The Fort Hays State women's basketball team opens play in the 2018 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship against Southwestern Oklahoma State on Friday (March 9). Opening tip in the Central Region quarterfinal is set for noon from the Elmen Center on the campus of Augustana University in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
The Tigers are 25-6 on the year following a loss in the MIAA title game, while the Lady Bulldogs are 26-4 after they were knocked out in the semifinals of the GAC tournament.
 
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This is Fort Hays State's fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament all-time, and the third under head coach Tony Hobson in the last four years. The Tigers are one of five teams to be selected to play in at least three Central Region tournaments over the last four years (ATU 4, NSU 4, ESU 3, PSU 3). Fort Hays State is 2-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 2-2 mark under Hobson.
 
Fort Hays State has played SWOSU three times in program history, winning each time. All three games came while the teams were competing in the NAIA, with the most recent contest coming in the 1991 NAIA championship game. The Tigers completed their best season in program history (34-2) with a 57-53 win over SWOSU in Jackson, Tenn., earning the program's lone national championship. Hobson has never played the Lady Bulldogs, but he is 5-0 all-time against GAC opponents.
 
The Tigers head into the tournament with one of the top defenses in the country, ranking 17th in DII with just 57.0 points allowed per game. FHSU maintains possession better than most teams in Division II, ranking sixth nationally with just 11.7 turnovers per game.
 
Second team All-MIAA performer Tatyana Legette leads the Tigers in points (13.3), rebounds (8.2) and assists (2.6) on the season, while Carly Heim has had the hot hand of late. The junior has scored in double figures 13 times in the last 14 games, averaging 14.7 points per night during that span. Both Legette and Heim earned All-Tournament honors in Kansas City.
 
Kacey Kennett has averaged 10.1 points per game this season with Emma Stroyan chipping in 9.4 points each time out, giving the Tigers four players scoring more than nine points every game, tied for the most in the MIAA.
 
Southwestern Oklahoma State enters the national tournament with a bit of a sour taste in its mouth, losing three games in the last three weeks after dropping only one contest over the first three months of the season. The Lady Bulldogs used a 15-game winning streak in the heart of the season to run away with the GAC regular season crown, finishing 20-2 in league play. All four losses for SWOSU came away from home (3 road, 1 neutral).
 
The Lady Bulldogs sport a fast-paced offense, averaging 84.0 points per game, fourth-most in Division II. They allow 73.4 points per game, ranked 270th out of 306 teams ranked at the DII level. SWOSU gets to the free throw line more than all but two teams in the country, averaging just under 25 trips to the stripe per game.
 
GAC Player of the Year Hailey Tucker leads the offensive attack, averaging 20.6 points per game while adding 7.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Hayden Priddy dishes out 4.6 assists each night while freshman Bethany Franks grabs a team-high 9.9 rebounds each time out.