No. 17 Fort Hays State picked up a historic 62-43 win on Saturday (Jan. 24), taking down No. 4 Pittsburg State in impressive fashion to push its winning streak to 17 games.
 
FHSU (18-1, 10-0 MIAA) remained unbeaten at home and in the MIAA with the win – which was second Top 5 win for FHSU in program history (with both coming in the last two years).
 
The Tigers started the game on an 8-0 run and never looked back, stretching it to 12-2 in the first seven minutes of action. Up eight with 9:43 to go, Nikola Kacperska's layup pushed the lead back into double-digits (20-10), where it stayed the remainder of the contest.
 
Jill Faxon's jumper with 2:56 to go in the half was FHSU's final points of the first.  After a pair of PSU free throws, neither team scored in the final two minutes, sending FHSU to the locker room with a 34-22.
 
Back-and-forth play saw the Tigers' lead move to 13 (49-36) in the first nine minutes of the second half, where back-to-back jumpers from Jill Faxon started a 9-0 run for FHSU that lasted six minutes and put the lead at 22 (58-26). As part of that run, the Gorillas were held without a basket for over seven minutes.  Though PSU ran off seven unanswered to answer the rally, it was too late as FHSU won its third game of the season against a ranked opponent.
                                            
FHSU hit 46.4 percent from the field and 50 percent from long range, firing a season-low six attempts from beyond the arc (hitting three).
 
Kate Lehman moved into first all-time on FHSU's career rebounding list, passing Annette Wiles (961 rebounds) early on in the contest.  Lehman finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks for her seventh consecutive and 50th career double-double.
 
Keriann Shaw had an impressive double-double as well, scoring 11 points (10 in the first half) to go with 10 rebounds while guarding All-American Lizzy Jeronimus for much of the game. 
 
Also in double-digits for the second consecutive game was Faxon, who finished with 16 while shooting 7-of-9 on field goals.
 
Jeronimus was PSU's top scorer, finishing with 13 on the night as the only Gorilla player to see double-digits.  PSU was held to a season-low 27.9 shooting percentage from the field, hitting just 17 on the day.
 
FHSU is now 9-26 against ranked opponents under head coach Tony Hobson and is now 16-17 all-time against ranked opponents at home.
 
Fort Hays State continues its stretch of rivalry games next week, traveling to No. 2 Emporia State on Wednesday, Jan. 28 before a Saturday (Jan. 31) matchup with Washburn.