#8 Fort Hays State Women's Basketball (20-2, 11-2 MIAA)
at Arkansas-Fort Smith (4-17, 3-9 MIAA)
Saturday, February 7, 2026 • 1 p.m.
Fort Smith, Ark. • Gayle Kaundart Arena at the Stubblefield Center
 
The eighth-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team will play in the state of Arkansas for the first time in team history Saturday (Feb. 7) when the Tigers take on Arkansas-Fort Smith. First tip is set for 1 p.m. inside the Stubblefield Center in Fort Smith, Ark.
 
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 $8.
 
Quick Hits
- This is the program's first ever game played in the state of Arkansas. The Tigers are 3-0 all-time against Arkansas-based schools (1-0 vs. Arkansas-Fort Smith, Arkansas Tech and Harding).
- Fort Hays State has now won 20 or more games in 15-straight seasons, extending the longest active streak in Division II. It is fifth-longest across all NCAA Divisions behind only UConn, Baylor, Florida Gulf Coast & Louisville.
- The Tigers currently have a half-game lead in front of second place in the MIAA standings. With three-and-a-half weeks remaining in the regular season, there are still six teams within two games of first place in the loss column.
- Fort Hays State has more wins (10-0) without a loss when ranked No. 8 in the WBCA DII Coaches Poll than any other position in the rankings.
- 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 27.5 ppg,
- Brooke Loewe averages 10.4 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 five assists to tie 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 has reached the 20-win plateau for a 15th-consecutive season, extending the longest active streak of 20-win seasons in Division II. FHSU's streak is tied for the fifth-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 four DI programs have longer active stretches of 20-win seasons, including UConn (33), Baylor (26), Florida Gulf Coast (21) Louisville (16), while FHSU is tied with South Carolina (15).
 
National/MIAA Rankings
- Fort Hays State leads Division II in assists per game (19.8 apg) while ranking third in defensive rebounds per game (31.5 drpg), fourth in field goal percentage (47.8 percent), fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.27), sixth in fewest fouls per game (13.0 fpg), sixth in winning percentage (90.9 percent), 13th in 3-point percentage (36.0 percent), 20th in scoring offense (76.4 ppg), 24th in scoring margin (plus-14.3) and 32nd in field goal percentage defense (35.8 percent). FHSU ranks first in the MIAA in each of the aforementioned categories.
- While the Tigers are first in the country in defensive rebounding, FHSU is last in the MIAA in offensive rebounding (9.0 per game). Overall the Tigers rank fourth in the league with an average of 40.6 rebounds per night.
- Brooke Loewe's 10.4 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 27.5 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 six times this season. Only two other DII athlete have done so once (Brielle Minor - Cal Poly Pomona, Micaela Hanning - Vanguard).
- Weeter's 45 points against Northwest Missouri State are tied for second-most by a DII athlete this season.
- Weeter ranks fourth in the MIAA in rebounds (8.7 per game) and second in the MIAA in field goal percentage (52.3 percent).
- Olivia Mortensen ranks third in the MIAA with a field goal percentage of 49.6 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. 8 Tigers held off Northeastern State on the road, winning 68-63 on Thursday (2/5/26).
- The Tigers led by as many as 15 with 12 minutes to go before the home team closed within two in the fourth.
- A big 3-pointer from Brittan Zeka with 100 seconds remaining helped the Tigers keep it a two-possession game before Brooke Loewe hit 5-of-6 from the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the win.
- Loewe led the team in scoring for the first time in her career, totaling 14 points and 14 assists to record back-to-back double-doubles. It was her sixth game this season with 14-plus assists, while the school record entering this season was 13.
- The RiverHawks scored 24 second-chance points, the most given up by the Tigers during the Talia Kahrs era.
 
Scouting the Lions
- Arkansas-Fort Smith defeated Nebraska-Kearney on Thursday, 67-49, to improve to 4-17 overall and 3-9 in MIAA play.
- The Lions rank last in the MIAA in point differential at minus-6.5.
- UAFS is 3-8 at home this season, including a 3-3 record in home conference matchups.
- Telisha Brown leads the team with 12.1 points per game, while Marie Rose Priscilla Wemba paces the squad with 6.6 rebounds per contest.
 
Series History with Arkansas-Fort Smith
- Fort Hays State leads the all-time series, 1-0.
- This is FHSU's first-ever game played on the road against the Lions. In fact, it is the first game ever played by the team in the state of Arkansas.
- FHSU is 1-0 against the Lions under head coach Talia Kahrs.
- The Tigers are 1-0 against UAFS in MIAA regular season matchups.
- FHSU and UAFS have never played an overtime game.
 
Last Meeting with the Lions
- The eighth-ranked Tigers hit 55 percent from the floor in a 20-point win over MIAA newcomer Arkansas-Fort Smith last season in Hays (2/8/25), winning 82-62.
- It was FHSU's best shooting performance against a DII team last season.
- The Tigers scored the first 11 points and never looked back, leading by 22-6 at the end of the first quarter.
- Olivia Hollenbeck totaled 27 points and four blocks, while Katie DeGarmo added 23 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
 
Career Stats vs. UAFS
- Brooke Loewe - 8.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 8.0 apg in one game
- Talexa Weeter - 3.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.0 apg in one game
- Ellie Stearns - 3.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 apg in one game
- Avery Lowe - 1.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.0 apg in one game
 
On This Date
- The Tigers are 10-6 in recorded history on February 7, most recently falling to Northeastern State on the road in 2022.
- That game was played on a Monday at 2 p.m. and was the third road game in a span of five days for the team. The game was originally scheduled for New Year's Day in 2022 but was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols within the RiverHawk program.
 
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 Tigers return home to host Emporia State on Thursday, February 12, 2026. First tip is set for 5:30 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.