WICHITA, Kan. - The third-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team improved to 3-0 after a 74-66 win over Eastern New Mexico Friday (Nov. 21) on day one of the Newman Classic. The Tigers accumulated 24 assists and outscored the Greyhounds (1-3) by 10 in the paint, 34-24.
 
Avery Lowe opened the game with a 3-pointer, giving the Tigers the lead 27 seconds into the contest. The Tigers maintained their momentum with a solid performance in the paint, scoring 10 points under the basket in the first quarter. FHSU led by as many as seven in the opening frame before heading to the second quarter in front 21-15.
 
Eastern New Mexico edged closer in the second quarter, outscoring the Tigers 17-13 in the frame to pull within two by halftime, 34-32. A 3-pointer from Ellie Stearns gave the Tigers a 10-point lead midway through the frame, but the Greyhounds went on a 9-1 run over the final 2:30 to narrow the gap to just two.
 
Fort Hays State found itself behind on the scoreboard for the first time all season when the Greyhounds opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer. The lead changed hands four times in quick succession, with Brooke Loewe putting the Tigers back up 38-37 with a jumper. Stearns added another 3-pointer later in the frame, helping the Tigers build their lead to 54-49 entering the fourth quarter.
 
Two baskets from Talexa Weeter and one from Olivia Mortensen helped FHSU push its lead to a game-high 11 points three minutes into the fourth quarter, 60-49. The Tigers maintained that lead until the final four minutes when Eastern New Mexico scored nine in a row to tie things up at 66 with 2:24 to go.
 
The Tigers went back on top the next time down the floor when Loewe found Weeter open in the paint for a layup before duplicating that effort two possessions later. FHSU's defense clamped down during the final stretch, forcing ENMU to miss its final five shots. Brittan Zeka locked down the win with her first field goal as a Tiger, giving FHSU an eight-point lead with 20 seconds to go.
 
Loewe approached triple double territory in the win, posting 15 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Mortensen scored 17 points and recorded six assists while collecting four rebounds. Weeter led with 25 points, converting 9-of-11 free throws and grabbing eight rebounds. Stearns contributed eight points, hitting two 3-pointers and pulling down nine rebounds.
 
The Tigers hit 50 percent from the floor as a team (28-of-56) while holding Eastern New Mexico to just 36.2 percent shooting (25-of-69).
 
FHSU will wrap up the weekend in Wichita on Saturday (Nov. 22) when the Tigers take on William Jewell beginning at 3 p.m. inside Fugate Gymnasium.