KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State is back in the MIAA Tournament Championship game for the second straight year after a 56-46 win over Nebraska-Kearney in the semifinals on Saturday. The No. 5 ranked Tigers moved to 27-3 overall, while the Lopers moved to 23-7. The Tigers will face Missouri Southern in the championship game on Sunday at 1 pm, a team they tied for the MIAA regular season title.
 
The Lopers held the early advantage by building a seven-point lead in the first quarter at 14-7 with 3:44 remaining. However, the Tigers closed the quarter on a 7-3 run to get back within three at 17-14.
 
The Tigers extended that late first quarter run by going on a 12-0 run to open the second quarter. By hitting the final bucket of the first quarter, the Tigers completed a 14-0 run overall, taking a 26-17 lead. The Lopers cut the lead back to four momentarily, but the Tigers eventually took a six-point lead into halftime at 30-24.
 
The Tigers put the hammer down out of halftime by scoring the first nine points after the break. Whitney Randall accounted for the first seven, hitting a layup, a 3-point field goal, and a pair of free throws. Lauren West completed the Tiger run with a two-point jumper, putting the Tigers up 15 at 39-24. The Lopers countered that with a 12-2 run to get the lead down to five, but a Jaden Hobbs driving layup put the Tigers up seven, 43-36 going into the fourth quarter.
 
The Lopers scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, getting the Tiger lead down to just three, but Randall hit a big 3-point jumper to push the lead back to six. Up just five with 1:52 to go, Katie Wagner hit a big jumper at the top of the key to give the Tigers breathing room with a seven-point lead. UNK never got closer than five points the rest of the way as the Tigers closed out the game 5-of-6 at the free-throw line inside the final minute.
 
Randall finished with a team-best 20 points for the Tigers, while Hobbs and West each had 10 points. Wagner nearly had a double-double, finishing with a team-high 11 rebounds to go with eight points. West led the Tigers in assists with four.
 
No Lopers reached double figures in scoring, the most points coming from Sarah Schmitt with eight. Elisa Backes and Klaire Kirsch each had seven.
 
This will be Fort Hays State's fourth appearance in the championship game over the last five years. The Tigers are looking for their first conference tournament title since 2019.