JOPLIN, Mo. - The sixth-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team dropped its third game of the season Thursday (Feb. 19), losing 78-67 at Missouri Southern. The Tigers (23-3, 14-3 MIAA) led by as many as seven in the early going, but 28 second-chance points and 24 points off turnovers helped the Lions (18-7, 12-4 MIAA) emerge victorious.
 
The visitors started off strong, hitting five of their first eight from the floor to build an 11-4 lead over the first four minutes of play. The Lions answered with an 8-0 run to take the lead before the teams traded baskets the rest of the way, leading to a 20-18 MSSU lead after 10 minutes.
 
The trend of runs continued in the second, with the Lions scoring the first seven points before an 8-0 Tiger run narrowed the gap to one, 27-26. The Tigers eventually tied things up three separate times, but the Lions never gave up the lead. MSSU led by seven late in the frame, but a 3-pointer from Avery Lowe helped FHSU pull within 45-41 at the break.
 
Ellie Stearns opened the second half with her third 3-pointer of the game, but that would be the closest FHSU would be for the rest of the night. Both teams hit 7-of-15 from the floor in the third, but the Lions hit five more free throws to stretch their lead to 66-57.
 
The Tigers closed within six points on three separate occasions in the fourth, but FHSU hit just 3-of-13 from the floor in the final frame to thwart any comeback effort.
 
Olivia Mortensen led all scorers with 20 points, with Talexa Weeter adding 17 points and Stearns chipping in 13.
 
Weeter now has 714 points this year, becoming the second FHSU player and the fifth in the MIAA to reach 700 points in a single season. She is the first MIAA player to do so in 20 years and the first Tiger since Annette Wiles during FHSU's national championship run in 1990-91.
 
Brooke Loewe distributed 11 assists, giving the senior 268 on the year, three shy of the MIAA record that has stood for 27 years.
 
The Tigers were outrebounded by eight, 40-32, and outscored in the paint by a dozen, 48-36.
 
Fort Hays State will look to bounce back Saturday (Feb. 21) when the Tigers take on Pittsburg State in Pittsburg, Kan. beginning at 1:30 p.m.