Women's Basketball | 3/10/2019 7:52:00 PM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Fort Hays State scored the first seven points and used that initial burst to beat the University of Central Missouri 63-56 Sunday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium in the championship game of the MIAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

It was the first MIAA Tournament title for the Tigers.

"This means a lot," said Fort Hays senior Tatyana Legette, who scored 14 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and was selected MVP of the tournament. "I knew they were going to come out with a lot of energy and a lot of effort. It is one thing to be the regular season champs, but to win the tournament is stressful in this environment so it came down to how hard you were going to play.

"I am really thankful for my teammates. It means a lot to be this successful and take it on to the NCAA Tournament. Hopefully, we can move forward and do great things."

Fort Hays, 30-1, will return to action in the Central Regional of the NCAA Division II Tournament. Central Missouri, 24-6, will have to wait a few hours later for the selection show to learn its postseason fate.

"This is maybe the most resilient group I have ever had," Fort Hays coach Tony Hobson said. "It is fun to coach them because they can play so many different positions."

"To do this after losing one of the best point guards in the conference (senior Carly Heim to a knee injury) 10 games ago and all our players covered up for her and were able to maintain a pretty high level of play. That is what it takes. You can't win the regular season and conference tournament titles unless you are playing really well."

Thanks to a fast start by Fort Hays, the Tigers went into halftime with a 32-24 lead.

The game started with baskets by Legette, Belle Barbieri and Taylor Rolfs at the start of the game that gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead.

"It really helped because we kept saying keep the lead each quarter," said Rolfs, who finished with 17 points, going six for eight from the field. "That was our main focus."

Fort Hays held an 18-5 lead late in the first quarter but saw Central Missouri go on a 15-2 run that stretched into the opening seconds of the second quarter.

But after the Jennies closed to 22-20, Fort Hays held Central Missouri to four more points the rest of the second quarter.

"We just had to be smart and had to stay there mentally," Rolfs said. "That is what we focused on. We didn't want any mental errors on defense."

Defensively, the Jennies couldn't stop Rolfs. She made all four of her shots and scored 10 points in the first half.

Legette was just as tough to stop. She went five for nine from the field in the first half, scoring 12 points. She also pulled down five rounds and two assists.

Fort Hays started the second half the same as the first half. A couple of baskets by junior Lanie Page extended the Tigers' lead to 38-24 early in the third quarter.

Central Missouri spent the rest of the quarter trying to make up the difference but never could find a hot streak. Fort Hays took a 46-35 lead into the final quarter.

2019 All-MIAA Tournament Team
Tatyana Legette, Fort Hays State (Most Outstanding Player)
Lanie Page, Fort Hays State
Megan Skaggs, Central Missouri
Paige Redmond, Central Missouri
Taylor Rolfs, Fort Hays State