With 15 straight wins carrying the Tigers into the third full week of January, the 17th ranked Fort Hays State University Women's Basketball team welcomes South Dakota Mines to Gross Memorial Coliseum for this year's non-conference finale.  Game time for Thursday, Jan. 22 is set for 5:30 p.m. against the Hardrockers.
 
FHSU (16-1, 9-0 MIAA) is 7-1 in non-conference games this season, dropping their only matchup early in the year against then-No. 10 Concordia-St. Paul, 70-68.  The Tigers have historically been strong in non-conference under head coach Tony Hobson, going 46-9 in his seven seasons with a 31-4 mark over the last four seasons.
 
Kate Lehman has led the Tigers as the top scorer (20.8 points per game) and rebounder (10.4 rebounds per game) throughout the year, recording five consecutive double-doubles coming into Thursday.  Additionally, Lehman has 79 blocks on the year and ranks fourth all-time in NCAA Division II.  Another record list has Lehman in the No. 2 spot for career rebounds (948) at FHSU, just 12 short of the No. 1 position.  She is on pace to become the first 1,000/1,000 club member in points and rebounds in FHSU's history. 
 
As the No. 2 scoring attack, Chelsea Mason has made an impact for the Tigers from long range, hitting 41 three-pointers this season while averaging 13.5 points per game.  She is shooting 31.8 percent from beyond the arc and hitting 2.4 three-pointers per game.
 
With 11 games remaining in the regular season (10 conference matchups), Fort Hays State is sitting in first of the MIAA standings and is contending for its first NCAA Tournament berth under Hobson.  FHSU also climbed into the national rankings last week for the 13th time in its NCAA Division II history, joining two other MIAA teams in the WBCA Top 25.
 
SD Mines (8-10) has won two straight and three of its last four, arriving in Hays for the third time in three seasons. FHSU has won all three meetings, including a 64-39 victory last season.  The Hardrockers are led offensively by Megan Rohrer, who is averaging 12.1 points per game with 5.0 rebounds per contest.  Devyn Asche leads the team with 5.1 rebounds per game while sitting as the team's second leading scorer, tallying 8.7 points per contest. 
 
On tap for FHSU after South Dakota Mines is a home contest with No. 4 Pittsburg State on Saturday (Jan. 24) as the Tigers return to conference play.