HAYS, Kan. - The seventh-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team bounced back Saturday (Jan. 18) with an 84-60 win over Northwest Missouri State. The Tigers (14-2, 5-2 MIAA) hit 53.8 percent from the floor in the win, their highest shooting percentage against a Division II team this season. The win is Fort Hays State's fourth conference victory by at least 20 points this season.
 
The teams battled back-and-forth throughout the first quarter, with the lead changing hands five times alongside five ties. The Bearcats led by as many as four midway through the frame before the Tigers closed the quarter on a 9-3 run, taking the lead for good.
 
Fort Hays State started to pull away in the second quarter after outscoring the Bearcats 26-11 in the frame. The Tigers hit a blistering 63.3 percent from the floor in the opening half (19-of-30), including a run of eight-straight made field goals over a five-minute stretch that pushed the lead to 15. Talexa Weeter hit four shots during the run, while Katie Wagner DeGarmo added seven points. DeGarmo later scored the final three points of the half, giving FHSU a 47-30 lead at halftime.
 
A layup from Olivia Hollenbeck and five points from Kate Dilsaver helped the Tigers push the lead to 24 early in the third quarter, 54-30. Dilsaver continued to impress throughout the frame, with the senior totaling 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the third quarter alone.
 
The Bearcats responded with a 9-0 run over the heart of the third quarter to close within 15 before the Tigers scored nine in a row themselves to push the lead back to 24.
 
Fort Hays State continued to add to its lead in the fourth quarter, scoring 14-straight points after forcing the Bearcats into seven-consecutive misses and two turnovers. Bailey Wilborn's second basket of the day put the Tigers up by as many as 32 with 3:23 to play.
 
Five Tigers scored in double figures for the fourth time this season, including a team-high 15 points from both DeGarmo and Weeter. Hollenbeck and Dilsaver both contributed 14 points each, while Brooke Loewe totaled 13 points and added 11 assists for her third double-double of the year.
 
Fort Hays State turned the ball over a season-low five times, the lowest total for the Tigers in nearly two years (three turnovers at Nebraska-Kearney, 2/25/23). The Tigers outrebounded Northwest by 11, 42-31, and doubled them up in scoring in the paint, 44-22.

Now with 1,670 career points, Hollenbeck moved into fifth place on the all-time scoring list at Fort Hays State, moving past Petrece Faulkner (1,657 points, 1989-93).
 
The Tigers will now hit the road for a four-game road trip beginning Thursday (Jan. 23) when they take on Rogers State beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Claremore, Okla.