The regular season gets under way for the Fort Hays State women's basketball team this weekend at the St. Mary's Classic in San Antonio, Texas. The Lady Tigers will take on two South Central Region foes in St. Mary's (Texas) from the Heartland Conference and Tarleton State out of the Lone Star Conference.

Fort Hays State gave Oklahoma State all it could handle in exhibition action on Wednesday evening (Nov. 9) in Stillwater, Okla., falling by just four points, 55-51. The Tigers had a chance to tie or win the game on their final possession down just two, but turned the ball over, allowing OSU to escape with the win. Kaiameka Brown led all scorers with 18 points.

Fort Hays State and St. Mary's (Texas) have played just once, with FHSU knocking off the Lady Rattlers 70-66 during the 2006-07 season. That game was also a part of the St. Mary's Classic. Fort Hays State and Tarleton State will be meeting for the first time.

St. Mary's (Texas) returns two starters off of a team that was 15-12 a year ago and finished 3rd in the Heartland Conference. DeAnna Patterson is the top scorer who returns for the team, after averaging 7.9 points per game in 2010-11 and starting 18 out of 27 contests.

Tarleton State is ranked No. 20 in the WBCA Preseason Top 25 after reaching the South Central Region championship game in 2010-11, where they fell to MIAA Champion Northwest Missouri State. The TexAnns have three returning starters from last year's team, including guard Shelby Adamson and forwards Morgan Stehling and Kiara Wright.

Tony Hobson is in his fourth season as head coach of the Fort Hays State women's basketball program. He became the sixth coach in the history of the women's basketball program in the summer of 2008. In his first two seasons, Hobson led Fort Hays State to appearances in the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. before missing the conference tournament last season. Hobson has a record of 39-43 in three years at FHSU and an overall collegiate coaching record of 452-149 (.752) at the junior college, NAIA and NCAA Division II level. Jason Martens is in his sixth year at St. Mary's (Texas) and has a record of 98-47 leading the Lady Rattlers. Tarleton State is led by Ronnie Hearne who is 148-79 in eight years at TSU.

The Lady Tigers begin a four-game homestand next week by hosting Tabor College on Wednesday night (Nov. 16) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. Other opponents during the homestand include Central Christian, NW Oklahoma State and Bethel College.