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Tiger women drop third straight game
1/18/2008
By R.J. COOPER
Special to The Hays Daily News
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The Fort Hays State University women's basketball team hasn't won in the MWSU Fieldhouse since Ronald Reagan was in office, and there will be a new president in the White House before the Tigers get another shot.
Fort Hays now has lost four in a row and six of its past seven matchups with the Griffons following Saturday's 88-66 defeat at the MWSU Fieldhouse. The Tigers are now 0-5 in true away games this season with their latest loss providing the largest margin of defeat this season.
"We have to learn to bring the intensity every night," said Tigers sophomore Naomi Bancroft, who scored 12. "We have to play hard all the time and not let the travels and not sleeping in our own beds get to us."
Sheena Kuntzsch paced Fort Hays (7-8, 1-5 MIAA) with 14 points. No other Tiger reached double figures.
"We were as cold as we could possibly be from everywhere in our offense, and Missouri Western was absolutely on fire," said Fort Hays coach Annette Wiles, whose team shot 36 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 20 times. "It became too much to overcome."
Both teams came out in a ¾-court trap, zone defense that turned the opening 13 minutes into a glorified 3-point shooting contest. Of Western's first 11 field goals, seven came from behind the arc as the torrid Griffons only trailed 2-0. At the other end of the floor, six of Hays' 11 first-half field goals were of the 3-point variety.
Griffon freshman Lauren Nolke benefited most from the long-distance display, hitting 4-of-5 treys. She finished with 16 points. Interestingly enough, the Griffons, who only led 31-25 with 6 minutes, 41 seconds left in the half, couldn't establish any distance between themselves and Fort Hays until they worked the ball inside.
Western (8-6, 3-3) closed the half on a 20-6 run -- with only one 3 to aid the effort - for a 51-31 lead and their highest-scoring opening 20 minutes of the season. Western still shot 8-of-13 from behind the arc in the first half (62 percent) compared to 10-for-20 inside the 3-point line.
The Tigers tried to show the same dedication to working the ball in the paint coming out of the locker room. But after a modest 4-0 start the half for Fort Hays, the Griffons eliminated whatever little drama remained with a 15-0 run that established that 31-point advantage.
"We are starting to get a feel for each other. We are really coming together," said Western guard Yanique Javois, who had a game-high 24 points. "The cohesiveness is starting to get there."
Tierra Ford (17 points, eight rebounds) and Jill Johnson (13 points, nine rebounds) supplemented the rest of the Griffons' offense. Western only has eight players; therefore, the Griffons' starters played most of the season half.
Wiles, on the other hand, started filtering out her top players in favor of some of the eight reserves she had at her disposal with about 10 minutes left in the half. Those reserves made a dent in Western's advantage, but the Griffons' starters made ensured their margin never slipped below 19 points.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | W 17-5 |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | L 4-3 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 15-7 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 5-4 |
| SB | 5/02 | Central Missouri | L 3-1 |
| SB | 5/02 | Missouri Western | W 3-2 |
| SB | 5/01 | Pittsburg State | W 6-0 |
| SB | 5/01 | Emporia State | L 11-0 |
| BB | 4/30 | Kansas Wesleyan | W 14-1 |
| BB | 4/30 | Kansas Wesleyan | W 12-2 |
