HAYS, Kan. - Fort Hays State held off a second half surge from Missouri Southern to win 68-60 at home on Monday night (Jan. 4). The four Tiger seniors scored 19 of 21 fourth quarter points, led by Beth Bohuslavsky's 13 in the final frame, to secure the win. FHSU moved to 12-1 overall and 6-1 in the MIAA with the win, while MSSU moved to 9-5 overall and 3-5 in the MIAA.

Fort Hays State jumped out to a 12-point lead at halftime, outscoring Missouri Southern by three in the first quarter and nine in the second to lead 33-21. Jill Faxon paced FHSU in the first half, scoring all 10 of her points in the game by the break.

The Tigers saw their lead grow to 15 in the third quarter before the Lions closed the third quarter on a 17-6 run. That cut the Tiger lead all the way down to four going into the fourth quarter.

Missouri Southern scored the first bucket in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to two with 9:21 to play. The Tiger defense tightened the screws to hold MSSU scoreless over the next 5:21 as they inched back to a comfortable eight-point lead with 5:20 to play. Bohuslavsky carried the Tigers to victory late scoring eight straight points from the 2:14 mark to 19 seconds remaining to secure the win.

Bohuslavsky finished with a team-high 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and a 6-of-8 effort at the free-throw line. Chelsea Mason finished with 14 points, scoring four in the final period. Paige Lunsford added 13 points. Elle Stein had a huge game for FHSU on the glass, securing a career-high 14 rebounds to help the Tigers outrebound the Lions by 11. She added five points and had a pair of steals.

Deb Holcomb scored 19 points and Sharese Jones added 14 for the Lions. Dru Clark reached double figures with 10. Jones led MSSU in rebounds with six.

The Tigers will rest a couple of days before taking on Lindenwood on the road on Thursday (Jan. 7) at 5:30 pm in St. Charles, Mo. It will be the start of a two-game conference road swing this week, finishing at Lincoln on Saturday in Jefferson City, Mo.