Second-half run leads Washburn past FHSU women
By RANDY GONZALES
The Tigers scored a basket early in the second half Wednesday night to take the lead against the eighth-ranked team in the nation.
Then the Washburn University women's basketball team showed why it's so highly-ranked, going on a 16-0 run in an eventual 57-47 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association victory over Fort Hays State University at Gross Memorial Coliseum.
"I thought they won the game the first five minutes of the second half, when they went on a nice run on us, and it was primarily defensively," Fort Hays coach Tony Hobson said. "We didn't get back a couple times and let them get on the open floor, and they transitioned on us."
Washburn (11-0 overall, 5-0 MIAA) led 22-21 at halftime. Tiger senior forward Erica Biel scored 12 seconds into the second half to give Fort Hays (9-2, 2-2) the lead. But the Lady Blues then went on their hot streak, and shut down the Tigers on the other end. While Washburn was scoring 16 straight to take a 38-23 lead, Fort Hays missed seven straight shots.
"That lost the game for us," Hobson said. "I don't think we opened up the second half with the same defensive intensity. You can't let them get on an 8-, 10-, 12-point run on you."
Fort Hays did make a run in the second half, with Bancroft scoring all eight points (including a pair of 3-pointers) to get the Tigers within 44-39 with 6:34 left in the game. After a Washburn timeout, the Lady Blues got a 3-pointer from senior guard Amanda Fessenden to quiet the crowd.
"That 3-pointer was at the end of the shot clock," Hobson said. "We didn't switch on the screen."
Hobson said the 3-pointer did more than give the Lady Blues an eight-point lead, it took momentum away from the Tigers.
"That was a killer for us," Hobson said.
Fessenden's trey ignited an 8-2 run to put the game away.
Bancroft led all scorers with 21 points, but was hounded by the Lady Blues into 7-of-19 shooting, including 5-of-16 from beyond the arc. Washburn jumped ball screens, seldom giving Bancroft an open look.
"Naomi is the leading scorer in the conference, everybody is going to do that," Hobson said, adding the Tigers missed chances to get the ball inside to score.
"I thought we had a lot of opportunities in the post we missed out on," he said.
Biel added 10 points for Fort Hays, while Washburn got 12 points each from junior guard Hope Gregory, senior guard Rose Hammond and Fessenden.
Fort Hays was without the services of freshman guard Whitney Taylor, who is sidelined with a stress fracture in her leg.
"It's been bothering her since before Christmas," Hobson said of Taylor, usually the team's first player off the bench. "Out at least three weeks -- probably the season.
"Kills us in a game like this -- missed her speed," Hobson said.
Fort Hays hits the road for a 1 p.m. game Saturday against Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., then will be in Warrensburg, Mo., on Monday for a 5:30 p.m. game against University of Central Missouri.