By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Despite a slow start, the third-ranked Fort Hays State women’s basketball team used a balanced effort to battle back and defeat Pittsburg State in the 2019 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship Central Region quarterfinals Friday (March 15), winning 74-65. With the win, the Tigers advance to the regional semifinals for the second year in a row when they will face MSU Moorhead on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
It was third time the Tigers came away victorious against the Gorillas over the last five weeks, the first time FHSU has defeated Pittsburg State three times in a single season.
Taylor Rolfs opened the scoring with a three-pointer, but a 12-0 run from Pittsburg State soon put the visitors in front by seven, 12-5. The run matched the longest scoring stretch by a Tiger opponent this season. Madison Mittie hit a big three-pointer from the right wing late in the quarter before PSU went back in front by five, 15-10 with a buzzer-beating three of their own.
The Tigers trailed by as many as eight at the midway point of the second quarter before Kacey Kennett made two big three-pointers to help FHSU tie things up with 41 seconds left before halftime, 29-29. The junior knocked one down to spark a 13-5 Tiger run before wrapping up the run with another triple while being fouled. She buried the free throw before PSU dropped in a layup to take a two-point lead into the break, 31-29.
Kennett poured in another three-pointer on the first possession of the third quarter, putting the Tigers back in front for the first time since midway through the first. After PSU tied things up, FHSU responded with a 7-0 run on back-to-back layups from Belle Barbieri and another triple from Rolfs. The Gorillas rallied once again, tying things up with two minutes left before Barbieri gave the Tigers the lead for good with another bucket.
The Tigers padded their lead to 10 by the midpoint of the final quarter, thanks to a step-back three-pointer from Hailey Walker. Pittsburg State closed within two later in the game, but Fort Hays State held on after hitting eight of their final 10 shots from the floor alongside a 6-for-6 effort from the charity stripe. Leading by just two, Mittie doubled the lead with a wraparound layup with just over one minute to play. Barbieri put up three points the old fashioned way on the ensuing possession, stretching the lead to seven with 33 seconds to play. Rolfs and Mittie added two free throws each in the waning seconds to seal the victory.
Barbieri led the way with 17 points, eclipsing 10 points for the 21st time this season. Rolfs added 16 on 6-of-8 shooting while Kennett put up her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 assists. Mittie drilled four of her five attempts in the game, totaling a season-high 11 points while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out three assists. Tatyana Legette distributed a team-high six assists, her seventh game of the year with five or more dimes.
The Tigers cleaned up the on the glass, outrebounding PSU 38-25. The Tigers knocked down 48.3 percent of their shots, including a 7-for-17 effort from behind the arc.
Fort Hays State moves on to the regional semifinals to take on the regular season NSIC champions, MSU Moorhead. The Dragons advanced to Saturday after knocking off Minnesota Duluth, 63-54.