The Fort Hays State women's basketball team is on the road this weekend for the final time of the season, beginning with a game against Southwest Baptist on Thursday (Feb. 16). The Lady Tigers will be going for their first season-sweep of the Bearcats after a 64-55 win on January 7 in Hays. FHSU is sitting alone in fifth place in the MIAA standings with a 17-7 (9-7 MIAA) record while Southwest Baptist is in ninth place with a 9-14 (4-13 MIAA) record. The Bearcats are a half game out of eighth place, which is the cut line for the postseason conference tournament.
Southwest Baptist defeated Fort Hays State the first time the two teams met in Hays, but since then the home team has won all 10 meetings in the series. Southwest Baptist currently holds a 6-5 advantage all-time, including a 5-0 record in Bolivar. FHSU has won the last two meetings, including a 64-55 win earlier this season in Hays. The Lady Tigers will be going for their first season sweep of the Bearcats on Thursday.
Southwest Baptist is 9-14 (4-13 MIAA) following an 87-43 victory over Tabor College on Monday night. That win snapped a four-game losing skid for the Bearcats which included three games against ranked opponents from the MIAA. Southwest Baptist has a record of 5-7 in home this season, including 2-6 in conference home games. The Bearcats are ranked near the bottom of the MIAA in scoring (64.4 points per game) and scoring defense (69.2), but they are the third-best free throw shooting team in the conference, knocking down 73.3% of their attempts from the line. The Bearcats are led in scoring by Brittney Dukes (13.3 ppg) and LaKendra Smith (12.6). Smith is the MIAA's second-leading rebounder, pulling down 9.0 boards per game, while Kayla Hruby is the team leader in assists, averaging 3.1 per game.
Fort Hays State is led in scoring and rebounding by
Katelyn Edwards, who ranks among the MIAA leaders with averages of 15.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
Traci Keyser has struggled recently at the offensive end, but she is still the second-leading scorer for the team at 10.0 points per game.
Kate Lehman has made huge strides in the second half of the season and has started the last seven games. She leads the MIAA in blocked shots with 77 (3.2 per game), a mark that is a new single-season school record. Lehman is one of just four players in NCAA Division II that has blocked more than 70 shots this season and she ranks second on the team with 6.8 rebounds per game and third in scoring with 9.6 points per game.
