By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
WICHITA, Kan. – The No. 6 Fort Hays State women’s basketball team outscored Newman 17-2 in the first quarter Thursday (Feb. 3) before going on to win by 49 on the road, 79-30. It was FHSU’s largest margin of victory in an MIAA game and was the second-fewest points allowed against a Division II opponent during the Tony Hobson era (50-28 at Northeastern State, 2/28/15).
The win was Hobson’s 300th victory as a Tiger and the 713th win in his 30-year career as a collegiate head coach. The Tigers have averaged more than 21 wins per season during Hobson’s 14-year tenure at Fort Hays State.
After Tigers (18-2, 12-2 MIAA) and Jets (2-20, 0-16 MIAA) traded buckets over the first 90 seconds, Fort Hays State held Newman scoreless for nearly 13 minutes while going on a 24-0 run to take an authoritative 26-2 lead midway through the second quarter. The Tigers hit 50 percent from the floor during the run while the FHSU defense forced 15 consecutive missed shots and nine Jet turnovers.
Katie Wagner scored the first six points of the game for the Tigers before Olivia Hollenbeck and Jaden Hobbs added six points each during the big run. Newman’s two points in the first quarter were tied for the fewest allowed in a frame by the Tigers since they changed to quarters seven years ago.
The Jets finally got back on the board with a 3-pointer at the 5:53 point in the second quarter, but that would be the home team’s final field goal of the first half. The Tigers went into the locker room with a 36-7 lead after limiting the Jets to just 8.7 percent shooting (2-of-23). It was the fewest points surrendered by the Tigers in a half during the Hobson era.
Fort Hays State kept adding to the lead in the third quarter, hitting 52.9 percent from the floor (9-of-17) and 3-of-5 from behind the arc. The Tigers led by as many as 51 late in the fourth quarter, matching their largest lead of the season, before finishing off the 49-point win. Newman’s 30 points are the fourth-fewest allowed in any game by the Tigers under Hobson.
The Tigers finished the game shooting 45.6 percent (26-of-57) from the floor, their 13th game this year with a field goal percentage better than 45 percent. The FHSU defense held Newman to just 17.6 percent shooting (9-of-51), the fourth-lowest field-goal percentage allowed during the Hobson era and the lowest shooting percentage given up to a DII team.
Ten different Tigers scored in the victory, including seven players with at least five points. Four were in double figures, including 14 from Hobbs thanks to four 3-pointers. Wagner added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists while Jessie Sallach was one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Fort Hays State scored 27 points off 21 Newman turnovers, while the Jets did not record any points off turnovers. The Tigers outscored Newman in transition, 10-0, and in the paint, 34-12. The Tiger bench totaled 35 points in the victory, five more than the entire Jet squad.
The long road trip continues Saturday (Feb. 5) when the Tigers face off with Central Oklahoma beginning at 1:30 p.m. in Edmond, Okla. The Bronchos are coming off a 10-point win over No. 22 Nebraska-Kearney, 56-46.