The Fort Hays State women's basketball team will look to make it two road wins in three days on Monday evening (Jan. 30) when they take on Missouri Western. The Lady Tigers solidified their spot in the middle of the MIAA standings with Saturday's 65-42 win over Northwest Missouri State and, at 15-5 (7-5 MIAA), they currently sit a half game behind fourth-place Central Missouri.
Fort Hays State and Missouri Western have met 40 times in women's basketball, dating back to the 1976-77 season. Fort Hays State has won the last two games in the series, both in Hays at Gross Memorial Coliseum, to take a 21-19 all-time lead. The first meeting between the two teams this season, a 70-48 FHSU win on December 10, resulted in the largest victory (28 points) by a Fort Hays State team over Missouri Western in series history. Since joining the MIAA, the Lady Tigers have managed just one victory against the Griffons in St. Joseph, a 66-52 win on February 1, 2010.
Missouri Western is one of the lowest scoring teams in the MIAA, averaging 63.3 points per game while allowing more than 70 points per game. The Griffons are in the midst of a five-game slide which included a 100-99 overtime loss at Southwest Baptist, while the other losses were against the top four teams in the conference. Missouri Western does have the MIAA's top scorer in Jessica Koch, who averages 23.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. No other player for MWSU averages more than 10 points per game. The Griffons can also be a very pesky defensive team, ranking third in the MIAA with 8.9 steals per game.
Saturday's win at Northwest Missouri State snapped a three-game losing streak for the Lady Tigers, and also a three-game road-losing streak. After defeating Truman 69-63 back on January 2, FHSU had dropped road games at Central Missouri, No. 10 Pittsburg State and No. 20 Emporia State prior to the Saturday. A home loss to Lincoln last Saturday had extended the overall streak to a season-high three games.
FHSU freshman center
Kate Lehman added five blocked shots to her total on Saturday against Northwest Missouri State, giving her 61 for the year. Lehman needs just three more blocks to tie Erica Biel's single-season record of 64 blocks which she set during the 2008-09 season. There is a good chance that record will come soon, considering Lehman has blocked at least three shots in each of the last six games. However, the last time that Lehman did not record a blocked shot in a game was when Fort Hays State and Missouri Western first matched up. In that game, she played just two minutes, making her only field goal attempt and finishing with two points. Lehman has taken off since then and now leads the MIAA in blocked shots and ranking No. 8 nationally in blocks per game with 3.1. Even more astounding is the fact that Lehman has blocked more shots than five other teams (Missouri Southern, Missouri Western, Lincoln, Truman, Southwest Baptist) in the MIAA. As a team, Fort Hays State has blocked 112 shots this season, tying for the second-best mark in school history. The Lady Tigers now need just two more blocks to set a new school record for single season blocked shots. The current record is 113 and was set during the 2008-09 season.
Fort Hays State has been playing improved defense this season, holding opponents to an average of 56.8 points per game and 35.8% shooting from the field. In conference games, FHSU has held three opponents below 50 points, including holding Northwest Missouri State to a season-low 42 points on Saturday. The 42 points is the lowest scoring output by an MIAA team in a conference game this season and it was the second time that FHSU held the Bearcats to less than 50 points, allowing them just 45 in the teams earlier matchup. Fort Hays State held Missouri Western to 48 points the first time they met, which ties the lowest scoring output for the Griffons this season.
Crista Bechard has the No. 2 assist/turnover ratio in the MIAA and ranks No. 11 in NCAA Division II as of January 22. Bechard has dished out 64 assists while turning the ball over just 28 times, giving her a ratio of 2.3. As a team, FHSU has an assist/turnover ratio of 0.97.
