BY CORA TASSET
Fort Hays State Women’s Basketball was back in action on Wednesday night at Gross Memorial Coliseum against the Bethany Swedes. The Tigers were looking to redeem themselves after some tough losses on the road that dropped them to a #19 ranking. FHSU answered the call and beat Bethany 92-40.
“I thought considering the fact that the team has had their noses in books all week studying, they did a good job,” Coach Tony Hobson said. “I know that this is a stressful time for them and it is hard for them to focus on basketball when they have such important finals to work on.”
FHSU fought hard and held Bethany to score only four points in the first quarter, leading 22-4. The Tigers stayed on top to finish out the half 47-15 against the Swedes. Fort Hays continued their lead in the third quarter 68-26.
The Tiger defense racked up 17 rebounds, 20 steals, and forced 32 turnovers by the Swedes. The offense played well, also pulling down 17 rebounds, converting on 18 fastbreak points, and scoring 47 points off turnovers. Senior guard, Taylor Rolfs put up eight points, four assists, and one block against the Swedes.
“I really want to improve my defense and then finish shots, I shot well at Emporia, but not as well tonight and I just want to try and be more consistent,” Rolfs said. “We knew that our ranking would drop, but it’s okay to come from behind and that is now our mentality for the game.”
The Women’s Basketball team will be on the road to Florida next week as they compete in the Cruzin Classic.
“It’s a unique situation for us, we are taking a trip to Florida for our next games and there will be a lot of distractions so hopefully we can zero in enough to play well,” Hobson said. “These next teams are good, but they are both new to each other and we don’t know a lot about them, so we are in the same boat.”
Their first game will be played on Wednesday, December 18th against Harding at 2:30 Eastern Time.