By FHSU SPORTS INFORMAION
The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team will play in an NCAA Division II regional title game for the second time in program history Monday (March 18) when the No. 3 Tigers take on seventh-ranked Southwestern Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. The winner of Monday’s contest will advance to the 2019 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship Elite Eight, held in Columbus, Ohio beginning March 26.
Important Fan Information
Tickets: All seats are general admission for the regional tournament. Tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for youth/students, with FHSU students admitted for FREE with a valid Tiger card.
Parking: The grass lot adjacent to Gross Memorial Coliseum will be OPEN today. Auxiliary parking will be also available at Lewis Field Stadium, on the south edge of the FHSU campus. Shuttles will run from Lewis Field to the Coliseum every 10 minutes beginning at 4 p.m. and continuing until the end of the final game of the night.
Tiger Pregame Party: The FHSU Alumni Office will host Tiger Spirit Parties before each Fort Hays State game this weekend inside the Eagle Communications Hall at the Robbins Center. Monday’s festivities are scheduled from 4-6 p.m. More information can be found here.
Black Out Gross Memorial Coliseum: Wear your black FHSU gear tonight as you cheer the Tigers on to victory!
It is the second time the Tigers have played in the Central Region championship game at home after earning the top seed in the 2015 regional tournament.
Both teams head into the contest 32-1 on the year, tied for the second-best winning percentage in the country.
This is the second year in a row that the Tigers have played Southwestern Oklahoma State in the Central Region tournament, with Fort Hays State knocking off the Lady Bulldogs in the opening round last March, 78-75.
That was the fourth meeting between the two schools in program history, with Fort Hays State coming away victorious in all four contests. The most recent Tiger victory before last season was a 57-53 win in 1990-91, when the teams met in the NAIA National Championship game.
The Tigers have won 25-straight home games dating back to last season, tied for the longest home winning streak in program history. FHSU has matched its record for wins at home in a single season this year with 18.
Southwestern Oklahoma State sports a high-octane offense that puts up 84.6 points per game, fifth-most in Division II. The Lady Bulldogs are led by last year’s Central Region player of the year Hailey Tucker and this year’s region player of the year Hayden Priddy. Tucker puts up 18.7 points per night and grabs 6.5 rebounds each game while Priddy is averaging 16.9 points, 3.4 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game. Bethany Franks grabs a team-high 8.9 rebounds while adding 9.1 points per game.