FHSU Athletics
No. 3 seed Fort Hays State (25-7)
vs. No. 7 seed #13 Minnesota State (27-5)
Saturday, March 16, 2024 • 5 p.m.
Bethany, Okla. • Sawyer Center
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The Fort Hays State women's basketball team will play in the Central Region semifinals of the 2024 NCAA Division II Championship tournament Saturday evening when the third-seeded Tigers take on No. 7 seed and 13th-ranked Minnesota State. First tip is slated for 5 p.m. from the Sawyer Center on the campus of Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Okla.
Fort Hays State (25-7) advanced to the regional semifinal after a 62-47 win over Northwest Missouri State in the quarterfinal round on Friday, while the Mavericks (27-5) will play in the regional semifinal for a second-consecutive season thanks to a convincing 78-58 win over the No. 2 seed and 20th-ranked Missouri Western.
This is Fort Hays State's eighth trip to the regional tournament in the last 10 years, more than any other school in the Central region during that span (UCM 6, ESU 6, PSU 6). This is the first time the Tigers have played as the No. 3 seed in the regional tournament. FHSU has been the top seed four times and has been seeded fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth once each.
The Tigers are 8-7 all-time in NCAA postseason play, including a 3-2 record in the quarterfinals, a 2-2 record in neutral site contests, a 5-1 record against NSIC teams, a 1-0 record as the No. 3 seed and an 0-1 record against the No. 7 seed.
The Tigers won their 25th game of the season on Friday, reaching the 25-win plateau for the seventh time in program history. A win Saturday would give FHSU 26 wins on the year, tied for fifth-most in program history.
Katie Wagner totaled 19 points and 15 rebounds in Friday's win, giving the junior her fourth-consecutive double-double. She is the first Tiger to record at least four-straight double-doubles since Belle Barbieri in November 2019.Wagner was named the Most Outstanding Player of the MIAA Championship after posting a pair of triple-doubles in Kansas City. She averaged 19.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals in the three games inside Municipal Auditorium. The Maize, Kan. native added the tournament honor to this year's trophy case that also includes MIAA Player of the Year, first team All-Region, first team All-MIAA and MIAA All-Defensive Team honors.
With 959 career rebounds through Friday, The Maize, Kan. native needs two rebounds to tie for second all-time at Fort Hays State. She is fourth all-time in points (1,712), tied for ninth all-time in steals (181), sixth in single-season points (549, nine behind fifth) and tied for 10th in single-season steals (70).
Sydney Golladay scored a season-high 15 points in the MIAA title game, her eighth game scoring in double figures this season. With 258 career assists, the Fremont, Neb. native now ranks sixth all-time at Fort Hays State.
Olivia Hollenbeck also earned a spot on the MIAA All-Tournament team after averaging 12.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 3.0 steals per game in KC. The forward was a third-team All-MIAA pick this year, garnering all-conference awards for a fourth time in her career. Hollenbeck scored 20 points in the quarterfinal win, passing Whitney Randall to move into the top 10 in scoring all-time at Fort Hays State (1,398 career points).
FHSU reached 20 wins for a 13th-consecutive season this year, extending the longest active streak in DII to 13 (since 2011-12). It's tied for the seventh-longest across all NCAA Divisions. The next-best streak in DII is 11 (Drury), while the next-best streak in the MIAA is three (MWSU, MSSU).
Fort Hays State leads the all-time series, 3-2. The teams have split a pair of neutral site matchups, both coming in the regular season. Fort Hays State is 2-0 against the Mavericks in the NCAA DII Central Regional. The Tigers are 1-0 against MSU during the Talia Kahrs era.
No. 7 seed Minnesota State advanced to the semifinals after a dominant 78-58 win over No. 2 seed Missouri Western in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Mavericks entered the tournament leading the country in turnover margin (+13.5), ranking second in turnovers forced per game (28.1) and steals per game (17.5) and ranking fourth in scoring margin (+20.4) and scoring offense (83.3). Joey Batt is fourth in the country with an average of 3.6 steals per game. She was NSIC Defensive Player of the Year and was recently named D2CCA All-Central Region First Team. Batt was one of three first team All-NSIC selections for Minnesota State alongside Destinee Bursch and Natalie Bremer.