No. 23 Central MIssouri (5-0, 0-0 MIAA) vs. No. 17 Fort Hays State (6-0, 0-0 MIAA) Wednesday, December 5 2012 Hays, Kan. - Gross Memorial Coliseum - 5:30 p.m. Game Notes I Watch Live | Live Stats | Listen Live

The Fort Hays State women's basketball team plays its second ever matchup between two Top 25 teams on Wednesday (Dec. 5) when the Tigers welcome No. 23 Central Missouri to Gross Memorial Coliseum for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.
 
The Tigers are 6-0 for the second straight season with all six wins coming by 20 points or more. During the Thanksgiving weekend, FHSU defeated Arkansas Tech, 81-52, and Texas-Permian Basin, 63-43.
 
FHSU jumped up six spots in the latest polls to No. 17 after being No. 23 last week. The 6-0 Tigers are ranked for fourth time in NCAA Division II history. The other two times the Tigers were ranked was in the 1996-97 season when FHSU ranked No. 23 for two straight weeks.
 
The last time FHSU played a ranked opponent when the Tigers were ranked was the 1996-97 season when a No. 25-ranked FHSU squad defeated No. 22-ranked Metro State by four points in Hays.
 
Central Missouri leads the all-time series, 10-6, with all 16 meetings occuring in the last 19 years. The Tigers and Jennies had met just three times prior to FHSU joining the MIAA for the 2006-07 season. In the last four years, both teams have won a game in season series, including last year when UCM won two of the three games. The Jennies ended the Tigers 2011-12 season with a 73-61 win in the MIAA Tournament on March 1, 2012. The Tigers hold a 4-2 advantage over the Jennies in games played at Gross Memorial Coliseum, and FHSU has currently won two straight at home against UCM. The Tigers won 68-51 in the last meeting at Gross Memorial on Feb. 11, 2012. Katelyn Edwards totaled a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds).
 
The Jennies return zero starters from their 2011-12 team that made the NCAA Tournamentand went 20-9 overall and 13-7 in the MIAA. Only four letterwinners return and the team welcomes six newcomers for the 2012-13 season. The Jennies do return WBCA All-American Honorable Mention selection Nicole Caddell, who averaged 15.4 points and 7.5 rebounds a season ago. So far this season, Caddell averages a double-double, 11.4 ppg and 11.2 rpg. Junior BreAnna Lewis leads the team in scoring though five games, averaging 19.4 ppg. The Jennies have made the NCAA Tournament in two of the last three seasons, including 2011-12. Last season, UCM's season ended in the NCAA South Central Regional with a 74-70 loss to Pittsburg State.
 
After the home conference opener, the Tigers continue MIAA play with a trip to Missouri Western on Saturday (Dec. 8). Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. in St. Joseph, Mo.