Fort Hays State will play their second straight road game against a top-20 opponent on Wednesday night (Jan. 18) as they travel to Emporia to face longtime rival No. 20 Emporia State. Fort Hays State is 6-3 in conference play this year, sitting in fourth place in the MIAA standings with a 6-3 conference record. Emporia State is directly ahead of the Lady Tigers in the standings, and, with a win, FHSU could pull into a tie for third with the Hornets.
The rivalry between Fort Hays State and Emporia State is the third-most played series in FHSU history. The Lady Tigers and Hornets have faced off 66 times dating back to the 1974-75 season, with Emporia State holding a 40-26 advantage in the all-time series. Emporia State has won the last 12 meetings between the schools, including the past 11 with FHSU as a member of the MIAA. Fort Hays State hasn't knocked off the Hornets since taking a 65-62 win in Hays on December 8, 2002. The Lady Tigers draught against the Hornets in Emporia dates back even further to December 16, 1995 when FHSU downed ESU by a score of 70-67.
Emporia State opened the season with a 65-58 loss at Newman, but reeled off 10 consecutive wins following that game, including wins at No. 13 Northeastern State and at home over No. 22 Central Missouri. The Hornets come into this game after losing two of their last three games, but both were against ranked teams in Pittsburg State and Washburn. Emporia State is very balanced offensively, putting up 71.1 points per game with four different players averaging more than 10 points per game. Leading the way is Wichita State transfer Heather Robben, who averages team-highs of 13.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Kelsey Balcom is second on the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Merissa Quick is the third-leading scorer (11.9 ppg) and top rebounder (8.1 rpg) for the Hornets, while Rachel Hanf averages 11.8 points per game and ranks third on the team in rebounding (4.7 rpg) and assists (2.8 apg).
On Wednesday, Fort Hays State will be facing a ranked team for the fourth time this season, but will face consecutive ranked teams for the first time this year. FHSU is 1-2 against the ranked teams they have faced with a win over No. 20 Tarleton State before losses agaainst No. 15 at home and at No. 10 Pittsburg State on Saturday. Fort Hays State has not defeated a top 25 team on the road since joining NCAA Division II, going 0-27 in such games. FHSU is 12-48 all-time against ranked foes, with a 10-15 record at home and 2-6 record in neutral site games. The Washburn loss earlier this season snapped a school-record three game winning streak against ranked teams.
Tony Hobson is now 3-15 against ranked teams at FHSU with all three wins coming during the 2011 calendar year.
Kate Lehman set a new career high with 7 blocked shots against Pittsburg State on Saturday, which is the most shots single-game blocked shots by a player in the MIAA this season. Lehman is now tied with Larissa Richards of Pittsburg State for the conference lead in blocked shots, with both players sending back 41 shots on the year. That mark already has Lehman approaching the top 5 list for single-season blocked shots in school history. She needs just two more blocks to move into fifth place and 10 more to move into fourth. The school record for blocked shots in a season is 64 by Erica Biel in 2008-09. Lehman has come up huge for the Lady Tigers since the first of the year, averaging a double-double while blocking 18 shots in the last five games.
