HAYS, Kan. - The eighth-ranked women's basketball team raced out to a 20-2 lead against No. 6 Pittsburg State on Saturday (Dec. 13) and never looked back, taking the top-10 battle 88-70.
 
Brooke Loewe distributed 13 assists in the non-conference victory, helping the senior move to No. 1 on the all-time assists list with 480 in her career.
 
The Tigers (8-1) were off and running from the start, knocking down 9-of-14 from the floor over the first six minutes without committing a turnover. The Gorillas (6-2), on the other hand, hit just one of their first 13 shots thanks to a swarming Tiger defense.
 
Talexa Weeter scored 10 points in the first quarter, matching PSU's effort as a team, while Avery Lowe scored seven on 3-of-3 shooting to help FHSU to a 28-10 lead.
 
The Tigers continued to pour it on in the second quarter, improving their shooting percentage to 63.2 percent (12-of-19) in the frame to tally another 28 points to go into the locker room in front 56-28.
 
It was FHSU's highest scoring half during the Talia Kahrs era and would have been its best-ever half in an MIAA game had this game counted towards the conference standings.
 
After shooting a blistering 60.5 percent (23-of-38) over the first 20 minutes, the Tigers cooled off after the break, hitting 34.3 percent (12-of-35) in the second half. The Gorillas outscored FHSU by 10 in the second half, including a 26-17 edge in the third quarter, but the Tigers had done enough damage in the first half to maintain a double-digit lead throughout the contest.
 
The Tigers finished the game shooting 47.9 percent (35-of-73) from the floor while limiting PSU to a 37.8 shooting percentage (28-of-74). FHSU outrebounded its opponent by six, 47-41, including 17 second-chance points on 11 offensive rebounds.
 
Weeter led all scorers with 32 points, surpassing the 30-point plateau for the fourth time this season and the fifth time in her career. The junior added 13 rebounds, one off her career high, to record her third double-double this season and the sixth of her career.
 
Olivia Mortensen added 19 points and four rebounds, while Lowe scored a career-high 12 points and Mikayla Pilley matched her personal best with 10 points to give the Tigers four in double figures for the second time this season.

The win is FHSU's fourth-straight regular season win over the Gorillas.
 
After playing in their latest home opener in school history on Saturday, the Tigers will play twice more at home next week before taking a week off over the holidays. FHSU will first host Tabor on Tuesday (Dec. 16) before taking on Chadron State on Friday (Dec. 19), with both games slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.