NThe third-ranked Fort Hays State women’s basketball team left little doubt as to why it lifted MIAA regular season championship trophy Thursday (Feb. 28), leading wire-to-wire to defeat Missouri Southern, 79-59. The Tigers move to 26-1 overall and 17-1 in MIAA play after their 11th-straight win, while the Lions dip to 13-15 on the year and 5-13 in league action.
The Tigers took the lead about as quick as possible when Lanie Page dropped in a layup just three seconds into the game after Tatyana Legette sent the opening tip straight towards the Tiger basket. After scoring the first eight points against MSSU in Joplin a few weeks ago, the Tigers bested that effort by jumping in front 9-0 to start Thursday’s contest. Kacey Kennett scored four of those points in one trip down the floor after she was fouled while sinking a three-pointer from the top of the key. Page hit a baseline jumper on the next Tiger possession to put the Tigers in front by nine just over three minutes into the game.
Fort Hays State held the Lions without a field goal until after the under-five media timeout, with MSSU missing its first six shots in the contest. Another triple from Kacey Kennett stretched the lead to double figures later in the quarter, 14-4.
The Tigers took advantage of 10 trips to the free-throw line in the second quarter, knocking down nine of those attempts to help pad the lead to 18 by halftime, 38-20.
After doing much of their damage on the perimeter in the first half, scoring just 10 points in the paint, the Tigers went to the post to pull away after halftime. Tatyana Legette and Belle Barbieri combined for 23 points after the intermission, helping FHSU to 28 points in the paint in the second half.
Barbieri finished the game with a team-high 18 points, adding 11 rebounds to become the first Tiger with three straight double-doubles since Kate Lehman (eight straight, 1/5/15-1/28/15). Kennett added 17 points while Legette posted 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Whitney Randall added 10 points off the bench thanks to a 6-for-6 effort from the charity stripe.
The Tigers knocked down 46.8 percent from the floor (29-of-62), eclipsing 45 percent for the 14th time this season. FHSU outrebounded Missouri Southern 43-35, including 11 offensive rebounds that led to 17 second-chance points.
Fort Hays State will wrap up the regular season Saturday (March 2) against in-state rival Pittsburg State. First tip on senior day is set for 2 p.m.
