Fort Hays State women's basketball looks to continue its red-hot winning streak on Saturday (Dec. 20) in a conference match-up at Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, Mo. The Tigers enter the game at 9-1 overall, 2-0 in the MIAA, looking to stay atop the conference standings, while NWMSU enters at 4-7 overall, 0-2 in the MIAA. Game time is set for 1:30 pm at Bearcat Arena on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University.
The Tigers have reeled off eight straight wins since a narrow two-point loss at then No. 10 Concordia-St. Paul in the second game of the season. Since then, the Tigers have defeated opponents by an average of 38.5 points per game in the streak. For the season, FHSU has a scoring margin of +28.8, which ranks second in the nation and first in the MIAA.
The Tigers have done a great job with ball security this season, averaging just 11.6 turnovers per game, which ranks fourth nationally. FHSU leads the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 1.67 and ranks sixth in turnover margin (+9.1). Defense has also been a strong point as the Tigers lead the MIAA in steals at 10.6 per game and they ranked 12th nationally in scoring defense at the start of the week, allowing just 54.8 points per game.
Kate Lehman continues to lead the way for FHSU, averaging a double-double of 22.5 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. She has six double-doubles so far this season and 43 for her career. She recorded her third career triple-double against Kansas Wesleyan earlier this week at home with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and a new FHSU single-game record 11 blocked shots. She ascended to fourth on the NCAA Division II all-time blocked shots list, now with 424 in her career. Lehman leads the MIAA in scoring and ranks second in rebounding.
Chelsea Mason and
Jill Faxon are also averaging double figures in scoring, Mason at 13.0 and Faxon at 10.8 points per game. Mason has knocked down a team-high 24 3-point field goals, while Faxon has 16 and led the MIAA in 3-point field goal percentage at the beginning of the week, now sitting at 48.5 percent.
Beth Bohuslavsky controls the offense at point guard, averaging 4.6 assists per game to rank second in the MIAA. She has a conference-best 4.2 assist/turnover ratio, while adding 9.4 points per game.
Fort Hays State owns a six-game win streak against Northwest Missouri State, dating back to the 2010-11 season. FHSU has won the last two meetings in Maryville, the last being a narrow 54-53 win in 2012-13.
