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The Fort Hays State women's basketball team will host Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, Nov. 20. Game time is set for 2 pm. FHSU enters the game 2-0 following non-conference victories over Doane College and Tabor College. Nebraska-Kearney is currently 0-2 after falling on the road against Missouri S&T and Northwest Missouri State.
Promotions
-First 100 FHSU students to arrive and show their Tiger Card will receive a free t-shirt, compliments of Eagle Communications.
-Youth Day at Gross Memorial Coliseum - Free Admission for children in grades K-6.
Tiger Notes:
All-Time Against Nebraska-Kearney: This game will be the 76th meeting in the series history between Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney, with the Tigers owning a 40-35 advantage. The rivalry dates back to 1972-73, when the Tigers won the first meeting 53-48 in Hays. Nebraska-Kearney was the primary rival for Fort Hays State when the school was a member of the RMAC. The teams met at least twice in each season from 1972-73 until 2005-06 after which Fort Hays State left to join the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA). Nebraska-Kearney announced on September 24 that they will be leaving the RMAC and joining the MIAA starting in 2012-13 academic year. Since leaving the RMAC, FHSU and Nebraska-Kearney have split the last four meetings.
Sophomores Starting Strong: FHSU sophomores Kara McFarland and Kelsie Sorenson have both had a strong start to the 2010-11 season. McFarland, a native of Ottawa, Kan., is the teams leading scorer at 13.5 points per game. She is also averaging three rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks per game. Sorenson, who hails from McPherson, Kan., has started both of the Tigers games and is currently fifth on the team in scoring at 8.0 points per game. She is second on the team in rebounds (3.5 per game) and assists (2.5 per game) and fourth on the team in steals (2.5 per game).
Turning Up the Pressure: The Fort Hays State defensive pressure this year has been hard for opponents to overcome. Though struggling to shoot the ball in the first half against Tabor, FHSU stayed in the game because of the turnovers they forced the Bluejays into. Tabor ended the game with 34 turnovers, 24 of which came on steals by FHSU. Kaniesha Pettaway led the Tigers with six steals, while Kelsie Sorenson added five. In all, 10 of the 14 Tigers who saw action in the Tabor game recorded a steal. FHSU is averaging 22 steals per game through two games while their opponents are averaging 8 per game.
Post Presence: Janel Durler joined the FHSU basketball team this fall following a season out of basketball. Durler, a junior from Wright, Kan., has made quite an impact on the interior through two games, starting and blocking five shots in both games this year. FHSU only had a player block five shots in a game one time last year. In addition, she has scored 4.5 points per game and grabbed 4.0 rebounds per game. Durler played for two years at Garden City (Kan.) Community College prior to coming to FHSU. She led the Broncbusters in blocked shots in both seasons.
Looking Ahead: The Tigers will be on the road for the first time in regular season action on Tuesday, Nov. 23 when they head to Wichita, Kan. to face Newman. FHSU is 10-0 all-time against Newman in regular season play, including an 88-57 victory over the Jets last season in Hays. That will be the final non-conference game for the Tigers, who then open conference play on December 1st against the Lincoln Blue Tigers in Hays. It will be the first meeting between FHSU and Lincoln.
