FHSU Athletics

After winning its first MIAA Tournament Championship last weekend, the third-ranked Fort Hays State women’s basketball team returns home to host the 2019 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Central Regional starting Friday (March 15). The top-seeded Tigers (30-1) open the national tournament against No. 8 seed and conference rival Pittsburg State (21-8) at 5 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.

Important Fan Information
Tickets: All seats are general admission for the regional tournament. Tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for youth/students, with FHSU students admitted for FREE with a valid Tiger card.
Session Format: Friday’s quarterfinals will be split into two sessions, with the FHSU/PSU clash opening the second session. Fans attending the opening session (noon & 2:30 p.m. games) would need a separate ticket to attend the night session. The Coliseum will be cleared out at the conclusion of the 2:30 p.m. game before the doors open for the Fort Hays State contest.
Parking: Due to the continued soggy conditions, the grass lot adjacent to Gross Memorial Coliseum will be closed. Auxiliary parking will be available at Lewis Field Stadium, on the south edge of the FHSU campus. Shuttles will run from Lewis Field to the Coliseum every 10 minutes beginning at 4 p.m. and continuing until the end of the final game of the night.
Tiger Pregame Parties: The FHSU Alumni Office will host Tiger Spirit Parties before each Fort Hays State game this weekend inside the Eagle Communications Hall at the Robbins Center. Friday’s festivities are scheduled from 2 p.m to 4 p.m. More information can be found here.

The Tigers have won the last four games against Pittsburg State, including a 67-62 win on Senior Day less than two weeks ago, to take a 29-27 lead in the all-time series. Fort Hays State is 17-9 at home against the Gorillas, including four straight home wins dating back to 2014-15. FHSU is 8-13 overall and 5-4 at home against PSU under Hobson. The Tigers have never defeated Pittsburg State three times in a single season.

This is the second time that the Tigers have hosted the regional tournament, as they were the No. 1 seed in the Central region at the conclusion of the 2014-15 season. Fort Hays State reached the NCAA regional title game for the only time in program history that year before falling to Emporia State. This is Fort Hays State’s fifth trip to the NCAA Championship tournament.

The friendly confines of Gross Memorial Coliseum have stood up to their reputation of one of the best home court advantages in the country this year, with the Tigers winning all 16 home games to date. Fort Hays State has won 23-straight home games going back to last season, two shy of the program record. That streak is tied for fifth-longest in Division II The Tigers are an incredible 107-5 at home since the start of the 2012-13 season, losing no more than one game at home in each of the last seven years.

Pittsburg State heads back to Hays for the second time in two weeks after dropping the regular season finale inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. After losing their first game in Kansas City, the Gorillas enter the tournament on a two-game losing streak. The Gorillas rank fifth in the MIAA in scoring (72.2 ppg) and sixth in scoring defense (63.6 points allowed per game). They shoot the ball well, ranking second in both field goal percentage (44.9 percent) and three-point field goal percentage (34.9 percent). PSU leads the league and ranks 37th nationally with 29 defensive rebounds per game. Senior Shelby Lopez was named second team All-MIAA after averaging 11.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Third team All-MIAA selection Maya Williams leads the team in scoring with 11.7 points each night. Assists leader Kaylee DaMitz (4.5 apg) leads the MIAA and ranks 31st in the country with a 2.03 assist/turnover ratio.

Tatyana Legette averages 9.9 points and 6.0 rebounds in eight career games against PSU. Kacey Kennett has scored 9.6 points per contest (5 games) and Lanie Page is averaging 10.3 points against the Gorillas (3 games).

The winner of Friday’s quarterfinal will turn around and take on the winner of No. 4 Minnesota Duluth and No. 5 MSU Moorhead in the regional semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Hays Wrestling Club 22 wrestlers headed to the Kansas State Folkstyle Championships this weekend in Topeka.

Last weekend at the District 4 championships in Pratt 18 of the club’s 27 wrestlers placed in the top four and one wrestlers qualified as an alternate. Of the qualifiers 19 are in the boys division and three are in the girls division.

You can find a list of state qualifiers and how they finished in Pratt below:

8 & Under
52 pounds – Jack Schumacher – 4th.
55 pounds – Kade Simon – 1st
80 pounds – Trevon Dickinson – 3rd
88 pounds – Myles Archer – 6th
95 pounds – Brian Prough – 1st
110 pounds – Kenneth Walker – 2nd

10 and under
52 pounds – Gaven Deneault – 1st
61 pounds – Grady Lind – 3rd
73 pounds – Holden Lind – 3rd
82 pounds – Brant Pfannenstiel – 4th
150 pounds – Jaxson Chartier – 2nd

12 and under
92 pounds – Dalton Meyers – 4th
100 pounds – Harley Zimmerman – 1st
190 pounds – Kendall Walker – 2nd

14 & under
95 pounds – Ben Schumacher – 3rd
105 pounds – Cyrus Vajnar – 4th
120 pounds – Trevor Carroll – 4th
205 pounds – Gavin Meyers – 1st

High School
250 pounds – Connor Staab – 3rd

Girls Division
Lily Balandran
Avryn Bieker
Sara Zimmerman

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Markis McDuffie registered 15 points as Wichita State beat East Carolina 73-57 in the American Athletic Conference Tournament first round on Thursday night.

McDuffie made 11 of 12 free throws.

Jaime Echenique had 14 points and nine rebounds for Wichita State (18-13). Dexter Dennis added 13 points. Asbjorn Midtgaard had 10 points for Wichita State.

Jayden Gardner had 16 points for the Pirates (10-21). Shawn Williams added 14 points. Isaac Fleming had 12 points and seven assists.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Devon Dotson scored 17 points, Dedric Lawson added 16 and No. 17 Kansas pulled away in the second half for a 65-57 victory over Texas on Thursday night in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals.

David McCormack added 13 points and a career-best nine rebounds for the third-seeded Jayhawks (24-9), who advanced to play West Virginia in the semifinals on Friday night.

The No. 10 seed Mountaineers upset second-seeded Texas Tech earlier in the day.

Dylan Osetkowski had 18 points to lead the sixth-seeded Longhorns (16-16), who may have needed a win at the Sprint Center to help their NCAA Tournament resume. They have a strong strength of schedule but have lost five of their last six games overall.

Kansas improved to 20-3 in quarterfinals since the inaugural tournament in 1997, and took a big step toward redemption in Kansas City. The Jayhawks finished behind the Red Raiders and Kansas State in the league race, ending their record-setting run of 14 consecutive regular-season crowns.

The Jayhawks and Longhorns split in the regular season with each winning at home, so perhaps it was no surprise that they played to a 29-29 stalemate in the first half.

Kansas got out to a quick 9-2 lead but languished through long periods, unable to get anything going offensively. The Longhorns did their best work attacking the paint and getting to the foul line, even though 6-foot-11 freshman Jaxson Hayes sat most of the half with two fouls.

The Jayhawks began to edge ahead early in the second half.

Lawson scored a couple of quick baskets to build a lead, and the brutish, 6-foot-10 McCormack went to work on the glass. He made one nifty rebound off a miss by Ochai Agbaji and spun around for a lay-in, helping Kansas stretch its lead to the biggest of the game.

Texas tinkered with a 2-3 zone and a half-court trap to slow the Jayhawks, and to some extent they succeeded. But the Longhorns were unable to capitalize at the other end.

When they closed to within 56-51, the Jayhawks’ Quentin Grimes drew a foul and triggered the bonus, making both free throws. When the Longhorns added a foul shot of their own, Dotson breezed to the bucket for another contested layup to extend the Jayhawks’ lead.

The Jayhawks held on the rest of the way.

ROACH STRUGGLES

Kerwin Roach II returned from a five-game suspension for violating team rules. He checked in early in the game but finished with just eight points on 2-for-7 shooting.

HAYES HURT

The Longhorns lost Hayes, one of their bright young stars, when he appeared to hurt his left knee during a scrum with 1:58 left in the game. He was helped off without putting any weight on it.

BIG PICTURE

Texas had the nation’s sixth-toughest scheduled according to the NET, the new analytics used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee. But the Longhorns were just 8-10 in the Big 12 in the regular season, and they may have needed a win over Kansas to help their postseason cause.

Kansas started 15-2 but was just 8-6 down the stretch, when injuries and absences began to wreak havoc with the lineup. But the emergence of McCormack gives the Jayhawks hope they can defend their tournament title after failing to win the regular-season crown.

UP NEXT

Kansas will play the Mountaineers for a spot in the finals.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Xavier Snead scored 19 points, none bigger than a 3-pointer as the shot clock sounded in the final minute, and No. 15 Kansas State rallied from a slow start to beat TCU 70-61 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.

Barry Brown added 12 points, Kamau Stokes had 11 and Makol Mawien had 10 for the tournament’s top seed, which advanced to play No. 5 seed Iowa State in the semifinals Friday night.

The Wildcats (25-7) played without forward Dean Wade, who is sidelined once again with a foot injury. The senior watched the game from the sideline with a boot on his right foot, and probably had a hard time not leaping from his seat when Kansas State seized control in the second half.

Desmond Bane had 16 points to lead the eighth-seeded Horned Frogs (20-13), who split with the Wildcats in the regular season. Alex Robinson added 12 points and Kevin Samuel had 11.

Now, coach Jamie Dixon’s team must wait for Sunday to find out whether it has done enough to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The Horned Frogs held on to beat Oklahoma State in the tournament’s opening round, but they went just 7-11 against the league during the regular season.

TCU was in the flow right from the tip, perhaps having benefited from that down-to-the-wire win over the Cowboys. The Horned Frogs were hot from the arc and solid on defense, and soon had built a double-digit lead on the regular-season champs.

They also took a crowd tinted Kansas State purple right out of the game.

The Wildcats finally clawed back into the game, getting a big lift from Cartier Diarra, their backup guard who returned after missing several weeks with a hand injury. He slammed an alley-oop dunk to ignite the crowd, and Sneed’s buzzer-beating 3 got the Wildcats within 34-32 at the break.

They used a 15-2 run to take their first lead midway through the second half.

The Wildcats’ lead eventually reached 10 before TCU mounted a comeback of its own. But after Mebane’s basket made it 55-52 with 5 1/2 minutes to go, Snead buried his third 3-pointer while getting fouled. He converted the free throw and gave Kansas State some breathing room again.

The Horned Frogs were never able to catch all the way up.

WADE WATCH

Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said Wade was unlikely to play this weekend, and would instead get treatment on his injured. Weber is hopeful the All-Big 12 forward is ready for the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but he refused to commit to it earlier this week.

BIG PICTURE

TCU was likely out of the NCAA Tournament if it lost to Oklahoma State. Now, the question is whether a win over the Cowboys and a competitive loss to Kansas State is enough to get in.

Kansas State spent the first 10 minutes as if in a post-title malaise, and the last five minutes trying to hold on for dear life. In between, the Wildcats looked capable of playing with anyone.

UP NEXT

Kansas State plays the fifth-seeded Cyclones in the first semifinal Friday night.

By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
FHSU University Relations and Marketing

It’s a bit of déjà vu for Paige Lunsford this week.

Lunsford, then a junior, was a starter on the Fort Hays State University women’s basketball team in 2015 when the Tigers earned the right to host the NCAA Division II Central Regional Championships for the first time in program history.

Now a graduate assistant coach for the Tiger women, Lunsford plans to tell the players to savor every single moment.

FHSU again was selected to host a regional this year. The Tigers will take a 30-1 record into Friday’s 5 p.m. quarterfinal game vs. No. 8-seeded Pittsburg State University. A complete schedule and other tournament information can be found at fhsuathletics.com.

Playing in front of a large, vocal crowd back in 2015, the Tigers made it all the way to the regional championship game. Injuries to two major backcourt players late in the season hit FHSU hard, but the Tigers still played second-seeded Emporia State University a tough game before falling by five points in the finals.

Lunsford credits part of the Tigers’ success at home – both during her playing days and now – to the huge crowd support. Fort Hays State has ranked second in the nation in attendance among NCAA Division II teams four years running.

“It’s so unique what we get to experience here,” said Lunsford, a Hays native and four-year starter for Hays High School. “The support we get from the community and surrounding communities is incredible.”

Starting with 2012-13, the Tigers have never lost more than one game in a season at Gross Memorial Coliseum. During that time, they have amassed a staggering home record of 107-5.

In fact, FHSU’s only home loss Lunsford’s junior year was that regional championship game. Her senior season, the Tigers won all 15 of their home games, and that mark was surpassed this year (16-0).

Having the home court advantage is not lost on the players and coaches, Lunsford said.

“The atmosphere here is hardly like this anywhere else we play,” she said. “Some places, there are more Fort Hays fans than, or at least as many as, there are for the home team.”

Lunsford doesn’t expect that to be any different this weekend, and she is looking forward to watching her players experience it.

“I didn’t realize at the time back then how special it was to get to host the regional,” she said. “When you’re in the moment, you’re busy taking care of business at hand.”

Looking back, Lunsford definitely sees the significance of that experience now and is thoroughly enjoying this year’s run.

FHSU was seeded second to Southwestern Oklahoma State University in the regional rankings heading into last week’s MIAA tournament in Kansas City, Mo.

The Tigers went 3-0 to win their first-ever MIAA tourney crown, but they still were unsure of what their final ranking would be. SWOSU also won its conference tournament. Both the Tigers and Bulldogs are 30-1, and SWOSU had entered conference tournament week with the slightest of edges over the Tigers in the regional rankings.

The national selection show was scheduled for 9 p.m. Sunday, but the top-seeded teams were to be notified by Twitter about 8.

The Tigers were on their way home from Kansas City about that time, and the team bus made a stop in Topeka for dinner. The coaches told the players to shut off their phones so they all could learn of their fate together.

“We had just gotten back on the bus about 8:10,” Lunsford said. “We coaches looked at Twitter and saw it, and told the girls. They were so excited.”

The team arrived in Hays after 11:15 p.m., and the next day, it was down to business – after a day of rest, that is.

“After five days in Kansas City, they were tired,” Lunsford said. “With this week being spring break, it gives them a chance to get some rest.”

The Tigers practiced Tuesday and will do so every day leading up to Friday, “trying to keep everything as normal as possible,” Lunsford said.

She thinks playing in the tough MIAA will help those five conference teams that were given regional berths. Playing at home also should help the Tigers, although Lunsford admitted that taking the court for that first regional game is a thrill like no other.

“I remember walking out on the court that first game (at the 2015 regionals) and seeing the amount of people in the stands and getting chills,” Lunsford said. “I was so in awe that all these people would come to watch us play. I think, growing up, every kid has a dream of playing in front of that kind of crowd someday. It was amazing.”

She thinks it will hit home for this year’s players on Friday, somewhere about 4:45 p.m.

“I think it will hit them during the starting lineup, at that moment when you have a second to look around at the crowd,” Lunsford said. “I get chills now, just thinking about it. I can hardly wait.”