Box Score After trailing by four at halftime, the No. 17-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team used a strong second half to surge to a 57-42 win at Missouri Western on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 8) at the MWSU Fieldhouse. The Tigers are off to their best start in modern history with an 8-0 record and are 2-0 in the MIAA.
 
The Tigers trailed the Griffons, 25-21, after the first 20 minutes, but came out strong in the second stanza, outscoring MWSU 36-17. FHSU erased the Griffons' halftime advantage in the first two minutes of the second half. Melissa Nelson's 3-pointer pulled the Tigers to within one at 25-24 then Katelyn Edwards put the Tigers on top, 26-25, with a layup at the 18:16 mark.
 
With the Griffons up by one, 32-31, at the 13:12 mark, Fort Hays State used a 19-3 run to take a 15-point advantage, 50-35, with 4:46 left. The Lady Tigers held the Griffons without a field goal from 15:19 to 2:23 remaining in the second half. The Griffons never got closer than 13 point for the rest of the game as FHSU won 57-42.
 
The duo of Kate Lehman and Katelyn Edwards led the Tigers attack with both scoring in double figures. Lehman scored a game-high 17 points and pulled down a team-high six rebounds. Edwards added 12 points and five rebounds. The Tigers were 21-53 (39.6 percent) from the field in the game.
 
The FHSU defense held the Griffons to 25 percent shooting (13-52) and 15.4 percent from behind the 3-point arc (4-26). The defense allowed only 17 points in the second half. Heather Howard scored a team-high 15 points for MWSU.
 
The 8-0 start is the best start for a Tiger women's basketball team in their modern history. The eight-game win streak is the longest streak since the 2005-06 season. FHSU won 10-straight games in that season and went 21-7 overall.
 
Fort Hays State plays its final road non-conference game next Saturday (Dec. 15) against Oklahoma-Panhandle State at 5 p.m. in Goodwell, Okla.