HAYS, Kan. - The ninth-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team opened the conference season with a gritty 62-53 win over Nebraska-Kearney Tuesday evening (Dec. 4) inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers moved to 7-0 on the year while the Lopers fall to 5-3 overall.
 
Fort Hays State was led by Tatyana Legette, who totaled 23 points and 13 rebounds to record her second double-double of the season. It was the third-straight time the senior has scored 20 or more points against Nebraska-Kearney after putting up 22 and 20 in the two matchups last year.
 
The Tigers seemed poised to run away with the game early on, quickly jumping in front 9-2 after six quick points from Legette and a triple from Lanie Page. It didn't take long for the Lopers to regain their composure, however, closing the first quarter on an 11-4 run to take a 15-14 lead.
 
The visitors led once more early in the second quarter before back-to-back buckets from Kacey Kennett gave the Tigers the lead for good. The Olathe, Kan. junior went on to hit a pair of 3-pointers later in the quarter, helping the Tigers to a 16-2 run to all of a sudden lead by a baker's dozen, 32-19. A long-range heave at the buzzer found the bottom of the net for the visitors, making the score 34-23 as the teams left for the locker room.
 
Fort Hays State managed just six field goals after halftime, but an effective 16-of-21 (76.1 percent) from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes helped the Tigers hold on to the win. Legette did the bulk of her damage at the charity stripe after halftime, knocking down 7-of-8 to account for more than half of her 13 second-half points.
 
Nebraska-Kearney slowly but surely chipped into the Tiger lead into the third quarter, closing as close as two points down with less than a minute to go in the period. But as hot as the Lopers were for the bulk of the third quarter (8-of-12, 66.7 percent), the visitors were equally as cold to start the final period.
 
The Tigers kicked up the intensity on the defensive side, holding the Lopers to just 2-of-8 shooting and four turnovers over the first eight-plus minutes of the fourth quarter. As the defense was settling in, Legette took over on the offensive end. The forward scored eight of 12 points for either team over a five-minute stretch in the fourth quarter, helping the Tigers pad the lead back to double figures, 59-49. Nebraska-Kearney hit a pair of shots in the final minute, but it was too little, too late for the visitors.
 
After scoring 10 points in the second quarter, Kennett finished the game with 15 points alongside two assists, two steals and a block. Despite finishing under her team-leading scoring average with seven points, Page made her presence known on the defensive end, compiling three blocks and three steals. Two of the blocks were on the perimeter, closing in late to swat away a Loper 3-point attempt. Carly Heim played all 40 minutes for the Tigers, orchestrating the offense with a pair of assists while adding six points and five rebounds.
 
Fort Hays State was outrebounded for the first time this season, grabbing 34 rebounds while UNK managed 35. The Tigers turned 16 turnovers into 14 points off miscues while turning the ball over 12 times themselves.
 
The Tigers will look to move to 8-0 on the year Saturday when they host 24th-ranked Emporia State. First tip is set for 2 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.