Story by RAEGAN NEUFELD Photos by KATIE KUHLMAN
Tiger Media Network
The No. 7 Fort Hays State University women’s basketball team has won by 20 or more points in five of their eight games this season, with the most recent dominating victory coming from a 74-44 win over the University of Central Missouri.
Brooke Loewe drives past her guard and goes in for the layup. 
Taylor Weishaar and Olivia Hollenbeck fight for the ball in the tip off. 
Katie DeGarmo drives into the basket to score two points. 
Katie DeGarmo saves the ball from going out of bounds 
Katie DeGarmo jumps around her defender to score the layup. 
Talexa Weeter pivots around her defender for an open shot 
Talexa Weeter moves past her opponets to make the open shot. 
Driving down to the basket Talexa Weeter goes in for the shot. 
After getting fouled Kate Dilsaver shoots free throws. 
With multiple defenders surrounding her Talexa Weeter goes up for the basket. 
Talia Kahrs celebrates the win with her players at the end of the game.
The Tigers (8-0,1-0) took a two-point advantage over the Jennies (7-4, 0-1) into the end of the first quarter but quickly extended that lead by going on a 9-0 run to start the second period. The third quarter started with FHSU up 37-27, but both teams struggled offensively, with the score at 40-31 after six minutes. From there, the Tigers outscored UCM 12-2 to finish the quarter and had no trouble the rest of the game.
“We guarded them pretty well,” FHSU Head Coach Talia Kahrs said. “(Reese) Schaaf got some good baskets in the first half and then every shot in the second half that she made and had to take, I thought was really tough. Then, rebounding was huge. We crushed them on the boards and we got a lot of easy shots because we crushed the offensive boards.”
Before Thursday, UCM averaged 38.2 rebounds per game, but FHSU outrebounded the Jennies 46-27. The Tigers scored 17 second-chance points from their 17 offensive boards. Graduate student Olivia Hollenbeck led the way on the glass for the team, pulling down a career-high 14 rebounds. She also scored 13 points.
“That’s definitely something I’ve been trying to work on,” she said. “So I’m glad I got some more (rebounds) tonight. We knew that was going to be big coming in. They rebound really well, so we knew that was going to be a big aspect of the game.”
Sophomore Talexa Weeter led the Tigers in scoring for the second time this season, coming off the bench and finishing with 21 points and six rebounds. She’s averaging 13.5 points per game and 18.9 minutes so far after averaging 2.6 points in just seven minutes of action a game last season.
“I’m definitely just being confident in myself and not second-guessing what I’m doing,” she said. “I know I’m good at whatever I’m doing, so it’s just being confident with what I’m doing.”
Rounding out the top scorers for FHSU were juniors Brooke Loewe and Ellie Stearns, who scored 12 points each, and graduate student Katie DeGarmo, who scored 10. As a team, the Tigers shot 42.4% from the field and held UCM to 33.3%
FHSU had a good night in several areas of the stat sheet, scoring 40 points in the paint, 38 points from their bench players and 21 points off turnovers. They stole the ball 10 times and forced a total of 18 turnovers.
“Everyone contributing, it makes us such a different team,” Hollenbeck said. “Brooke had some awesome drives tonight, and just having different weapons across the board is super helpful and opens everything up, so it’s been awesome.”
Kahrs credited the team’s depth for the success they’ve had so far this season.
“I think it’s huge when we can get a lot of production off the bench,” she said. “When I’m comfortable bringing somebody in off the bench and we don’t let down, it allows everybody to get in the mix and have some experience. Later in the year or next game or whenever we need those crucial minutes, we have the opportunity to do that and get our starters some rest.”
The Tigers will play another home game on Saturday, hosting the Washburn Ichabods. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.