Fort Hays State Women's Basketball vs. No. 15 Central Missouri
MIAA Championship Semifinals | Kansas City, Missouri | Municipal Auditorium
Saturday, March 7, 2020 | noon

With a trip to the MIAA Championship game on the line, the Fort Hays State women's basketball team is set to play 15th-ranked Central Missouri in the MIAA semifinals Saturday (March 7) in Kansas City, Mo. First tip from historic Municipal Auditorium is slated for noon.

Tiger fans making the trip to Kansas City are encouraged to visit the FHSU Alumni Association's website for more information on Tiger Spirit Parties all weekend!

Live video will be available via the MIAA Network. Fans can watch the broadcast just like a normal road game, those with season passes or all-access passes will have access to the entire MIAA Championship tournament. For those without a season-long pass to the MIAA Network, full tournament passes and single-day passes are also available. Click the Watch Live link above for more information.

The Tigers have now made seven semifinal appearances over the last eight years, more than any other MIAA program during that span (UCM and ESU second with six). A win over the Jennies and Fort Hays State will be playing on Championship Sunday for the third year in a row.

All-time vs. Central Missouri
-Central Missouri leads in the all-time series, 16-14
-The Jennies lead 5-2 in neutral-site contests, including a 3-2 edge in the MIAA Championship tournament in KC
-The teams have played in the postseason in each of the last two years, with UCM winning in the 2018 Central Region semifinals before FHSU won in last year's MIAA Championship game
-Head coach Tony Hobson is 12-11 against the Jennies, including a 2-4 neutral-site mark

In the MIAA Championship, the Tigers are...
-14-9 all-time
-11-9 in Kansas City
-3-3 in the quarterfinals
-2-3 against Central Missouri
-3-2 as the No. 5 seed
-0-1 against the No. 1 seed
-1-7 against nationally-ranked opponents
-The senior class is 6-2 in Kansas City and 7-2 overall in the MIAA Championship

Have We Seen You Before?
The Tigers have played Central Missouri more often than any other school in the MIAA Championship. Saturday will be the sixth meeting between the Tigers and Jennies in KC - FHSU has not played any other school more than four times (ESU 4).

Last Meeting with the Jennies
Fort Hays State went cold at the wrong time in Warrensburg, going scoreless for more than two minutes to close the game to allow UCM to score the final nine points and win by seven, 76-69 three weeks ago (2/13/20). Jaden Hobbs scored a team-high 16 points and dished out five assists. Cydney Bergmann scored 12 points off the bench. FHSU hit just 21-of-29 from the free-throw line in the loss.

Career Stats in the MIAA Championship
Kacey Kennett - 8.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.2 apg in nine games
Taylor Rolfs - 7.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg in nine games
Belle Barbieri - 6.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg in nine games
Madison Mittie - 5.8 ppg, 1.8 apg in five games
Whitney Randall - 4.6 ppg in seven games (16 points in first six games, 16 points Friday)

Playing Well at the Right Time
Winners of seven-straight, the Jennies have the longest active winning streak in the MIAA, with FHSU close behind at six wins in a row. The most recent loss for either team was a 76-69 UCM win over FHSU three weeks ago in Warrensburg.

Trio Earn All-MIAA Honors
Kacey Kennett, Jaden Hobbs and Belle Barbieri were named All-MIAA performers for their outstanding seasons. Kennett was named to the second team for the second year in a row, picking up the honor for a third time after being listed as honorable mention as a sophomore. Hobbs earned a spot on the third team in her first season as a Tiger. Barbieri picked up honorable mention status for the second year in a row.

Leading the Way
Seven different players have led the Tigers in scoring in a game so far this season (Kennett 9, Hobbs 7, Barbieri 4, Randall 4, Rofls 4, Page 3, Walker).

20 Wins Now the Norm
The Tigers have reached the 20-win plateau in each of the last nine seasons, continuing the program's record-breaking streak. FHSU had only recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons twice before the current streak began in 2011-12 (1989-90 and 1990-91, 2004-05 and 2005-06). In comparison, the Tigers recorded just eight 20-win seasons over the first 42 years of the program before reaching the milestone each of the last nine years. Tony Hobson has coached the team to nine of its 17 20-win seasons, the most for a single coach all-time.

Kacey for Three
Kacey Kennett has hit 176 3-pointers and counting in her career at FHSU, more than all but one other player in program history (Naomi Bancroft, 353, 2006-10).

She Don't Miss, Volume 1
Belle Barbieri has hit 56.5 percent of her shots at FHSU 9349-of-618), the third-best shooting percentage in program history.

She Don't Miss, Volume 2
Jaden Hobbs has not missed a free throw in more than a month, knocking in 35 straight dating back to the fourth quarter of the Newman game on February 6.

All They Do is Win
This year's senior class has won 103 games over the last four years, tied for the second-most wins in a four-year span in program history. They are just the the second class to win at least 100 games at FHSU.
105 wins: 2015-19
103 wins: 2016-current & 2014-18
98 wins: 2013-17 & 2012-16

18 and Over
The Tigers and Jennies are the only two teams to win 18 league or more league games multiple times since the Tigers joined the league in 2006-07. That total has been reached nine times since the Tigers joined the MIAA, three by the Tigers and two by the Jennies, including this year.

The Tigers Go Marching
The Tigers are 20-13 in the month of March under Hobson.

Show-Me Success
Fort Hays State is 46-38 in games played in Missouri under Hobson.

Scouting the Jennies
Central Missouri won the MIAA regular season title after winning 18 of its 19 MIAA contests. The Jennies have not lost since a win over FHSU kicked off their current seven-game winning streak. All of UCM's losses have come away from Warrensburg. The Jennies had three players earn All-MIAA honors, including player of the year Megan Skaggs on the first team alongside Morgan Fleming and co-defensive player of the year Nija Collier on the second team. Skaggs (16.9 ppg, third) and Fleming (15.8 ppg, fifth) both rank in the top five in scoring in the MIAA, while Collier grabs a league-best 9.3 rebounds per game.

Career Stats vs. UCM
Kacey Kennett - 10.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg in six games
Belle Barbieri - 8.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg in five games
Taylor Rolfs - 7.3 ppg in six games
Madison Mittie - 6.3 ppg in three games
Whitney Randall - 5.6 ppg in five games

Looking Back...What A Week in the City of Champions
FHSU captured its first MIAA Championship after three wins in four days in its last trip to Kansas City. It was just the second conference tournament title in program history (1993 RMAC Shootout). Tatyana Legette (9.3p, 10.3r, 5.0a) was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, becoming the first Tiger to earn that honor. Taylor Rolfs (14.7p, 4.7r, 2.0s, 8-for-13 3FG) and Lanie Page (14.7p, 1.7a, 2.0b, 1.7s, 7-for-18 3FG) also earned All-Tournament honors.