STORY BY RUSSELL HEITMANN
PHOTOS BY NICK SCHWIEN
KANSAS CITY, Missouri –There was little doubt about whether the Fort Hays State University women’s basketball team was ready to play on Saturday in Kansas City. With the chance to advance to their second straight MIAA Championship game in as many years, the Tigers used a torrential
“The first half was really good. I don’t know if we could have played better offensively,” said Tony Hobson, head coach of the Tigers. “We had good ball movement and did a good job of locating the open person. And as usual we are pretty unselfish. Whoever is open usually ends up with the ball. Tonight they were going in for a lot of people.”
Fort Hays started the game 9-12 from beyond the arc and finished the first half 9-14 from three-point land on their way to a 43-18 lead going into intermission. Five different Tigers hit from deep, led by Taylor Rolfs’ 3-3 three-point shooting and Kacey Kennett’s half-court buzzer beater at the end of the first quarter. Lanie Page finished with a team-high 15 points, which included three triples of her own.
“Our shots weren’t falling a little bit last game, but right off the bat our shots were falling [tonight],” said Page. “If your shot is falling, everything is good. We felt really comfortable after our shots were going in.”
While the Tigers hot shooting from deep played a major role in taking such a commanding lead in the game’s early stages, the interior play of junior forward, Belle Barbieri, provided an equally effective punch. Barbieri finished the first half with just four points, but she also pulled down six rebounds – three of which were offensive – blocked two shots and dished out two assists.
“Belle is just relentless on the glass,” said Hobson. “A lot of times Belle will tip it about three times, tip it out and run it down because she can beat everybody to it. I think the last ten games she has averaged about 11 [rebounds] a game.”
Barbieri finished with ten points, 13 rebounds – five offensive — three blocks and two assists.
The rest of the Tigers followed Barbieri’s lead on the glass, as FHSU outrebounded Washburn 47-27, including 15 offensive rebounds. FHSU led the MIAA in rebounding during the regular season, and their propensity to clean the glass has followed them to Kansas City.
“It takes so much pressure off you,” said Hobson of FHSU’s ability to rebound. “It takes a little bit of pressure off when you’re getting about every fourth miss you’re rebounding and get another possession. Getting an offensive rebound is just as important as getting a turnover, you get the ball back.”
Page enjoys having teammates – such as Barbieri – who are so dominant on the glass. She said it makes her job easier on the floor.
“It’s really nice on the boards [having Barbieri] at least for me, because I really don’t crash the boards so much and I can just – sorry coach – I can just stand there and watch her do it,” Page said with a laugh. “It’s really nice to be able to count on her even when I’m not going [to the glass].”
“In Lanie’s defense, she’s not supposed to go the glass, she’s our safety,” Hobson interjected. “It seems kind of funny to have your 6’3” kid be your safety, but there are a lot of things we do that are funny.”
The Tigers will await the winner of Central Missouri and Lindenwood to determine who they will play in the MIAA championship on Sunday. With less than 24 hours of turnaround, Hobson said the Tigers will focus on recovering their energy in advance of their next game, as well as preparing their game plan.
“We’ve only played both of these teams each once – one of them fairly recently and the other two months ago,” he said. “We’re not unfamiliar with them, we’ll probably have to play a little more defensively. We might not have as many things figured out, we’ll just have to be fundamental. They are both good offensive teams.”
The Tigers finished with five players in double figures. Joining Page and Barbieri were Whitney Clampitt (12 points), Taylor Rolfs (11 points), and Kacey Kennett (10 points). The Tigers shot 50 percent from three-point land, and 43 percent from the field. FHSU held Washburn to just 30 percent shooting and limited the Ichabods to just five second-quarter points.
Tip-off for the 2019 MIAA women’s championship game is scheduled for approximately 3:30 p.m. from Municipal Auditorium.