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Fort Hays
women claim big road win
2/2/2010
By CONOR NICHOLL
cnicholl@dailynews.net
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Before Monday's contest, Tony Hobson wrote a message on the board for his Fort Hays State University women's basketball team.
"Play the game like it's to get into the NCAA tournament," junior Erica Biel recalled.
The Tigers, on the bubble for an NCAA Division II tournament bid, led all game and eventually picked up a crucial 66-52 win at Missouri Western State University. Fort Hays improved to 15-5 overall, 8-5 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
"We need these games because every game is a big stepping stone to the final goal," freshman Traci Keyser said.
FHSU is 2-1 in the second half of conference play; Hobson said the team needs to go "at least" 7-3 down the stretch to likely earn a berth. Fort Hays is ranked seventh in the first South Central Regional poll; top eight make the postseason.
"Every game we play from here on in is to get us to play in the national tournament and we can't afford to lose here tonight," Hobson, the Tigers' second-year coach, said. "We lose too many of these and we have no chance. We are by no means in it anyway, but we've got to win as many as we can here and that's what we are playing for."
Fort Hays moved to 5-4 on the road, including 3-4 in MIAA play. Monday, though, marked its biggest margin of victory in a road contest.
"I think they got the picture and I thought we had a little more urgency to our game, a little more focus on what we are doing," Hobson said.
In addition, the win was a complete turnaround from a 75-54 road loss at Northwest Missouri State University on Saturday.
"I think we were all really disappointed about the last game and I think we knew we needed to come out really hard and definitely get a win and turn things around," Biel said. "We knew to do that we needed to play good defense, communicate and rebound."
Against Northwest Missouri, FHSU was outrebounded by 19, its second-worst differential of the season. Two nights later, the Tigers outrebounded Missouri Western 52-33.
The plus-19 margin was the best all season. Biel, a returning first-team all-MIAA player who has improved throughout the year, finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, both team-highs. It marked her second double-double of the year.
Biel's 12 rebounds was the most by a Tiger this season.
"I thought she played a great game," Hobson said. "We needed her. We needed her to score. I thought we had a decided advantage with her in there against anybody they have. I thought she did a good job of taking it to the basket."
In the first half, Fort Hays played a sagging man-to-man defense and forced Missouri Western (7-14 overall, 5-9 MIAA) to shoot 3-pointers. Missouri Western, the conference's worst offensive team, started the game 6-of-29 from the field and 1-of-13 from 3-point range. Sophomore Jessica Koch paced the Griffons with 14 points. Fort Hays led 33-15 at the half.
"We don't have the greatest shooters in the world and that's part of the problem, but we also don't have the greatest penetrators in the world," Missouri Western coach Lynn Plett said. "That's a pretty bad combination. I think we have better penetrators than what it shows, but we have got a real confidence problem."
Early in the second half, Fort Hays moved its lead to 35-20 when senior Naomi Bancroft delivered a behind-the-back pass to senior Kayla Klug for a layup.
Missouri Western cut the deficit to 37-30 but Biel hit a short jumper off a scramble play and then hit two more jumpers to extend the lead to 46-33.
"Especially when we made the run and cut it to seven, I thought she made the big difference right there," Plett said. "I have always liked her. I think she is a good, solid player."
Keyser -- starting her third straight game -- set new career highs with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Bancroft scored 12 points. Freshman Kara McFarland picked up eight rebounds, tied for her second-highest single-game total, in 13 minutes.
After Monday's win, Fort Hays will travel to Topeka on Saturday to play Washburn University, ranked 15th in Division II and fourth in the region.
"Every game we are playing to get in," Hobson said.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 2/18 | SW Baptist | L 66-53 | |
| 12/1 | Oklahoma - Panhandle | L 66-60 (OT) | |