WARRENSBURG, Mo. - The third-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team edged Central Missouri in a tense overtime matchup Thursday (Dec. 4), winning 65-60. The victory was secured through a strong defensive performance that included 15 steals and six blocks while creating 26 Jennie turnovers.
 
The Tigers move to 7-0 overall and 1-0 in MIAA play with the win, tied for the fifth-best start to a season in program history. FHSU has now won five in a row against the Jennies (4-3, 0-1 MIAA), tied for its longest winning streak in series history.
 
Fort Hays State scored first on a jumper from Olivia Mortensen, but UCM scored the next nine points to take a comfortable lead. The Jennies led by as many as nine five minutes into the game, but an Ellie Stearns 3-pointer late in the quarter narrowed the deficit to 14-12.
 
The visitors twice rallied to tie the score early in the second quarter, but the Jennies had an answer each time. The Tigers finally regained the lead with three minutes to go in the half on back-to-back Talexa Weeter baskets. The lead changed hands five times down the stretch, with FHSU going into the locker room up 27-26 after a late layup from Mikayla Pilley.
 
UCM scored the first six points of the second half to go back on top by five. The Tigers tied the score twice before UCM built a seven-point lead late in the frame. Ellie Stearns finished the scoring with a pair of free throws, putting FHSU within 46-41 entering the final stanza.
 
The Tigers battled back to start the fourth quarter, hitting four of their first five shots to take the lead on Stearns' fourth 3-pointer of the game. Weeter later hit a 3-pointer in transition at the 4:51 mark to put the Tigers up 54-49. The FHSU defense helped the Tigers claw back, holding UCM to just 1-of-10 shooting and creating eight turnovers over the first 9:35.
 
The Jennies made one final push, however, hitting all three of their shots in the final 25 seconds, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer from Makenzie Farmer to tie the score at 57 and send the game into overtime.
 
After limiting UCM to just three points in nine-plus minutes in the fourth quarter, the Tigers duplicated that effort in the overtime period, holding the Jennies to 1-of-9 shooting and creating two turnovers while allowing only three points. Weeter scored the first four points of the overtime period before Avery Lowe put the Tigers up five with a layup at the 1:59 mark. Loewe pushed the lead back to five with a pair of free throws in the final minute before the defense sealed the deal, forcing three missed shots including Lowe's third block of the game.
 
Weeter led all scorers with 23 points, while Loewe totaled 16 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, five steals and one block while playing in all 45 minutes of action. Stearns tallied 15 points and also racked up five steals while Lowe totaled a career-high nine steals and three blocks. The Tigers are now 4-0 in overtime under head coach Talia Kahrs.
 
UCM's 26 turnovers are the most by the Jennies in nearly six years (29 at UCO, 1/4/20), while their shooting percentage of 31.3 (20-of-64) is the team's lowest since March 2021.
 
The Tigers will wrap up the road trip on Saturday (Dec. 6, 1 p.m.) against Washburn in Topeka, Kan. before playing their first home game the following Saturday (Dec. 13, 2 p.m.) when they host No. 8 Pittsburg State in a non-conference battle.