{"id":64131,"date":"2022-03-12T20:13:11","date_gmt":"2022-03-13T03:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=64131"},"modified":"2022-03-13T00:20:14","modified_gmt":"2022-03-13T06:20:14","slug":"tigers-huskies-battling-in-regional-semifinal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=64131","title":{"rendered":"Tigers tame Huskies, reach regional title game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By RAEGAN NUEUELD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photos by LOREN McQUEENY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After winning their quarterfinal games by a combined seven points, Fort Hays State University and St. Cloud State University would be in for another tight race Saturday in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After six lead changes and five ties, the No. 1 seed Tigers narrowly beat the fifth-seeded Huskies, 59-55.
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Fort Hays is now 4-0 in all-time meetings with St. Cloud. The last matchup between the two teams was the first game of the season for the Huskies on Nov.19. The Tigers won that meeting, 58-51.
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\u201cI knew what they had,\u201d FHSU head coach Tony Hobson said. \u201cThey’ve been stellar all year. They have a lot of experience, they execute to death, and if you aren\u2019t really sound on defense, you get exposed very quickly. I thought defensively that to hold them to 55 points was exceptional. It was just a good game by our kids. This is about the sixth game in a row where we\u2019ve gritted it out and won down the stretch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat a battle,\u201d said St. Cloud head coach Lori Fish. \u201cThat was a tremendous basketball game. I enjoyed the whole process of it. I thought it was two great teams going out there and competing as hard as they could. I couldn\u2019t be more proud of what we\u2019ve accomplished. Fort Hays is a great basketball team, and I thought we came out here tonight and competed and left it out on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neither team had much control throughout the first half in a back-and-forth battle, but Fort Hays managed to lead by two at the break. A 10-2 run during the third quarter allowed the Tigers to build a 10-point lead, but the Huskies didn\u2019t quit and got the deficit down to six to start the final 10 minutes. They even outscored Fort Hays 18-16 in the last quarter, but it wasn\u2019t enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a St. Cloud 3-pointer left the Tigers trailing by one with a minute to play, Lauren West answered with a 3-pointer of her own, and also her first points of the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She even knocked down a second 3, making the score 57-52. The Huskies still kept it interesting with yet another 3-pointer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when Fort Hays got the ball back and was sent to the free-throw line, Katie Wagner made both shots to put the game out of reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t necessarily making shots at the beginning. But once I made the first one, I knew the second one was going in,\u201d West said. \u201cI got the ball with 10 seconds left, and they were laying off of me so I shot it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

West finished the game with six points, as did Whitney Randall. Just ahead of them were Cydney Bergmann, who had eight, and Jaden Hobbs, who had nine. Leading the Tigers were Katie Wagner with 12 points, six rebounds and six steals. Olivia Hollenbeck had 13 points and six rebounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Huskies, three players led with double-digit scoring. Morgan Draheim had 14, Nikki Kilboten had 12, as well as nine rebounds, and Tori Wortz had 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the key aspects of the game for Fort Hays \u2013 as it has been for a while — was its defense. The Tigers scored 15 points off 15 forced turnovers and 13 steals.
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\u201cWe didn\u2019t double-down as much as we have in the past. Other than (Kilboten), everybody else on the team shoots 3\u2019s and we had to cover that up,\u201d Hobson said. \u201cWe just couldn\u2019t afford to get too packed in there because they\u2019re good at kicking out and shooting. We were trying to pressure (Brehna Evans), not let her have it and make her work really hard. Unfortunately, she never gets tired, but I still think that wears on someone. We did a good job. She was 1 for 10, and she\u2019s a good player, so to hold her down was the key.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought they did a great job pressuring us,\u201d Fish said. \u201cThey got us out of rhythm early, but then we made some adjustments and we did some things better. They\u2019re a great basketball team. They\u2019ve got a lot of length, they\u2019re quick, athletic, and they can cause problems. They can also close out really quick, and it\u2019s hard to get a shot off. I thought for the most part that on both ends it was a defensive battle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Hobson noted, the last six games have ended with Fort Hays pulling away with the win late. The Tigers improved to 16-2 in games decided by single digits this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think our team has a lot of different weapons, and that\u2019s something we use to our advantage,\u201d Hollenbeck said. \u201cI think we do a good job of playing team basketball. Everyone averages six to 12 points, so we definitely share the ball well and use that to our advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou never know when your moment\u2019s going to be, so you just have to be ready for it,\u201d Hobson said. \u201c(Friday) night, (Hollenbeck and West) either didn\u2019t get to play much or didn\u2019t get much done. They showed up ready to play today and did it. That\u2019s what a team\u2019s about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fort Hays\u2019 overall record is now 30-3, making this the fourth 30-win season in the program\u2019s history. The Tigers will take on Missouri Western for the regional championship and a spot in the Elite 8 at 7 p.m. Monday. The game will be broadcast on the MIAA Network, with continued coverage from Tiger Media Network.
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