Game Notes I Watch Live I Listen Live I Live Stats
The Fort Hays State women's basketball team is returning home following a pair of conference road victories over Lincoln and Nebraska-Omaha. Waiting for them this Saturday (Jan. 29) at Gross Memorial Coliseum is the MIAA leading and No. 23 ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcats. Game is set to tip off at 2:00 pm.
The two teams met earlier this season in Maryville, Mo., with the Bearcats winning by a score of 71-65. It was the third win of Northwest's current 11-game winning streak which has moved them to the top of the MIAA standings at 15-2 and 11-2 in the MIAA.
Fort Hays State, meanwhile, has won two straight games following a stretch where they lost eight out of nine. The Lady Tigers are 8-9 overall, and 5-8 in the MIAA which has them in 9th place in the conference standings, one game behind Central Missouri and Truman.
Crista Bechard has been on fire lately for the Lady Tigers, scoring a season-high in three consecutive games. The most recent was a 27 point outing at Nebraska-Omaha, where she also had season-highs in rebounds (7), blocks (2) and minutes played (40). Bechard is now the team's leading scorer, averaging 9.2 points per game.
Kara Champlin grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds at Nebraska-Omaha and she continues to lead the team in rebounding, averaging 6.3 boards per game. She is also the second leading scorer for the Lady Tigers with 8.7 points per game. Her field goal percentage of 52.6% (60-114) is also the best on the team.
Traci Keyser scored 20 points against Nebraska-Omaha, which was her second best scoring output of the season. Her best game came in Maryville earlier this year against NW Missouri State where she scored a career-high 31 points. Keyser is the third-leading scorer for FHSU with 8.5 points per game. She also leads the team and the MIAA in free throw percentage, hitting 93% (40-43) of her attempts this season.
Kaniesha Pettaway has joined Bechard to make up the starting backcourt all season long. She scored a season-high 7 points at Nebraska-Omaha to go along with 6 assists. Pettaway leads the Lady Tigers in assists with 68 (4/game) and steals with 28 (1.7/game).
Kara McFarland has returned to the starting lineup for the past three games and she has produced some of her best outings of the season. She scored a career-high 16 points at Lincoln last weekend and also had 11 the game before against Emporia State. McFarland is shooting 47.1% (16-34) from 3-point range to lead the team. She is also shooting 45.3% (39-86) from the field which is the second best percentage for FHSU.
NW Missouri State entered the national rankings this week at No. 23 for the first time this season. They are also in 4th place in the South Central Regional Rankings that were released on January 26. The Bearcats have avenged both of their conference losses in the past week by defeating No. 11 Emporia State and No. 9 Washburn in consecutive games.
All five of Northwest's starters average more than 11 points per game. Leading the way are Gabby Curtis and Abby Henry, who are both averaging 16.6 points per game. The other starters are Kyla Roehrig (13.9 ppg), Gentry Dietz (12.4) and Shelly Martin (11.9). Roehrig also leads the team with 11.4 rebounds per game, making her one of just two players in the MIAA that average a double-double.
