No. 24 Fort Hays State welcomes Pittsburg State to Gross Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 15 for a conference matchup.  Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.  The Tigers are two games behind PSU in the conference standings and will look to close the distance in the final weeks of the regular season.
 
The Tigers, idle since last Saturday, clinched a berth to the MIAA Postseason after mid-week games in the MIAA, and are now battling for final positioning with just five games to go.  FHSU (16-5, 9-5 MIAA) is tied with Missouri Southern for fourth, though MSSU holds a tie-breaker after the Tigers dropped a Jan. 4 contest in Joplin, Mo. 
 
The top four seeds in the MIAA tournament will automatically advance to Kansas City, Mo., with a first-round bye.  A win for the Tigers against PSU has the potential put FHSU a game ahead of MSSU (which travels to Missouri Western on Saturday) in the standings.
 
Pittsburg State (18-6, 11-3 MIAA) is third in the conference standings, and has won its last seven games.  PSU's Lizzy Jeronimus is averaging 19.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game for the Gorillas this season.
 
Fort Hays' Kate Lehman is averaging a double-double in points (16.7) and rebounds (11.0) per game, and has 13 double-doubles this year, including the past two games, during which she averaged 28.5 points.
 
FHSU is in the NCAA Tournament discussion as it chases its third-consecutive 20-win season.  FHSU is third in the MIAA behind Emporia State and Central Missouri with the fewest losses overall, while PSU and MSSU have six overall losses.