Box Score

Fort Hays State led from start to finish in a 70-57 win over Lincoln in the MIAA Tournament Opening Round on Tuesday evening (Mar. 5) in Hays. Now at 21-6 overall, Fort Hays State, the No. 6 seed, will play No. 3 seed Northeastern State in the quarterfinals on Friday at 8:15 pm at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.

Fort Hays State opened the game on a 13-0 run and led by double figures all the way until halftime. The Lady Tigers led by as many as 18 in the opening half, but the Blue Tigers cut the lead down to 11, 39-28 at halftime.

Lincoln applied some pressure early in the second half by trimming the lead to seven points, but a 13-2 run for FHSU pushed the lead back to 18 and the lead remained double figures the rest of the way. FHSU reached its biggest lead of 19 three times in the second half before the final spread of 13 points.

Kate Lehman led FHSU with 22 points, going 9-of-13 from the field and 4-of-6 at the free-throw line. She added seven rebounds and five blocked shots. Katelyn Edwards posted her seventh double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds and a team-high five assists. Traci Keyser was one point shy of double figures with nine and she added seven rebounds.

Arriana Walker had 22 points for Lincoln, canning four 3-point field goals. She also led her team in rebounds and assists with six each. Quiessence Price also reached double figures with 15 points.

The win for FHSU was big in the regional landscape as No. 7 seed Pittsburg State, which replaced FHSU in the last regional rankings, fell to No. 10 seed Missouri Western at home. Missouri Western moves on to play No. 2 seed Central Missouri in the quarterfinals, which will decide the semifinal opponent for the winner of the FHSU vs. Northeastern State match-up. New regional rankings will release on Wednesday (Mar. 6). Northeastern State was No. 9 in the last regional rankings.