By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

After Saturday's contest, University of Central Missouri women's basketball coach Dave Slifer talked with Fort Hays State University coach Tony Hobson. Slifer told Hobson that Central Missouri, receiving votes in the national poll and one of the nation's top teams, since Christmas, hadn't been beaten like that all season.

Fort Hays won 68-51 at Gross Memorial Coliseum, but led by 25 points with 4:57 remaining.

The Tigers played well on both ends of the floor, gave great effort and rebounded strong. FHSU held Central Missouri to 30 percent shooting and had a plus-11 edge on the glass. Fort Hays has struggled from the outside this season, but shot 40 percent from the field and 39 percent on 3-pointers.

"That's a pretty high-powered offense to hold down that low," Hobson said in his weekly news conference Monday. "While we still weren't great offensively, just having one go in once in awhile was good for us from the outside."

On Monday, Hobson pointed out other aspects that he was pleased with: ball handling and passing. Fort Hays had 13 assists against 12 turnovers, but two of those turnovers came in the last 30 seconds after the Tigers pulled all its starters.

For the first 19 minutes and 30 seconds of the second half, FHSU had just two turnovers. Fort Hays moved to 17-7, 9-7 MIAA.

"Very fast-paced game," Hobson said. "Not only were we moving up and down the floor, but we took very good care of the ball, and got good shots practically every time. Had a couple of very good fast breaks that we hadn't seen a lot of."

At the 11:51 mark of the first half, Fort Hays had an excellent fast break. Freshman center Kate Lehman collected the rebound and swiftly found junior point guard Kaiameka Brown on the outlet. Then, Brown had one dribble before she made a long pass down the court to sophomore Katelyn Edwards. Without a dribble, Edwards scored. For the game, FHSU led 7-0 in fast break points and 15-9 in points off turnovers.

"That was the best transition basket we have had all year, I liked what I saw there," Hobson said.

Bechard scores

Bechard, one of the Tigers' leaders, has continued to fill different roles for Fort Hays throughout her two-year career. Last season, when the offense struggled, Bechard stepped up and eventually led the team in scoring. This season, FHSU has more offensive weapons and Bechard has become an excellent facilitator. She ranks in the top-10 in the country in assist/turnover ratio and carries a team-best 73 assists, more than she recorded all last season.

"She is just one of those special kind of players that you are not sure how she is going to contribute this game, but you know she is going to be as good as she can be in any area," Hobson said.

Last week, Bechard had two very different games. On Wednesday, she played 30 minutes and recorded three assists without taking a shot or scoring in a 63-56 victory against Truman State (Mo.) University. It marked the first time this season Bechard didn't score. On Saturday, Bechard paced FHSU with 16 points, tied for second-best total of the year.

"I would venture to guess that hasn't happened to another player in this conference this year where you don't shoot, play 3(0) minutes, next game, lead the team in scoring with 16," Hobson said. "Crista just takes what the other team gives and hit a couple good shots tonight. It opens everything up because she does have the ball a lot in her hand."

Nelson bouncing back

Junior guard Melissa Nelson is a strong offensive player, but has struggled in some other facets this year. However, Nelson has played well in all areas in the last few games, including Saturday's win. Nelson recorded nine points and a career-high three assists in 22 minutes. Nelson, who had seven points in a five-game stretch, has 31 points in the last four games.

"She is getting to the basket better primarily because she is playing more," Hobson said. "The reason she is playing more is because she has picked it up just two or three defensively. She understands that maybe she isn't quite back full speed (from last year's knee injury). She is still fast enough to really guard. She had three assists the other night. She passed the ball well, so the rest of her game has picked up, so you are going to see the offensive game from her if she is in the game for any amount of time."

On the road

The Tiger men collected a last-second 67-66 victory against Central Missouri that moved them to 16-6, 10-6 MIAA. Both Tiger teams will have the final road trip of the regular season this week when they travel to Southwest Baptist (Mo.) University and Missouri Southern State University on Thursday and Saturday. For both Tiger squads, it's historically been a tough trip.

"That's a long trip," Tiger men's coach Mark Johnson said.

"A lot of times, your trips, the toughness of it, a lot of times depends on how good the other team is. Obviously, Baptist and Southern have been pretty good since we have been in the league."