The Fort Hays State women's basketball team routinely makes the trip to Kansas City, Mo. in March for the MIAA Tournament, but the Tigers will make their first regular season trip to KC in almost 13 years Saturday (Dec. 16) when they face off with Rockhurst University. First tip with the Hawks is set for 2 p.m. inside Mason-Halpin Field House.
 
*Due to the men's home game starting at 4 p.m., Saturday's contest will air on 1400 AM KAYS in Hays.*
 
The Tigers head into the weekend 8-2 on the season, while the Hawks are 6-3 so far this year. Fort Hays State will be looking for its second win in four days after defeating Tabor on Wednesday, 90-44, while the Hawks will return to the court for the first time in nine days after losing to Illinois-Springfield last Thursday, 63-38.
 
Despite the close proximity in relation to other Division II programs, Fort Hays State has only played Rockhurst six times before Saturday. The Tigers hold a 5-1 advantage in the series, including five-straight wins and a 2-1 edge in Kansas City. This is the first time that head coach Tony Hobson has faced off with the Hawks. The teams last played in 2006, with the Tigers pulling out a 79-77 home victory thanks to a season-high 27 points from Ashlee Gustin (1/24/06).
 
The Tigers have taken care of business in non-conference play in recent history, winning their last 22 regular season out of league games and 55 of their last 56. Coach Hobson is 66-5 in regular season non-conference contests at FHSU.
 
Limiting turnovers has been essential for the Tigers this season, with FHSU making 15 or fewer turnovers in all seven wins and making 16 or more miscues in both losses so far this year.
 
Rockhurst is coming off an 18-10 season a year ago, the most wins since the progam made the jump to the NCAA Division II in 1998-99. The Hawks have played a trio of MIAA opponents this season, defeating Northwest Missouri State (62-47) while losing to Washburn (64-62) and Missouri Western (52-39). Rockhurst is 5-0 at home this season. The Hawks average 68 points per game while limiting opponents to 59.4 points per contest. They are strong on the glass, ranking second in the GLVC with 41.7 rebounds per night. Madeline Ronshausen leads the team and ranks seventh in the GLVC with 15.2 points each night. Jillian Myers affect the game in many ways, leading the team with 4.6 assists, 1.7 blocks and 2.2 steals per game while ranking second with 11.7 points per contest and sitting third with 5.1 rebounds per outing.