No. 17 Fort Hays State puts its 16-game win streak on the line this Saturday, Jan. 24, hosting No. 4 Pittsburg State in a WBCA Top 20 matchup at 2 p.m.  FHSU enters the game sitting first in the MIAA with a 17-1 overall and 9-0 conference mark.  Pitt State is 17-2 on the year with a 7-1 record in conference, good enough for third place in the standings.
 
FHSU is 2-1 against ranked teams this year, and last season picked up its first-ever Top 5 win against then-No. 3 Emporia State.  FHSU and Pitt State sit first and third in the MIAA standings, respectively.  Pitt State has won three straight in the series history and 10 of the last 12, with head coach Tony Hobson's only wins over PSU coming in 2011-12 (in Hays) and 2008-09 (in Pittsburg). 
 
Kate Lehman is one of the top players in the nation this season, scoring 20.6 points with 10.5 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game.  In Thursday's contest with South Dakota Mines, Lehman moved into a tie for No. 1 on FHSU's career rebounding list, totaling 961 for her career (tied with Annette Wiles).  Chelsea Mason continues to shoot well from the field, hitting 31.6 percent of her three-pointers while averaging 13.1 points per game.
 
Jill Faxon is scoring 8.8 points per game and returned to double-digits on Thursday with 16 points (her first 10-plus scoring effort since Nov. 28).  Beth Bohuslavsky's 8.1 points per game has come alongside a team-leading73 assists this season (4.1 per game).
 
Pitt State has three wins over ranked teams this season, defeating then-No. 10 Concordia-St. Paul in its season opener before adding wins against Drury and Washburn.  PSU's only conference loss came to then-No. 3 Emporia State (65-61 in overtime) last week.  The Gorillas are averaging 76.4 points per game while limiting opponents to just 57.7 points on average. Three-time All-American Lizzy Jeronimus leads the team in scoring (20.1 points per game), rebounding (6.6 boards per game) and assists (2.6 per game) while teammate Kylie Gafford is in double-digits at 11.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
 
The next eight games are part of a grueling test against rivals and top teams in the nation. Six of the next eight are against other MIAA schools in Kansas, all three of which are ranked or receiving votes in the WBCA Top 25, with the other two coming against northern rival Nebraska-Kearney.