By MAYAN PAZ
Tiger Media Network
The final game of the regular season has arrived for the Fort Hays State women’s basketball team. For perhaps the last time this season, the Tigers will step foot on the floor of Gross Memorial Coliseum against long-time rival Nebraska-Kearney. The No. 8 Tigers (24-3, 15-3) are still in the hunt for the top seed in next week’s MIAA Tournament, and are also in contention to host the NCAA Central Regional.
The Tigers and Lopers met earlier this season, as FHSU defeated UNK 84-73 on January 6 in Kearney. However, the situation is different this time. For Nebraska-Kearney (14-15, 7-11), this is a win-or-go-home game, and they have to beat the Tigers to have a chance of qualifying for the MIAA tournament.
Tiger head coach Talia Kahrs knows that playing against a team fighting for its survival won’t be easy.
“Kearney is a desperate team right now. They’re working to get into the tournament, and they really need to beat us to get in,” Kahrs said. “So they’re going to come in here with a lot of fight, and they’ve had some ups and downs this year because of injuries. But they’re a tough, tough team.”
Last week, the Tigers went 1-1 on their road trip, dropping a game to Missouri Southern before defeating Pittsburg State in overtime. Kahrs said the defensive side of the ball hurt them in the loss, but she was pleased with how the players stepped up offensively. Furthermore, bouncing back against the Gorillas in the next game was a good sign for the Tigers.
Ellie Stearns was one of the leaders for the Tigers in both games last weekend, scoring 13 points in both contests. She spoke about the difficulties of playing in the MIAA, as many teams are strong, even if they are not as high in the conference standings.
“They were both very good teams. I mean, in the MIAA, it’s a tough conference,” she said. “Any team can beat anyone any day, so we might have had a little bump in the road, but I think coming back against Pitt on Saturday and getting that overtime win, it really just helped us to bring our confidence back up and be ready to go into the postseason.”
Besides playing for the top spot in the conference tournament and a better seed nationally, this is also the final home game of the regular season, and for seniors Stearns and Brooke Loewe, this could be the last time they will play in front of their home fans. FHSU is currently No. 2 in the NCAA Regional Rankings.
Kahrs, who has been on a long journey with the seniors, said there is an emotional aspect to going into a game knowing it’s the last time they will play at home, but she tries to separate the emotions from the game as much as possible.
“I think emotionally, there can be a little bit of a change. And I think with the year that we’ve had and the support that we’ve had in the community, I think that last home game every year sticks with you a little bit as the coach, because it’s a fun place to be in a fun place to play, but I think for me, I try to focus on the next play,” Karhs said. “So what does that look like moving forward, and what do we need to get done during the game, specifically, and then really thinking about it into the future, and so just really locking in on making sure we’re doing everything to get the win, and probably not letting the emotions get to me as much.”
Stearns also spoke about the special feeling of playing in front of the home fans for the last time.
“I think we just have a great fan base here, so I think they’re going to show up for us, and just to really take it in one last time will be great,” she said. “It’s definitely sad to play our last game here. But you know, we’re glad that we still have so much season left and can still play many more games with the MIAA tournament, regionals, and all that coming up. So definitely sad, but looking forward to the postseason.”
Tipoff between FHSU and UNK is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. today inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.