Box Score
The Fort Hays State women's basketball team battled with No. 10 Pittsburg State on Saturday (Jan. 14) afternoon and had a chance to win the game on the final possession. Crista Bechard got fouled and went to the line for two free throws with nine seconds to play, but she misfired on both and the game instead went into overtime. Pitt State outscored the Lady Tigers 10-1 in the extra session and handed FHSU their third loss of the year by a count of 64-55.
 
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm in the first half, with FHSU shooting 32.1% (9-of-28) while holding Pitt State to 29.4% (10-of-34). Neither team could connect from long range in the opening have either, combining to shoot 0-of-14 on three pointers. Pittsburg State opened the game on a 6-0 run in the game's first 90 seconds, but FHSU quickly countered and cut the lead to just two. The Gorillas never gave up the lead in the half, but the Lady Tigers did bring the game to a tie at 21-21 on a jumper by Kaiameka Brown with 2:16 to play in the half. Pitt State got a layup from Larissa Richards with 43 seconds left in the half and took a 23-21 lead to the break.
 
Bechard knocked down the first three pointer of the game with 18:28 to play in the second half, cutting the Gorillas lead to one at 25-24. The teams would trade baskets for a few possessions before Fort Hays State took their first lead at 28-27 following a Kate Lehman bucket. A basket from Brown a couple of plays later gave FHSU their largest lead of the game at 30-27. Pitt State kept FHSU at arm's length for the next few minutes before another Bechard lead made it a one point game at 40-39 with 6:38 left. Lehman came up with a layup on the next Tiger possession to give FHSU a 41-40 lead with just under six minutes to go.
 
Pitt State came right back and took the lead on their next trip down the floor and eventually pushed the lead to 49-44 after a Lizzy Jeronimus free throw with 3:08 to play. Kimber Weiser then started one final push for the Lady Tigers, hitting a pair of free throws to cut the lead to six before getting a steal and a layup as FHSU applied full-court pressure. Weiser then committed a foul, sending Courtney Tate to the line for a 1-and-1, but Tate missed the front end, allowing FHSU to take the lead on their next possession thanks to a driving bucket from Brown.
 
Katelyn Edwards pushed the lead to three with two free throws on the next possession, but Brooke Conley came right back with a basket of her own for Pitt State. Weiser then scored again on a drive for FHSU, putting the Tigers up 54-51 with 34 seconds to play. Drew Roberts quickly responded with a deep three which tied the game at 54-54, but FHSU had the ball and time to take the last shot. Following a timeout, Bechard took the ball to the basket and was fouled with nine seconds to play, but missed both free throws and a last chance three pointer from Conley fell short for the Gorillas and the teams earned five extra minutes of play.
 
Roberts quickly opened overtime with a three pointer on the opening possession and the Gorillas would not look back from there. FHSU managed their only point of the extra session on a free throw from Lehman which cut the lead to 59-55 with 3:49 to play in overtime. The Lady Tigers were 0-6 from the field the rest of the way, while Pitt State got a basket from Courtney Tate and two from Brooke Conley to put FHSU away 64-55.
 
Lehman led the way with her second consecutive double-double, scoring 15 points and pulling down a career-high 15 rebounds. Lehman also finished with a career-high seven blocked shots. Bechard was the only other player for FHSU to score in double figures, finishing with 12 while Brown, Edwards and Weiser all finished with eight as the Tigers were held to their lowest scoring output of the season.
 
Pitt State got 13 points from Jeronimus, 12 from Morgan Westhoff, 11 from Conley and 10 from Larissa Richards as they improved to 15-1 on the year and 9-1 in the MIAA.
 
Fort Hays State drops to 14-3 (6-3 MIAA) heading into Wednesday's showdown with No. 18 Emporia State. Game time is 5:30 p.m. at White Auditorium in Emporia.