2026 NCAA Division II Championship
Central Regional - Semifinals
#14 (3-seed) Fort Hays State Women's Basketball (25-5)
vs. #22 (2-seed) Concordia-St. Paul (25-6)
Saturday, March 14, 2026 • 5 p.m.
Mankato, Minn. • Taylor Center
 
The 14th-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team has advanced to the 2026 NCAA Division II Central Region semifinals where the Tigers will take on No. 22 Concordia-St. Paul Saturday evening (March 14). First tip between the Tigers (25-5) and Golden Bears (25-6) is slated for 5 p.m. inside the Taylor Center on the campus of Minnesota State in Mankato, Minn.
 
Game Coverage
- Free live video will be available on NCAA.com/live. 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 and seniors. Tickets are good for all games on any given day of the tournament.
 
Quick Hits
- The Tigers have now qualified for the NCAA Tournament 11 times, including 10 appearances in the Central Regional in the last 12 years, three more than any other school over the last dozen years (PSU and UCM, 7 each).
- FHSU has reached the semifinals in seven-straight trips to the regional.
- The Tigers are 2-5 in the tournament against teams they played earlier in the season.
- FHSU is 6-1 all-time in games played in the state of Minnesota, including wins in five in a row. The lone loss you ask? At Concordia-St. Paul in 2014.
- Talexa Weeter broke the MIAA scoring record with 829 points this season. That total is 15th-most in a season in DII history. She ranks second across all NCAA divisions with an average of 27.6 points per game. Weeter is 51 points away from Annette Wiles' school-record 880 points in 1990-91.
- Weeter's 46 points on Friday tied FHSU's school record and are the most in the NCAA tournament in 10 years.
- Brooke Loewe leads all NCAA basketball, men and women spanning all divisions, with 306 assists this season, breaking a 27-year-old MIAA record. That total is third-most in DII history, three away from second and 20 shy of the record. She is the sixth DII player and just the 25th in the history of NCAA women's basketball to reach 300 assists in a season. Loewe is the only player in all NCAA basketball averaging in double figures in assists this year.
- Loewe's 16 assists are the most in an NCAA tournament game in 19 years (17, Katie LaViolette, Concordia-St. Paul vs. South Dakota, 3/9/07).
 
Weeter Named D2CCA Central Region Player of the Year
- Talexa Weeter was named the 2025-26 D2CCA Central Region Player of the Year.
- She is the second Tiger to earn the honor in the DII era (Kate Lehman, 2014-15) and is the eighth all-region selection for the Tigers.
 
Trio Named All-MIAA; Weeter POY
- The MIAA coaches named Talexa Weeter the 2025-26 MIAA Player of the Year.
- Weeter was joined on the All-MIAA first team by Brooke Loewe, with Olivia Mortensen earning third team honors.
- Mortensen is one of two freshmen to earn a spot on the first, second or third teams and is the first Tiger to do so since Kate Lehman (2011-12).
- The MIAA Player of the Year has been a Tiger each of the last three seasons, the first time one school has had three-straight league MVPs since 2008-10 (Emporia State).
- Fort Hays State has had five MIAA Players of the Year since joining the league 20 years ago, tied for the most by any school during that span (ESU).
- The Tigers have two first-team selections for the second year in a row and the seventh time in team history.
 
NCAA Tournament Notes
- Fort Hays State is playing in its 10th Central Regional in the last 12 years, three more than any other school during that span (PSU 7, UCM 7, ESU 6, MSU 6, UMD 6, HU 5, ATU 4, MWSU 4, Northern St. 4, SWOSU 4, MSUM 3, SNU 3, UNK 3, SCSU 3, CSP 2, AU 2, LWU 2, MSSU 2, USF 2, UCO 1, HSU 1, NWMSU 1, NWOSU 1, SEOSU 1, SMSU 1, WU 1, Winona St. 1, Wayne St. 1).
- This is the third-straight season the Tigers have been the No. 3 seed in the tournament.
- FHSU is 10-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
- The Tigers are 5-3 against NSIC teams in the tournament.
- FHSU is 3-4 in the semifinal round.
- The Tigers are 3-2 as the No. 3 seed.
- FHSU is 0-3 against the No. 2 seed.
- The Tigers are 4-4 in neutral site contests in the tournament, including a 1-0 record in the state of Minnesota.
- FHSU is 4-8 against nationally ranked teams in the tournament.
- The Tigers are 8-6 in the tournament when nationally ranked.
- FHSU is 3-5 against ranked teams while the Tigers are also ranked at the same time.
- Brooke Loewe averages 5.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg and 5.8 apg in five career tournament games, including four games with five or more assists.
Loewe's 16 assists against Harding are the most by any player in the tournament in 19 years (17, Katie LaViolette, Concordia-St. Paul vs. South Dakota, 3/9/07).
- Talexa Weeter averages 22.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 0.5 apg in four career tournament games, including three 20-point performances and one game with a school-record 46 points.
- Weeter's 46 points against Harding are the most points scored by any player in the tournament in 10 years (49, Kiana Johnson, Virginia Union vs. West Liberty, 3/14/16).
 
Land of 10,000 Wins
- The Tigers are 6-1 all-time in the state of Minnesota, including wins in each of their last five games in the Gopher State.
- FHSU played two non-conference games against NSIC teams in three-straight seasons beginning in 2014-15 until 2016-17.
- The Tigers defeated Bemidji State and lost to Concordia-St. Paul in St. Paul in 2014 before beating Upper Iowa and Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall in 2015 and knocking off St. Cloud State and Bemidji State in St. Cloud in 2016.
 
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 but in danger of losing streak this season) and Louisville (16), while FHSU is tied with South Carolina and South Dakota St.
 
National/MIAA Rankings
- The Tigers lead all Division II with an average of 18.9 assists per game. FHSU tops the league and ranks third nationally in defensive rebounds per game (31.5 drpg), seventh in field goal percentage (46.2 percent), seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.26), 10th in fewest fouls per game (13.3 fpg), 18th in winning percentage (83.3 percent), 24th in 3-point percentage (34.2 percent) and 24th in scoring offense (76.1 ppg).
- Talexa Weeter leads Division II and ranks second across all NCAA divisions with an average of 27.6 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).
- Weeter's 46 points against Harding are second-most by a DII player this season.
- Weeter ranks third in the MIAA in rebounds (8.9 per game) and second in the MIAA in field goal percentage (52.0 percent).
- Olivia Mortensen ranks third in the conference with a field goal percentage of 49.4 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).
 
Double Digit Scoring
- Talexa Weeter has scored in double figures in all 30 games this season and 40 straight dating back to last season.
 
Nice Round Numbers
- Talexa Weeter is the second player at FHSU and the fifth in MIAA history to score 700 points in a season. She is the first to do so in the MIAA in 20 years and the first at FHSU since Annette Wiles during FHSU's NAIA championship run in 1990-91.
- Weeter is the first MIAA player and the second at FHSU to reach 800 points.
- Brooke Loewe is the first FHSU player, the first MIAA player, the sixth in Division II and just the 25th in the history of NCAA Women's basketball to reach 300 assists in a season.
 
30 Point Performances
- Talexa Weeter eclipsed the 30-point plateau for the 12th time this season and the 13th time in her career against Harding, one off the program record (Annette Wiles, 14).
 
Triple Trouble
- Brooke Loewe is one of three NCAA Division II athletes and one of eight across all levels of NCAA women's basketball with multiple triple-doubles this season.
- Brooke Loewe totaled 11 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in the win over Emporia State, putting together the first Tiger triple-double since 2014 (Kate Lehman - 31p, 10r, 11b vs. Kansas Wesleyan, 12/16/14).
- After recording the first FHSU triple-double in 4,076 days against ESU, Loewe needed just nine days to duplicate that effort, totaling 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in the come-from-behind win over Pittsburg State on Saturday.
- She is the third FHSU player in FHSU's DII history to record a triple-double and the second to do so multiple times (Kate Lehman 3, Amy Scoby).
 
Dropping Dimes
- Brooke Loewe leads all NCAA basketball, men and women, all divisions, with 306 assists, breaking a 27-year-old MIAA record.
- With an average of 10.2 assists per game, the Huxley, Iowa native is the only player in all divisions averaging in double figures.
- Her 306 assists this season are third-most in a single season in NCAA Division II history.
- She needs 20 assists to tie the NCAA Division II record for assists in a season (326, Kailee Howe, West Liberty, 2015-16).
- After tying the school record with 13 assists in a game last season, Brooke has tallied 14 or more assists seven times this season. Only four other players in Division II have done so once.
- She is the sixth player in DII history and the 25th player in the history of NCAA women's basketball to reach 300 assists in a single season.
- Should she finish the season averaging in double figures, it would be just the sixth time a DII athlete accomplished that feat and she would be just the fourth individual to do so (Selina Bynum of Albany State did so three times in 1990-93).
 
Last Time Out
- The No. 14 Tigers held on to defeat No. 20 Harding in overtime in the Central Region Quarterfinals on Friday (3/13), 89-82.
- The back-and-forth contest included 21 lead changes and 14 ties, with Harding leading by as many as 11 in the first half and FHSU leading by as many as seven at the final horn.
- Talexa Weeter tied the school record with 46 points on 16-of-23 shooting.
- Brooke Loewe dished out 16 assists, one off her school record.
- FHSU hit 19-of-22 from the free-throw line, including a perfect 8-of-8 over the final minute of OT to secure the win.
 
Series History with Concordia-St. Paul
- The Tigers are 2-1 all-time against CSP, including a 2-0 record in neutral site meetings. The teams have never played in the postseason.
- FHSU defeated the Golden Bears in the first game of the regular season for both teams, winning 84-78 in St. Joseph, Mo.
- Concordia-St. Paul won the first-ever meeting, winning 70-68 in St. Paul, Minn. in 2014.That loss was the first of four for the 2014-15 team. The Tigers won 21 in a row after that loss, the program's longest winning streak in a single season.
 
Last Meeting with the Golden Bears
- The No. 9 Tigers defeated the No. 11 Golden Bears 84-78 in the season-opener in November in the Central Region Showcase in St. Joseph, Mo.
- FHSU raced in front after hitting 64.3 from the floor (9-of-14) and 83.3 percent from deep (5-of-6) in the first quarter.
- The Tigers never trailed, leading for 39:38 after Avery Lowe opened the game with a 3-pointer 22 seconds in.
- Talexa Weeter opened the season with 36 points and 14 rebounds, tallying her first of nine double-doubles this season.
 
Class of the Conference
Since joining the MIAA in 2006-07 (20 seasons), the Tigers lead the league with 436 wins, averaging 21.8 wins per season during that time.
 
MIAA Athlete of the Week x 7
- Fort Hays State has earned seven MIAA Athlete of the Week honors this season, including five for Talexa Weeter and two for Brooke Loewe. The entire rest of the league has a combined eight such awards this season, with only one school picking up multiple honors.
- 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.
- Loewe picked up her second weekly recognition after averaging a double-double (12.0 ppg, 11.0 apg) in road wins at Northeastern State and Arkansas-Fort Smith. She totaled 14 points and 14 assists in the win over NSU, surpassing 14 assists for the sixth time this season.
 
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 10 times over the last 12 seasons.
 
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.
 
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 2,349 fans per game.
- That would rank 71st in Division I, higher than three Big 12 schools (Cincinnati, UCF, Houston), two Big 10 schools (Penn State, Northwestern) and one SEC school (Florida).
- Three of the top five attended games this season in Division II and six of the top 12 have been played inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.
- 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.
 
Up Next
The winner of Saturday's semifinal will advance to the regional championship game on Monday, March 16 to take on either No. 4 seed Central Missouri or No. 8 seed Minnesota Duluth. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m.