Box Score

No. 25 Fort Hays State won its third straight game in impressive fashion on Wednesday evening, rolling over conference rival Nebraska-Kearney, 85-67, in Kearney, Neb.
 
FHSU is now 16-4 overall and 9-4 in the MIAA, while UNK drops to 7-13 overall (3-10 MIAA).  The Tigers, who shot 43.9 percent from the field, are now fourth in the MIAA standings.  
 
Kate Lehman narrowly missed her second triple-double of the season, finishing with a career-best 33 points in addition to 13 rebounds and nine blocks.  Lehman's performance was her 12th double-double of the season, and No. 30 in her career.
 
Chelsea Mason hit on 5-of-10 attempts from long range, and finished with 19 points – her 12th double-digit scoring game of the season. 
 
Beth Bohuslavsky, who played 24 minutes, was perfect from 3-point range and the free throw line for 10 points.  Bohuslavsky's seven assists were a team-high for the evening.
 
Keriann Shaw's eight rebounds matched her career high from earlier this season as she played a season-high 29 minutes.
 
Jill Faxon and Nikola Kacperska each had eight points, with Kacperska adding six assists.
 
FHSU stormed out of the gate, running off seven unanswered in the opening 1:59, and held a six-point lead (10-4) with 16:12 to go in the half.  From there, the Tigers broke off their second 7-0 run of the night – pushing the lead to 13 (17-4) over the next two minutes.
 
With 13:27 remaining in the half, a layup from Lehman started a stretch of six unanswered for the Tigers – during which UNK was held without a field goal for over four minutes. 
 
Both teams would play relatively even until the 6:23 mark when the Tigers held a 16-point lead, 29-13.  Over the next two minutes, however, neither team could find the basket.  That was part of a nearly four and half minute span where FHSU was held scoreless.  A jumper from Nikola Kacperska with 1:54 to go broke the scoring drought.
 
After a 3-pointer from Shelby Zimmerman shrunk UNK's deficit to nine (31-22), Lehman rattled off six straight to put the Tigers back in control inside the one-minute mark (37-22).  Mason's 3-pointer with nine seconds to go sent the Tigers to half, up 40-24.
 
In the second half, FHSU again struggled with cold streaks from the court.  Kacperska's jumper at 19:25 was FHSU's lone bucket until 17:06, when Bohuslavsky dropped five points in less than a minute to push FHSU's lead back to 16 (47-31).
 
Shortly thereafter, Fort Hays State's Jill Faxon hit a layup to start the Tigers on their largest run of the night – a spurt of 11 unanswered that consisted of six points from Faxon and five from Lehman.  FHSU led at that point (12:58 remaining), 60-36. 
 
Just over a minute later, Lehman put together a 5-0 run by herself in just eight seconds, giving Fort Hays State its largest lead of the night, 65-40.
 
UNK hung tough, however, and at 11:30, started a 10-0 run of its own to pull within 15 (65-50) with just 8:54 to go in the game. 
 
FHSU's final run of the night, a seven-point burst, came inside the final minute.  Up 78-66, Mason hit her fifth and final 3-pointer of the evening, while Faxon and Lehman added two points apiece during that span.
 
Wednesday's victory was No. 97 at Fort Hays State for head coach Tony Hobson, moving him within three of No. 100 with six games to go in the regular season.  Additionally, the Tigers are four wins away from their third consecutive 20-win season – a first in program history.
 
The Tigers are on the road Saturday (Feb. 8) at No. 7 Emporia State.  The game, scheduled for 1:30 p.m., will be the second matchup for the teams this season.  FHSU defeated ESU, 72-57, on Jan. 30.