By MAYAN PAZ
Tiger Media Network
Fresh off their exhibition trip to UCONN, the Fort Hays State University women’s basketball will begin the 2024-25 season this weekend. The Tigers are ranked third in the NCAA D2 Central Region preseason rankings and are No. 22/23 in the preseason coaches and media polls.
FHSU opens against Augustana and MSU Moorhead in the Central Region Showcase in St. Joseph, Mo. Friday and Saturday.
While the Tigers enter both games ranked, according to FHSU Head Coach Talia Kahrs, being ranked means only that teams would put more effort into the matchups against Fort Hays.
“I think being ranked kind of puts a target on your back,” Kahrs said. “And so every game, everybody’s gonna give you your best shot, and so as it’s good and it’s bad, because everybody wants to beat the ranked team, so they’re gonna come in extra focused and extra ready specifically for our game. But also, as a coach, I’d rather have the pressure on than not because it’s good. So it’s good, and it’s bad.”
Against UCONN, who played in last season’s final four, FHSU lost 89-49; however, Kahrs was still able to see some positives in the way her team played against DI competition.
“I think going into those games, you hope that you can kind of do some things that you’re trying to do and see, but also that you walk away feeling like you grew as a team, and I felt that way. I felt like we ran the floor really hard, and I felt like we rebounded really hard and did the effort things and the toughness things really well,” Kahrs said. “And I think if we can maintain that throughout the course of the season, we’re going to have a good year, and we just continue to push ourselves, challenge ourselves, and get better every day.”
The Tigers have a mixture of experience on their roster. The Tigers return seven players who saw the floor last season and nine total players who were on the roster – including MIAA Player of the Year Katie Wagner and third-team All-MIAA forward Olivia Hollenbeck. However, the Tigers also added a couple of transfers and a few freshmen. For Kahrs, the returners have shown exemplary leadership in the preseason, and the new players are fast to adjust to the system.
“I think our returners are just doing a great job of maintaining where we’ve been the last couple of years, but also they’ve really, each of the individuals has stepped up into a leadership role in a different way, really just being supportive of each other, but also challenging each other,” Kahrs said. “As a whole, our group is really coachable. And so if somebody sees something, everybody kind of listens and tries to adjust and get better.
“The new kids just came in super eager to play, learn, and grow. They are also super coachable, getting in the gym and trying to get better. So I think that, as a whole, has been a really good team dynamic.”
The Tigers play Augustana at 12 p.m. on Friday and MSU Moorhead at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. FHSU will open their home season on November 15 against Adams State.