#3/#4 Fort Hays State Women's Basketball (11-0, 2-0 MIAA)
at Northwest Missouri State (7-5, 0-2 MIAA)
Thursday, January 2, 2025 • 5:30 p.m.
Maryville, Mo. • Bearcat Arena
 
The third-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team will resume conference play this week when the Tigers travel to Missouri for a pair of MIAA matchups. First up is a matchup with Northwest Missouri State on Thursday (Jan. 2), with the opening tip set for 5:30 p.m. from Bearcat Arena.
 
Live video will be available on The MIAA Network. Single game broadcasts can be purchased for $15, while fans can also purchase a monthly subscription for $30 or a year-long all-access pass for $140.
 
Radio coverage with voice of the Tigers Gerard Wellbrock will be available on KJLS 103.3 FM and online here, while live stats will also be posted online here.
 
Now 11-0 overall and 2-0 in MIAA play, the Tigers are one of four remaining undefeated teams in NCAA Division II and one of 20 undefeated teams across all levels of NCAA women's basketball (seven DI, nine DIII). Other undefeated DII teams include Cal State-Dominguez Hills at 12-0, North Georgia at 10-0 and Chowan at 7-0.
 
FHSU's 11 wins to start the season makes this the second-best start in program history behind only the 15-0 start to start the 2018-19 season. This is tied for the seventh-longest winning streak in program history.
 
The Tigers lead the country with 31.9 defensive rebounds per night. FHSU also ranks second in DII with 19.0 assists per contest, third with a field goal percentage defense of 31.7 percent, fifth in assist/turnover ratio at 1.30 and sixth in scoring margin at plus-23.0.
 
Brooke Loewe is averaging 6.2 assists per night, tops in the MIAA and eighth-best across all Division II. The junior guard boasts and assist/turnover ratio of 2.27, second-best in the conference and 13th in the country.
 
Olivia Hollenbeck ranks fourth in the conference in scoring, putting up a team-best 16.8 points per contest while knocking down 66.4 percent from the floor, the fourth-best shooting percentage in DII. She also leads the team in steals and blocks, averaging 2.82 steals per game and 1.64 blocks per outing. The graduate student is the conference leader in steals while ranking third in the MIAA in blocks.
 
Katie Wagner DeGarmo needs 19 points to tie Kate Lehman for second all-time on the FHSU scoring list (1,917 pts). The Maize, Kan. native leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per game, eighth-best in the conference.
 
Talexa Weeter has scored in double figures in each of the last nine game, tied for the longest active streak on the team with DeGarmo. She ranks 11th in the league in scoring (13.9 ppg) and is fifth in field-goal percentage (55.0 percent).
 
The Tigers are 24-11 all-time against the Bearcats, including an 8-8 tie in games played in Maryville. Fort Hays State is 3-1 against NWMSU during the Talia Kahrs era, including an 0-1 mark on the road. The Tigers have won each of the last two meetings, 12 of the last 13 since 2018 and 20 of the last 22 since 2011. Fort Hays State is 21-8 against Northwest in MIAA regular season conference contests.
 
In the most recent meeting the Tigers led wire-to-wire in a 62-47 win over Northwest Missouri State in the regional quarterfinals last March (3/15/24). Fort Hays State held the Bearcats to one field goal in the first quarter and forced six first period turnovers, with the Tigers leading 16-8 after 10 minutes. FHSU hit 8-of-14 in the final period to secure the victory. Hollenbeck led all scorers with 20 points, adding seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. DeGarmo recorded her fourth-consecutive double-double, totaling 19 points and 15 rebounds.
 
After opening the year 7-1, including wins over fifth-ranked Ashland and top-ranked Minnesota State, the Bearcats have dropped each of the last four games to dip to 7-5 overall and 0-2 in conference play. The Bearcats average 63.3 points per game and knock down 6.7 3-pointers per game. NWMSU is tied for third in the MIAA with just 13.8 turnovers per night. Caely Kesten leads the team with 11.8 points per game, while Kelsey Fields also averages in double figures with 10.6 points per contest. Freshman Sadie Maas leads the conference with 21 blocks on the year, averaging 1.8 per night.
 
Hollenbeck averages 15.3 points in nine career games against NWMSU, including eight games scoring in double figures. DeGarmo has played 10 times against the Bearcats, averaging 12.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. She's scored in double figures in six of those games, including a pair of double-doubles.
 
Looking ahead, the Tigers will make the short drive from Maryville to St. Joseph to take on Missouri Western on Saturday (Jan. 4, 11 a.m.) before returning home for four consecutive home games beginning Tuesday (Jan. 7, 5:30 p.m.) when the Tigers host Nebraska-Kearney.