The Fort Hays State women's basketball team looks to bounce back from its first home loss of the season Thursday (Jan. 18) when Missouri Western makes the trip to Hays. First tip is set for 5:30 p.m. from Gross Memorial Coliseum.
 
*KC Wolf, the legendary mascot of the Kansas City Chiefs, will make an appearance in Hays for the second year in a row Thursday! KC Wolf will be interacting and taking pictures with fans and passing out autographed pictures from halftime of the women's game through halftime of the men's game.*

*Big Brothers Big Sisters will be holding a duck toss at halftime of the men's game for a chance to win a 50-inch TV.*
 
The Tigers (12-4, 3-4 MIAA) are looking to get back to .500 in conference play, while the Griffons (10-7, 3-5 MIAA) hope to end a four-game losing skid. It will be the third game for Missouri Western in the last six days after its contest with SBU was pushed back to Monday due to poor traveling conditions.
 
Despite a pair of MWSU wins over the last two meetings, Fort Hays State leads in the all-time series that began back in 1976, 25-22.  The Tigers have taken care of business at home against the Griffons, winning 17 of 22 meetings inside Gross Memorial Coliseum (17-5), including seven-straight home victories. Tony Hobson is 9-5 against MWSU as a Tiger, including a perfect 6-0 mark in Hays. This is the first trip to Hays for the Griffons since the 2014-15 season. The last Western win in Western Kansas came in the 2006-07 season, FHSU's first in the MIAA (74-62, 1/13/07).
 
Tatyana Legette led the Tigers with a season-high 20 points in the loss to Nebraska-Kearney, the second 20-point performance of her career. The junior dropped in 9-of-13 shots against the Lopers, raising her shooting percentage to 61.3 on the year, good for seventh in Division II. The Tigers made just six turnovers against UNK, lowering their season average to 12.5 turnovers per game, ranking 14th in the country.
 
The Griffons are on an uncharacteristic four-game losing skid, their longest losing streak in three seasons (2014-15). Missouri Western has won just one of five true road games this season, a 65-49 victory over Upper Iowa during the opening weekend of the season. Both of their last two losses came in overtime, falling to Central Missouri in OT on Saturday before losing to Southwest Baptist in 2OT on Monday. After opening the season 9-1, Missouri Western has just one win in its last seven outings. The Griffons are just as good as FHSU at taking the ball away, ranking second in the conference with 10.1 steals per game. MWSU scores 68.8 points per contest, ranking 11th in the league. Brittany Atkins and Melia Richardson lead the team offensively, scoring 13.7 and 11.2 points per game, respectively. Richardson dishes out 3.4 assists each contest, seventh-most in the conference.