, while the loss ends a nine-game winning streak for the 11-5 (6-1 MIAA) Ichabods.
Senior Tatyana Legette was essential to the Tigers building a double-digit lead in the first half, scoring 12 of her game-high 18 points in the first 20 minutes. After heading into the matchup with 990 career points, the Topeka native eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau with her final basket in the second quarter. She is the 20th Tiger to score 1,000 points in their career at FHSU.
Washburn was first to light up the scoreboard, but it didn’t take long for the Tigers to wake up. FHSU responded with seven-straight points, including a triple from Lanie Page to set the tone. A three-point play from Legette helped the Tigers pad their lead to eight, 16-8, late in the quarter before the Ichabods scored four quick points to cut the deficit in half. Kacey Kennett answered back with a long triple from the right wing at the buzzer, putting FHSU in front 19-12 at the end of the quarter.
The Tigers clamped down on defense in the second quarter, limiting Washburn to just eight points to continue to pull away. Fort Hays State scored 10-straight points in the heart of the quarter thanks to three-pointers from Carly Heim and Legette, the latter of which pushed the Topeka senior over the 1,000 point plateau for her career. An and-one from Whitney Randall following a Legette offensive rebound gave the Black and Gold their largest lead of the half, 34-18, before a late jumper fell through for the Ichabods to make the halftime margin 14.
Both sides struggled from the floor in the third quarter, with each team hitting just 27.8 percent from the floor (5-of-18). Carly Heim put up six points in the frame, including a left-handed layup to give the Tigers a 47-32 lead going into the fourth quarter.
After missing their first 10 long-range attempts, the Ichabods finally found their stroke from behind the arc in the fourth quarter. WU knocked down a trio of three-pointers to help close the gap, going on a 15-4 run after holding the Tigers to just one field goal over an eight-plus minute stretch to close within two possessions, 53-47. But layups from Legette and Kennett helped the Tigers take back control in the final 90 seconds.
In addition to leading the team in scoring, Legette also paced the squad with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Belle Barbieri (11 points) and Page (10 points) also scored in double figures.
The Tigers took advantage at the free throw line, knocking down 13-of-15 including their first 11. FHSU committed more turnovers than its opponent for the first time this season, giving the ball up 15 times while forcing 13 Ichabod miscues.
Fort Hays State looks to stay atop the MIAA standings next week when the Tigers return home for two more league contests. Missouri Western opens the week when they travel to Gross Memorial Coliseum Thursday (Jan. 24) at 5:30 p.m.