File photo
By CAYDEN SANDERS
Tiger Media Network
The Fort Hays State University women’s basketball team has waited a month to play in Gross Memorial Coliseum this season. For the Tigers, their first home game came in a battle of undefeated conference foes as Northwest Missouri State traveled west to Hays. Fort Hays defeated the Bearcats 62-48 to remain unbeaten.
“We were very excited to play at home finally, very late for a home opener. I think we had a lot of energy,” junior forward Katie Wagner said. “We talked about getting Talia’s (Kahrs) first win at home against Tabor, we knew it was special to her and we wanted to get the win for her.”
For FHSU Head Coach Talia Kahrs, this was a huge game in her first year as head coach of the program.
“It’s always good to play in Gross Memorial, but it always comes with some pressure. I couldn’t be happier for the girls getting this win,” Kahrs said. “Northwest executes very well and they have a lot of people back from last season. It was a big win for us.”
FHSU (7-0, 3-0) had a huge third quarter scoring 24 points, one point shy of their first-half total. Defensively, the Tigers only allowed the Bearcats to score 10 points in the same quarter.
Northwest Missouri (7-1, 2-1) and FHSU kept it close through the first quarter, with FHSU earning a narrow 12-10 lead. In the second quarter, both teams continued to make it a close game as Fort Hays’ largest lead was five points. However, to end the first half the Bearcats earned a big three from sophomore Molly Hartnett to give the Bearcats one of their only leads in the game. At half, the Bearcats led the Tigers 28-25.
With the big third quarter for the Tigers, Fort Hays State coasted to the victory, as Fort Hays outscored the Bearcats 13-10 in the fourth quarter.
In the win from the Tigers, Fort Hays State saw some key performances from sophomore Brooke Loewe and junior Sydney Golladay. Loewe scored eight points, nabbed two steals, and had three assists on the night, helping contribute to the 22 bench points scored for the Tigers.
Golladay also had a good performance, giving the Tigers five points, three assists and six rebounds, the most Golladay has collected in the season.
For Wagner, having a deep bench means a lot, especially being able to have people step into big roles in games.
“I thought it was big having people step up, especially this year, we have talked about that everyone can be a scorer,” she said. “We got rid of the fear factor of shooting, I think now everyone is willing to contribute like we saw tonight.”
Wagner finished the night with 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a block.
The Tigers will have a quick turnaround and play another big game against Missouri Western on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip-off in Gross Memorial.
“Missouri Western can score at all different levels, everyone on the court is a scorer, we just have to play another good game of team defense,” Kahrs said.