#8 Fort Hays State Women's Basketball (19-2, 10-2 MIAA)
at Northeastern State (16-4, 8-3 MIAA)
Thursday, February 5, 2026 • 5:30 p.m.
Tahlequah, Okla. • NSU Event Center
 
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 $10 for adults and $5 for youth K-12, with chairback reserved seats also available at a higher price. Children 5 and under get in free of charge.
 
Quick Hits
- The Tigers are 11-1 coming off a loss under head coach Talia Kahrs, losing back-to-back games only once (at MWSU and NWMSU, 2/1-3/24).
- Fort Hays State has more wins (9-0) without a loss when ranked No. 8 in the WBCA DII Coaches Poll than any other position in the rankings.
- A win Thursday would give the Tigers their 15th-straight 20-win season, the longest active streak in Division II and tied for fifth-longest across all NCAA divisions.
- The Tigers are 6-1 in the Sooner State under head coach Talia Kahrs, including an undefeated 5-0 record in the regular season. The lone loss came in the 2024 NCAA Central Region Semifinals against Minnesota State.
- Talexa Weeter is 26th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. She needed 62 games to reach that threshold, second-fastest in team history (Annette Wiles - 57 gms, Shauna Porter - 65 gms).
- Weeter leads Division II and ranks second across all NCAA divisions with an average of 28.1 ppg,
- Brooke Loewe averages 10.2 assists per game and is the only NCAA athlete, male or female spanning all divisions, currently averaging in double figures in assists. Her 17 assists at UNK are the most across all divisions of NCAA WBB.
- Loewe needs 19 assists to break her own school record of 233 assists in a season.
- FHSU has claimed six of the 11 MIAA Player of the Week honors given out this season. No other school has more than one.
 
20 Wins Now the Norm
- Fort Hays State is one win away from reaching the 20-win plateau for the 15th-consecutive season, 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 (33), Baylor (25), Florida Gulf Coast (21) Louisville (16) and South Carolina (15). Fort Hays State's run of 14-straight 20-win seasons is tied with South Dakota State for sixth-best in all NCAA women's basketball.
 
National/MIAA Rankings
- The Tigers lead Division II in assists per game (19.9 apg) while ranking second in defensive rebounds per game (31.7 drpg), fourth in field goal percentage (47.8 percent), fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.24), fifth in fewest fouls per game (12.8 fpg), seventh in winning percentage (90.5 percent), 12th in 3-point percentage (36.4 percent), 16th in scoring offense (76.8 ppg) and 21st in scoring margin (+14.7).
- FHSU leads the MIAA in each category listed above.
- While the Tigers are first in the country in defensive rebounding, FHSU is last in the MIAA in offensive rebounding (9.1 per game). Overall the Tigers rank fourth in the league with an average of 40.8 rebounds per night.
- Brooke Loewe's 10.2 assists per game are the most across all NCAA divisions. In fact, she is the only NCAA student-athlete, male or female, currently averaging in double figures in assists.
- Talexa Weeter leads Division II and ranks second across all NCAA divisions with an average of 28.1 points per game.
- Loewe's 17 assists against Nebraska-Kearney are the most in a game across all NCAA divisions of women's basketball this season and second-most across all divisions including men's basketball (Arkansas-Pine Bluff's Quion Williams had 18 assists vs. Champion Christian).
- Loewe has recorded 14 or more assists five times this season. Only one other DII athlete has done so once (Brielle Minor, Cal Poly Pomona).
- Weeter's 45 points against Northwest Missouri State are tied for second-most by a DII athlete this season.
- Weeter ranks second in the MIAA in rebounds (8.9 per game) and third in the MIAA in field goal percentage (52.3 percent).
- Olivia Mortensen ranks third in the MIAA with a field goal percentage of 49.3 percent.
 
1K Magic
- Talexa Weeter surpassed the 1,000-point plateau in the first quarter against Rogers State earlier this season (Jan. 23).
- She is the 26th player in program to hit that milestone.
- The Goodland, Kan. native needed only 62 games to reach that threshold, second-fastest in team history (Annette Wiles 57 games, Shauna Porter 65 games).
 
Last Time Out
- The No. 5 Tigers stumbled at home for the first time in over one year on Saturday, losing to Central Missouri 81-69 (1/31/26).
- The Jennies led by as many as 20 in the first half before FHSU pulled within five points early in the fourth quarter.
- Talexa Weeter led the team with 35 points, while Brooke Loewe scored a career-high 18 points thanks to four 3-pointers.
- It was FHSU's first home loss since January 16, 2025 and snapped a 12-game winning streak overall.
 
Scouting the RiverHawks
- Northeastern State is 16-4 overall and 8-3 in MIAA play.
- The RiverHawks currently rank fifth in the league standings but are only one game back of first in the loss column.
- NSU leads the conference and ranks 10th in Division II with an average of 31.4 bench points per game. They also lead the MIAA and rank 5th in DII with a free-throw percentage of 80.3 percent.
- Five RiverHawks average at least nine points per game, led by Kansas transfer McKenzie Smith who puts up 13.2 points per contest.
- Gabrielle Tilley ranks second in the league with a free-throw percentage of 87.8 percent.
 
Series History with Northeastern State
- Fort Hays State leads the all-time series, 21-4.
- The Tigers have won each of the last four meetings and 20 of the last 21 contests dating back to 2014.
- The Tigers are 8-3 on the road against NSU.
- FHSU is 2-0 against the RiverHawks under head coach Talia Kahrs, including a 1-0 record on the road.
- The Tigers are 19-3 against NSU in MIAA regular season matchups.
- FHSU and NSU have never played an overtime game.
 
Last Meeting with the RiverHawks
- The eighth-ranked Tigers picked up another double-figure conference win last season (2/6/25), defeating Northeastern State
76-60 at home.
- FHSU outrebounded the RiverHawks by 26, 47-21, the Tigers' best rebound margin of the year.
- The Tigers also scored a season-best 20 second-chance points off 20 offensive rebounds.
- Olivia Hollenbeck led all scorers with 22 points, with Katie DeGarmo chipping in 15 points.
 
Career Stats vs. NSU
- Talexa Weeter - 7.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.0 apg in one game
- Brooke Loewe - 6.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 6.3 apg in three games
- Ellie Stearns - 5.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.1 apg in three games
 
On This Date
- The Tigers are 9-6 in recorded history on February 5, most recently defeating Central Oklahoma on the road in 2022.
- Five Tigers scored in double figures, including a game-high 15 from Olivia Hollenbeck.
- FHSU has won four in a row on this date, with the last Feb. 5 loss coming in 2005 against MSU-Denver.
 
Class of the Conference
Since joining the MIAA in 2006-07 (20 seasons), the Tigers lead the league with 430 wins. They have averaged more than 21 wins per season during that time.
 
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.
 
MIAA Athlete of the Week x 6
- Fort Hays State has earned six MIAA Athlete of the Week honors this season, including five for Talexa Weeter and one for Brooke Loewe. The entire rest of the league has a combined five such awards this season, with no other program earning more than one honor this year.
- Weeter's five weekly honors are the most by a player in the league since Brooke Littrell in 2022-23 and are the most for a Tiger since Kate Lehman had seven in 2014-15.
- Weeter averaged 32.5 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 60.5 percent from the floor in the first two games of the season.
- The Goodland, Kan. native then averaged 33.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in the two wins in Denver before Thanksgiving.
- Weeter totaled 32 points and 13 rebounds in a blowout win over No. 6 Pittsburg State.
- She erupted for an average of 37 points and 12 rebounds with a pair of double-doubles against Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Western, including a career-high 45 points against the Bearcats that is one off the program record and is tied for the most points scored by a DII athlete this season.
- Loewe earned the award on January 13 after breaking the school record with 17 assists at Nebraska-Kearney and following that up with 15 assists against Northwest Missouri State. Both totals are more than any other DII athlete this season, while her 17 assists are the most across all NCAA divisions this season and are the most by a DII athlete since 2023. She averaged a double-double for the week with 10.0 points and 16.0 assists.
- Weeter collected her fifth honor of the season on January 26 after averaging 26.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in wins over Rogers State and Central Oklahoma. She surpassed 1,000 career points in the win over the Hillcats.
 
Road Warriors
- Fort Hays State played its first home game of the season on December 13 after starting the season with eight straight away from home.
- It was the latest home opener for the team on record (since at least 1973). The previous latest date for the Tigers to play their first home game is December 10, 1975 when FHSU lost to Northwestern Oklahoma State, 75-45.
 
First Time at Home
- The Tigers are 30-5 in home openers during the NCAA DII era, including 18-straight wins from 2004 to 2021 before the Tigers lost on a buzzer beater to Minnesota State in the 2022 home opener.
 
Nationally Recognized
- The Tigers are ranked eighth in this week's WBCA Coaches Poll.
- FHSU has been ranked as high as No. 3 this year after opening the year ninth in the coaches poll.
- The Tigers are one of four teams that have been ranked inside the top 10 of every weekly release this season.
- This is the seventh time the Tigers have been ranked in the preseason. FHSU also opened the 2024-25 ranked 23rd, the 2022-23 season ranked third, the 2021-22 season ranked fourth, the 2019-20 season ranked seventh, the 2018-19 season ranked 12th and the 2015-16 season ranked 10th.
- Fort Hays State has been ranked inside the top 25 in 122 different weekly releases from the WBCA.
- This is the eighth-straight season the Tigers have been ranked at some point and the 13th-such season all-time.
- Including the 2017-18 season (multiple weeks receiving votes), the Tigers have been mentioned in the polls at least once in each of the last 13 seasons.
 
18 and Over
The Tigers have finished a season with at least 18 MIAA wins five times since joining the league in 2006-07, more than any other school during that span (UCM 4, MWSU 3, UNK 2, MSSU 1, NWMSU 1, PSU 1, WU 1).
 
Double-Digit Winning Streaks
- FHSU's season-long winning streak of 12 games is the 17th double-digit streak in team history and is tied for seventh-longest in team history.
- Fort Hays State had multiple unique 10-game winning streaks in a season three times, in 1990-91, 2018-19 and 2024-25.
 
Making it a Habit
After reaching the NCAA Tournament once in its first 23 years in the Association, Fort Hays State has now been selected to compete in the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship nine times over the last 11 seasons.
 
The Big 3-0
Fort Hays State reached the 30-win plateau for the fourth time in program history in 2021-22. FHSU has three 30-win seasons since 2014-15, while the rest of the MIAA has two 30-win campaign combined during that span (UCM 2017-18, PSU 2024-25).
 
Trophy SZN
The Tigers won their fourth regular season MIAA championship and their second MIAA postseason tournament championship in 2021-22. FHSU now has 11 regular season conference titles all-time and three conference tournament titles. No school has won more MIAA regular season titles since FHSU joined the league in 2006-07 (FHSU 4, WU 4, UCM 3, MWSU 3, ESU 2, PSU 2, NWMSU 1, MSSU 1, UNK 1).
 
Century Mark
FHSU has 25 100-point outings in its illustrious history, most recently a 100-59 win over Rogers State (2/20/20), which was the first time FHSU scored 100 points against a Division II opponent since 2013 (114-86 vs Newman, 1/26/13).
 
Home Sweet Home
- Fort Hays State is leading Division II with an average attendance of 2,096 fans per game.
- The 3,065 fans in attendance of the Washburn game are second-most in a DII game this season, while the crowd of 2,975 two days later against Central Missouri ranks third.
- The Tigers led Division II with an average attendance of 2,084 per home contest last season. That total would rank 84th in DI and was more than 282 DI programs.
 
Looking Ahead
The weekend road trip wraps up Saturday, February 7 at Arkansas-Fort Smith beginning at 1 p.m. It will be FHSU's first-ever game played in the Natural State.