Women's Basketball | 3/9/2019 10:16:06 PM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A 30-foot, three-pointer by junior Kacey Kennett at the first quarter buzzer gave No. 1 seed Fort Hays State a 13-point lead over Washburn in the semifinals of the MIAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Municipal Auditorium.

It was also the ultimate energy booster.

“We all went onto the court like it was the end of the game,” said Fort Hays junior Lanie Page, who led the Tigers in scoring with 15 points. We were super excited, especially after a really good first quarter. It was the cherry on top. It was awesome.”

It turned out to be a knockout blow even though three quarters remained. The shot sucked the air out of Washburn, which scored only five points in the second quarter and its only field goal came 40 seconds before halftime.

Fort Hays, 29-1, rode a strong first half to an easy 75-48 victory. The Tigers will go for their first MIAA Tournament title Sunday. Tipoff is at 3:15 p.m.

The Tigers played well to build a 23-13 lead late in the first quarter. They went to another level after Kennett’s shot. They were making three-pointers through most of the second quarter like they were shooting layups.

“It is a real easy job at that point,” said Fort Hays coach Tony Hobson. “You basically watch to see if someone is getting a little tired. You don’t have to correct anything because you are doing everything practically right at that point. That’s when it is fun time to be a coach. The kids are really dialed in.”

Junior Taylor Rolfs continued the three-point barrage with a trey at the start of the second quarter. Freshman Hailey Walker followed with a three-pointer. And then Kennett hit another one.

“I don’t know if we can play better offensively,” Hobson said. “It always helps when the ball is going in the basket. We had good ball movement and did a good job of locating the open person.

“Our defense was solid. I thought we played with a real edge in the first half. Our intensity level was way higher than the other night, and it needed to be. I was definitely happy with tonight’s performance.”

After two free throws by Washburn senior Nicole Murugarren to stop a 12-0 run, the Tigers stayed hot from behind the arc. Back-to-back three-pointers by Rolfs put Fort Hays ahead 43-15 with 3 minutes remaining in the second quarter.

The Tigers finally cooled off in the last 3 minutes, but Washburn managed only one field goal, a three-pointer by senior Taylor Blue with less than a minute left in the second quarter.

Fort Hays, which went nine for 13 from three-point range, went into halftime ahead 43-18. The Tigers scored the first six points to start the third quarter and then took their foot off the gas pedal after holding a 31-point lead.

Washburn kept playing hard and closed to 51-32 with 2:39 left in the third quarter. The Tigers found their mojo again in the final 2 minutes and went into the final quarter ahead 58-35.

There was so much for Hobson to like about the way the Tigers played. Five players scored in double figures, including sophomore Whitney Clampett, who came off the bench and scored 12 points.

Fort Hays also pulled down 47 rebounds compared to 27 for Washburn. Fifteen of the rebounds were on the offensive glass.

“A telling point on effort and just being ready to play is on the boards,” Hobson said. “I think at one time it was 20 to five.”