BETHANY, Okla. - The Fort Hays State women's basketball team led wire-to-wire in a NCAA Division II Central Region quarterfinal victory over Northwest Missouri State Friday afternoon (March 15), 62-47. The Tigers (25-7) now advance to the regional semifinals for the sixth time in school history where they will take on the No. 7 seed Minnesota State on Saturday evening (March 16, 5 p.m.) inside the Sawyer Center on the campus of Southern Nazarene University.
The win gives Fort Hays State 25 victories in a season for the seventh time in program history, including the sixth 25-win season in the last 10 years.
After losing the opening tip for just the eighth time in 32 games this season, the No. 3-seeded Tigers still got on the board first when Sydney Golladay knocked down a jumper on FHSU's first possession of the game. Fort Hays State played stellar defense over the first 10 minutes, limiting the No. 6-seeded Bearcats (23-8) to just one field goal (1-of-11) and forcing six NWMSU turnovers.
Fort Hays State took advantage on offense, hitting 8-of-19 from the floor in the opening quarter, including six points on three offensive rebounds. Jessie Sallach scored six points in the first frame, with five other Tigers totaling two points each. After trailing by as many as 10, the Bearcats trailed by eight at the end of the frame, 16-8, after hitting 5-of-6 from the line in the quarter. FHSU did not get to the line once over the first 10 minutes.
Foul trouble continued for the Tigers in the second quarter, with three different players drawing their second foul in the frame. Fort Hays State turned to Olivia Hollenbeck on offense in the second quarter, with the forward totaling eight points on 3-of-5 shooting in the frame. The Bearcats closed within two late in the second quarter before Hollenbeck scored the final five points of the half for the Tigers, giving the Tigers a 26-22 lead at the break.
After playing less than 10 minutes in the first half, Katie Wagner opened the third quarter with a bucket to put the Tigers back up by six, 28-22. Fort Hays State was able to keep the Bearcats at bay for the rest of the day, maintaining a multiple-possession lead for the remainder of the game.
Wagner added a 3-pointer two minutes into the half before Hollenbeck scored on a second-chance layup, putting the Tigers up nine. Wagner's 10th point of the quarter gave Fort Hays State a 43-36 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Kate Dilsaver came up big for the Tigers in the second half, hitting both of her shots from the floor and all three of her free-throw attempts.
Fort Hays State left little doubt in the fourth quarter, knocking down 57.1 percent from the floor (8-of-14) to put away the Bearcats and secure the win.
Hollenbeck led all scorers with 20 points, 10 in each half, while adding seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. After scoring just two points before halftime, Wagner finished the game with her fourth-consecutive double-double, totaling 19 points and 15 rebounds. She is the first Tiger with double-doubles in four-straight games since Belle Barbieri in 2019.
Golladay dished out eight assists, matching Northwest's assist total for the game. It's the ninth time the point guard has totaled at least five assists in a game this season and the third time she's had eight assists in the last six games.
Emma Ruddle was integral on the defensive end, totaling three steals and one block.
Fort Hays State dominated the game in the paint, outscoring the Bearcats 42-20 under the basket while grabbing 13 more rebounds, 42-29. Northwest managed just two offensive rebounds, with Fort Hays State scoring 15 second-chance points off 11 offensive boards.