By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Clutch 3-pointers and a perfect 11-for-11 effort from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter helped the No. 16 Fort Hays State women’s basketball team knock off No. 6 Saint Anselm Thursday afternoon (Dec. 19), 70-63. The Tigers (9-2) wrap up the 2019 Cruzin Classic with a pair of big wins, while the Hawks (7-2) return to New Hampshire with their first two losses of the season.
Fort Hays State led for much of the contest, but could never quite pull away from the Hawks until the final few minutes. After heading into the fourth quarter down 46-44, Madison Mittie opened the frame with FHSU’s first 3-pointer of the game to put the Tigers back in front.
The teams traded buckets over the next five minutes before Fort Hays State went in front for good with 3:26 to go. After sitting out due to foul trouble for much of the second half, Taylor Rolfs checked in and buried her first shot attempt, nailing a triple from the left wing to push the Tigers in front, 56-53. The Hawks answered with a bucket before Kacey Kennett tallied three points the old-fashioned way, stretching the lead to four, 59-55.
After two defensive stands, Rolfs came up big for the Tigers once again. This time squaring up from the right wing, the senior dropped in another triple from just in front of the FHSU bench to match the largest lead of the game with 1:36 to play, 62-55.
The Hawks managed to close within two after Peyton Steinman scored the next five points, including a layup with 23 seconds left to make the score 62-60. The Tigers were able to get the ball in to Jaden Hobbs, who trotted to the free-throw line after a quick foul.
With just 22 seconds on the clock, the junior calmly drilled both attempts from the charity stripe to push the lead back to four.
Saint Anselm answered once again when Grace Guachione knocked down her third 3-pointer of the game, making it a one-point game with 13 seconds left. Hobbs again buried two free throws before poking the ball away on the ensuing inbounds pass, returning possession to the Tigers.
Rolfs knocked down a pair of free throws before the Tigers forced another turnover to all but seal the win. The Claflin, Kan. senior finished things off with two more free throws, securing the 70-63 win.
Both teams struggled to get things going offensively in the first quarter for the second day in a row, with FHSU hitting five shots and Saint Anselm connecting on just three in the opening quarter. FHSU led 14-13 after 10 minutes of play before stretching the lead to 32-27 by halftime.
Hobbs opened the second quarter with six points in 50 seconds, hitting a jumper before converting a steal into a breakaway layup. The guard wrapped up the run with another fast break layup after a steal from Belle Barbieri.
The Hawks clawed back within one before Lauryn Reither ended a Saint Anselm run with a jumper with 1:06 left before halftime. Cydney Bergmann helped the Tigers push the lead to five at the break after knocking down a jumper from the free-throw line off a dish from Reither.
Guachione opened the second half with a 3-pointer for Saint Anselm before Randall and Barbieri dropped in driving layups on consecutive possessions to push the lead back to six, 36-30. That’s when the Hawks made their move, scoring 14 of the next 16 points to turn a six-point deficit into a six-point advantage, 44-38. The Tigers responded with six-straight points to tie things up before a late bucket put the Hawks in front by two at the end of the third quarter, 46-44.
Hobbs led the way with 19 points thanks to a 7-for-9 day from the charity stripe. The junior added four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Kennett tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth-career double-double alongside three steals. Rolfs totaled 11 points in just 22 minutes, with 10 points coming in the fourth quarter.
Bergmann played significant minutes off the bench, totaling eight points, a career-high seven rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block in a career-high 28 minutes of action.
Steinman led the Hawks with 23 points, while 6-4 forward Shannon Ryan recorded her ninth-straight double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
The Tiger defense forced 19 crucial turnovers thanks to 12 steals, creating 17 points off turnovers. The Hawks, on the other hand, turned in two points off turnovers after FHSU gave the ball away just six times.
The Hawks had a slight edge in rebounds, 48-43, while FHSU held a 16-12 advantage in offensive boards.
Fort Hays State finished the game 25-for-72 from the floor (34.7 percent), just behind Saint Anselm’s shooting percentage of 35 percent (21-of-60). After missing their first nine shots from behind the arc, the Tigers finished the game 3-for-5 from deep in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers will return to conference play after the holiday break when they host Missouri Southern on Saturday, January 4. Tip is set for 2 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.