#6 Fort Hays State Women's Basketball (11-1, 2-1 MIAA)
vs. Missouri Western (4-8, 0-3 MIAA)
Saturday, January 3, 2026 • 4 p.m.
Hays, Kan. • Gross Memorial Coliseum
Game Sponsor: Domino's Pizza
National Anthem: Ellsworth Jr./Sr. High
Promotions: Big Creek Crossing Baby Crawl at halftime, Mascot Night

The sixth-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team wraps up a five-game homestand on Saturday (Jan. 3) when the Tigers host Missouri Western. First tip is slated for 4 p.m., with the women's game to follow the men's game.

Game Coverage
Live video will be available on The MIAA Network, with subscriptions available at $15 per game, $35 for a monthly subscription or $140 for an all-access pass. Radio coverage will be available on KJLS 103.3 FM or online here, with voice of the Tigers Gerard Wellbrock on the call. Live stats will be available online here.
 
Tickets
General admission tickets are available in advance or at the door at a cost of $12 for adults and $5 for youth K-12. Children 5 and under get in free of charge.
 
Quick Hits
- Talexa Weeter scored 45 points in Thursday's win over Northwest Missouri State, one shy of the program record. It was the first 40-point game for a Tiger since 1993 and is the fourth 40-point game in team history. It is also tied for the most points scored by a DII athlete this season. The Goodland, Kan. native also broke the school record with 17 made free throws and tied the record with 20 free throw attempts after drawing 13 fouls. She raised her DII-high scoring average to 28.9 points per game in the process.
- The Tigers trailed the Bearcats by 20 points in the first half before winning by double digits. The 20-point deficit is tied for the largest rally for the Tigers in an MIAA contest since joining the league in 2006.
- Now the program leader in career assists, Brooke Loewe is also the DII active career leader with 509 career assists. She ranks 10th in career assists amongst active players across all NCAA divisions and leads all divisions with her average of 10.1 assists per game this season.
- Fort Hays State has hit 50 percent or better from the floor in more than half of its games this season (7 of 12).
- This is the 20th season the Tigers are playing in the MIAA since joining the league in 2006. FHSU has 422 wins over that span, just two behind Emporia State for the most in the conference.
- Fort Hays State leads Division II with an average of 20.8 assists per game while ranking third with a field goal percentage of 48.9 percent.

On This Day
- The Tigers are 11-2 in recorded history on January 3, most recently defeating Rogers State 74-48 on the road in 2022.
- FHSU has won three in a row on this date, with the last loss coming in 2013 against Northeastern State.

National Rankings
- FHSU leads in the country with 20.8 assists per game while ranking second in assist/turnover ratio (1.30), third in field goal percentage (48.9 percent), eighth in 3-point percentage (37.0 percent), ninth in winning percentage (91.7 percent), 10th in fewest fouls (13.4 per game) and 13th in scoring offense (79.5 ppg).
- Brooke Loewe's 10.1 assists per game are the most across all NCAA divisions. The DI lead is 9.3 assists per game, while the second-best average in DII is 6.8 (Lydia Haack, Concordia-St. Paul).
- Talexa Weeter leads Division II and ranks third across all NCAA divisions with an average of 28.9 points per game.
- Loewe's 14 assists in a game, a feat she accomplished twice in five days, are the most in a game by a DII athlete this season.
- Loewe has six games with 10-plus assists, the most of any DII athlete. Only two other DII student-athletes have had multiple 10-plus assist games this season (CSP's Lydia Haack - 4, UNK's Jillian Aschoff - 2). There have been 39 double-digit assist performances so far this season in Division II - Loewe accounts for 15 percent of those.
- Weeter's 45 points against Northwest Missouri State are tied for the most by a DII athlete this season.
- Ellie Stearns ranks fifth in the conference with 2.1 3-pointers made per game.
- Olivia Mortensen ranks fourth in the MIAA with a field goal percentage of 52.4 percent.
- Weeter ranks second in the MIAA in rebounds (8.8 per game) and third in the MIAA in field goal percentage (52.6 percent).
- Loewe ranks fourth in the MIAA with an average of 2.1 steals per game.

20 Wins Now the Norm
- Fort Hays State has now reached the 20-win plateau in each of the last 14 seasons, extending the longest active streak of 20-win seasons in Division II. FHSU's streak is tied for the sixth-longest active streak of 20-win seasons across all NCAA Divisions.
- FHSU reached the 20-win plateau just eight times over the first 42 years of the program before the current streak began in 2011-12, including no more than two consecutive 20-win campaigns during that time.
- The next-best active streak of 20-win seasons in the MIAA is four (MWSU), while the next-best streak in DII is Drury with 12.
- Only five DI programs have longer active stretches of 20-win seasons, including UConn (32), Baylor (25), Stanford (23), Florida Gulf Coast (21) and Louisville (15). Fort Hays State's run of 14-straight 20-win seasons is tied with South Carolina and South Dakota State for sixth-best in all NCAA women's basketball.

Fresh Start
- Olivia Mortensen is the 14th true freshman to start a season opener for the Tigers during the DII era (since 1991-92) and the first since Ellie Stearns in 2022.

Last Time Out
- The No. 6 Tigers used a big second half to rally from a 20-point deficit and defeat Northwest Missouri State on Thursday, 84-71 (1/1/26).
- It was tied for the largest comeback by the team during the MIAA era (also down 20 before winning at UNK, 2/2/19).
- Talexa Weeter erupted for 45 points, including 29 in the second half. It was one shy of the program record for points in a single game and was the first 40-point game for a Tiger since 1993. She also broke the record with 17 free throws made and tied the record with 20 free throws attempted.
- FHSU hit 50 percent from the floor (28-of-56), its seventh game hitting at least half of its shots this season.
- The Tigers committed a season-low nine turnovers.

Scouting the Griffons
- The Griffons are 4-8 this season and 0-3 in conference play after falling to Nebraska-Kearney 84-76 on Thursday.
- MWSU is 1-4 in true road games this season.
- The Griffons had won two in a row heading into the holiday break, beating a pair of DII opponents in Lincoln and McKendree.
- MWSU leads the conference and ranks inside the top 10 in Division II with an average of 8.9 3-pointers per game.
- The Griffons rank second-to-last in the MIAA with an opposing scoring average of 70.6 points per night.

Series History with Missouri Western
- Fort Hays State is 35-29 all-time against Missouri Western.
- The Tigers are 21-9 at home against the Griffons. However, the Griffons have won four in a row in Hays.
- FHSU holds a one game winning streak in the series overall, but MWSU holds a five-game winning streak in regular season meetings. FHSU's last regular season win came in 2022.
- The Tigers are 1-4 against MWSU under head coach Talia Kahrs, making the Griffons one of two teams to hold a winning record against the third-year head coach (Southwest Minnesota State - 1-0).
- FHSU is 17-14 against the Griffons in MIAA regular season contests.
- The teams are tied 2-2 in overtime contests.

Last Meeting with the Griffons
- Ninth-ranked FHSU ended a four-game losing streak to Missouri Western with a 77-73 win over the Griffons in last season's MIAA Championship Semifinals inside Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. (3/8/25).
- Katie DeGarmo led the team with 25 points and eight rebounds alongside seven assists, while Talexa Weeter contributed 21 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
- FHSU hit 7-of-9 from the free throw line in the final minute to secure the victory.

Career Stats vs. MWSU
- Talexa Weeter - 13.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.0 apg in 3 games - 2 games in double figures, including 1 game with 20-plus points
- Brooke Loewe - 4.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 4.1 apg in 8 games - 1 double-double
- Ellie Stearns - 3.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.8 apg in 8 games

Looking Ahead
The Tigers hit the road for the first time in a month on Tuesday, January 6 when they travel to Kearney, Neb. to take on the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers. First tip is set for 5:30 p.m. inside the Health & Sports Center.