Game Notes  I  Watch Live  I  Listen Live  I  Live Stats

The Fort Hays State women's basketball team gets a chance to knock off the defending NCAA II National Champions on Wednesday night (Jan. 19) when No. 11 Emporia State pays a visit to Gross Memorial Coliseum. 

Emporia State has defeated the Lady Tigers in each of the last 10 meetings between the teams, including all nine since FHSU joined the MIAA. The Hornets have dropped to No. 11 in the polls after losing at Pittsburg State and at home to Washburn within the past three games. They are averaging 73.7 points per game, which is second-best in the MIAA and they lead the conference in both field goal percentage (43.6%) and field goal percentage defense (34.6%).

The Hornets are led by senior forward Alli Volkens, who is one of two players in the MIAA averaging a double-double. Volkens has season averages of 16.1 points and 11,6 rebounds per game. Three other players average over 10 points per game for ESU, including Kelsey Balcom with 11.7, Jocelyn Cummings at 11.1 and Rachel Hanf at 10.6.

Kara Champlin leads a Fort Hays State offensive attack that is averaging 62.0 points per game. Champlin is the team-leader in scoring, averaging 9.6 points per game, and rebounding, averaging 6.1 boards per game. She is also leading the team with a field goal percentage of 58.9% (53-90). Champlin and Kara McFarland (44.3%) are the only two players on the team that have made more than 40% of their field goal attempts.

Following a 16-for-26 shooting effort against Pittsburg State, the Lady Tigers now rank last in the MIAA with a field goal percentage of 34.5% (299-866). Things aren't much better from long range, where FHSU ranks 11th in the conference with a 3-point field goal percentage of 28.2% (98-348). The one area where Fort Hays State strives is at the free throw line, where they rank 2nd in the MIAA and are shooting 74.1% (172-232).

The Lady Tigers are currently on a three-game losing streak and have lost seven of their last eight games following a 2-0 start in conference play. Their conference record of 3-7 has them tied for 9th place in the standings with Southwest Baptist. The second round of the conference schedule begins on Saturday (Jan. 22) when FHSU will travel to Lincoln, a team the Lady Tigers defeated 62-39 earlier this season in Hays.