No. 4 Fort Hays State closed out the regular season with a 50-28 road win at Northeastern State on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 28).
 
FHSU (25-2, 18-1 MIAA) shot just 32.8 percent in the game but used a late second half rally to pull away from the RiverHawks to secure the win.  
 
The Tigers shut out the RiverHawks for the first nine minutes, jumping out to a 16-0 lead before NSU hit a pair of free throws at 10:48.  Chelsea Mason had seven points in the opening burst while the Tigers held NSU without a field goal until 8:28 remained in the half. 
 
That hot start wore off for the Tigers however, as FHSU went over five minutes without a field goal of its own and scored just two more points before Chelsea Mason hit a three-pointer at 6:37, to take a 20-4 lead.  NSU outscored the Tigers, 9-4, over the final five minutes of the half (including a 7-0) run, but the Tigers held a double-digit lead (24-13) at the break.
 
Northeastern State continued to push in the opening minutes of the second half, cutting the lead to five (24-19) with 15:29 to play.  From there, the Tigers built the lead back to nine (28-19) within the next minute, but again the RiverHawks answered, hitting a three at 13:54 to make it 29-24. 
 
Things stayed there until 9:24 when Nikola Kacperska hit a layup (the Tigers' first field goal since 14:36) and put the Tigers back in two-possession territory.  Chelsea Mason followed with a well-timed three-pointer less than a minute later, pushing FHSU's lead back to double digits (34-24). 
 
Soon after (up 34-26), Paige Lunsford hit a layup with 6:57 to go, sparking the Tigers to a 12-0 run that put the game out of reach.  The Tigers outscored the RiverHawks, 21-4 over the final 10 minutes of the game.
 
Mason's 19 points led the team, hitting three three-pointers as one of two Tigers to reach double figures.  Kacperska finished with 10 points, pulling down seven rebounds as well in her first start of the season.  Keriann Shaw led the team with 12 rebounds and Lunsford had 11 boards.
 
Kate Lehman was held to just six points for the second straight game, but swatted four shots and moved into second all-time on the NCAA Division II career blocks list.  She now has 495 for her career and will look to become the first-ever NCAA Division II women's basketball player to record 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 blocks in a career.
 
The 28 points allowed is a season-low mark for the Tigers and the fewest points allowed by a Fort Hays State Women's Basketball team since Nov. 18, 2011 when Central Christian scored just 24.
 
FHSU is the No. 1 seed in the MIAA Tournament, earning an automatic berth in the quarterfinals on Friday, March 6.  They will play either the eighth or ninth seed (to be determined) at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.