Riding a five-game winning streak and on the verge of the national rankings, the FHSU women's basketball team visits Central Missouri on Wednesday evening (Jan. 4) for an MIAA matchup. Fort Hays State will be playing their second game in three days while UCM is back in action after dropping their last two games to nationally-ranked Pittsburg State and Washburn.
The series between Fort Hays State and Central Missouri dates back to the 1993-94 season, with the teams playing 13 times overall. UCM leads the series 8-5 and they hold a 6-4 advantage since FHSU joined the MIAA for the 2006-07 season. The teams have split the season series in each of the past three seasons and four of the last five, with UCM getting a season sweep in 2007-08. Fort Hays State has won in Warrensburg just twice, with the last one being a 71-64 win on January 4, 2010.
Central Missouri started the season 7-0 and climbed to the No. 22 ranking in the country before dropping four of their last five games, including four straight MIAA contests. The Jennies beat Southwest Baptist and Missouri Southern to open the conference season at 2-0, but have since fallen at Emporia State and Pittsburg State and at home to Lincoln and Washburn. UCM is paced by junior forward Shaquanda Wiggins, who averages 16.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Wiggins is the MIAA's leading rebounder and she already has one Player of the Week award to her credit. Nicole Caddell is averaging 16.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game to rank second on the team in each category.
The 12-1 start by Fort Hays State has put the Lady Tigers within two spots of the national rankings after FHSU received 66 votes in the latest USA Today ESPN Division II Coaches' Poll, which was released on Tuesday. FHSU will meet a Central Missouri team that just fell from the rankings after being ranked in the previous three polls. The MIAA has three teams still among the top 25, including Pittsburg State (13), Emporia State (19) and Washburn (20). Fort Hays State is the highest MIAA team receiving votes, while UCM and Truman are in that category as well. Fort Hays State has not been ranked in the Top 25 since February 17, 1997.
With Monday's win at Truman, Fort Hays State tied their win total from last season with 12 and they can eclipse the mark on Wednesday. FHSU finished the 2010-11 season with a 12-14 record and failed to make the MIAA Postseason Tournament for the first time under Head Coach
Tony Hobson. Hobson's teams averaged 13 wins per season through his first three seasons, with a 15-13 record in 2009-10 being the only winning season of the three. This year's team is just the third team in FHSU history to start a season 12-1 and the first as a member of NCAA Division II. The 12-1 mark is the best since the 1990-91 team started 14-1 on their way to winning the NAIA National Championship. The 1971-72 team also started 12-1 before dropping the final game of the year against Kansas State to finish at 12-2.
After seeing just 27 minutes of action in the previous four MIAA contests, freshman center
Kate Lehman came off the bench at Truman and nearly recorded the first double-double of her young career. Lehman, who stands 6-feet, 4-inches tall and is among the tallest players in the league, scored 15 points and pulled down nine rebounds in 26 minutes of action to help FHSU turn back Truman 69-63. In addition, Lehman had four blocked shots and two assists in the game. She leads the team and ranks third in the MIAA with 27 blocked shots and she is third on the team in rebounding with 4.2 per game.
