BOLIVAR, Mo. - A late-game lay-in by
Emma Stroyan after a back-and-forth battle resulted in a 62-61 Tiger win over Southwest Baptist to get back to .500 in MIAA play on Saturday. With the exciting win, Fort Hays State improves to 12-3 overall with a 3-3 mark in conference play.
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FHSU is now back on track after slipping at No. 11 Central Missouri on Thursday in their first 20-point loss in 132 contests.
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Eight lead changes and two ties occurred in the game, making this the closest contest for the Tigers in five games.
Kacey Kennett and
Taylor Rolfs opened up the scoring with two-straight three-pointers to take a quick 6-0 lead over the Bearcats. The Tigers drew their largest lead in the meeting at the 2:32 mark in the opening quarter as they stretched their advantage to 11 at 20-9. The Bearcats started to find their momentum, but still fought from behind for much of the first half.
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At the break, the Tigers took a slight 34-32 lead into the locker room after Madison Strong for Southwest Baptist knocked-down a late-quarter three to cut the Tiger lead to just two.
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The first Bearcat lead of the contest came right at the opening of the third quarter as Ray'Shionne Smith connected on a long-range shot to give the 35-34 advantage to the Bearcats. The remainder of the game saw the contest go back-and-forth with neither team being able to promote a lead higher than four points when SBU claimed a 40-36 lead in the third quarter.
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The final quarter saw only a three-point spread as the largest. After a 49-49 tie to start the quarter, FHSU held the lead off a pair of
Tatyana Legette free-throws for the next four minutes. A three-point make by Caylee Richardson with 4:03 left in the quarter boosted the Bearcats to a 59-58 lead. The contest was scoreless for the next three minutes until newcomer
Lanie Page connected on a layup to put the Tigers up 60-59. Down one after another bucket by Richardson for SBU, FHSU would get the game-winning layup by Stroyan off a nifty interior pass from Legette with 31 seconds remaining to claim the 62-61 victory. SBU had two shots in close late that were off the mark, allowing FHSU to escape the thriller on top.
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Legette led the way for the Tigers with 18 points to go alongside nine rebounds and three assists. Kennett (12),
Carly Heim (10) and Rolfs (10) also contributed double-digit scoring for FHSU. Page added eight points with a game-high four blocks. As a team, the Tigers went 37.9 percent from the field. From beyond the arc, the Tigers connected on 6-of-15.
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Richardson of SBU led all scorers with a double-double after recording 19 points and 12 rebounds. The Bearcats shot 35.1 percent from the field, while making only four of their 11 long-range attempts.
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The Tigers will be back home for three-consecutive MIAA contests. First up, FHSU plays host to Nebraska-Kearney for a Saturday match up on Jan. 13, followed by contests with Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri State the following week.
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