Women's Basketball | 1/19/2019 4:51:16 PM

Each week David Boyce, the MIAA’s featured writer, will cover a key match-up in one of the conference’s sports. In this MIAA Showcase, David Boyce covers the women’s basketball NCAA Division II Showcase Game between Washburn and No. 3 Fort Hays State in Topeka, Kansas.

TOPEKA, Kan. - With 8 minutes remaining in the third quarter, Fort Hays State senior Tatyana Legette scored a basket for her 14th point of the game Saturday afternoon at Lee Arena.

The field goal Legette made was notable for a couple of reasons. It gave Fort Hays a commanding 17-point lead against Washburn in a pivotal midseason MIAA contest, and Legette was having a nice game in her final return home.

“T killed it. She knocked it out of the park. She came ready to play,” said Fort Hays junior Kacey Kennett. “She is just a competitor.”

Legette, who graduated of Topeka Seaman High School, finished with a game-high 18 points, helping Fort Hays to a 59-51 victory. It was also fitting that she went over 1,000 career points in the first half.

“Being able to play in your town and get all the support, not only from family and friends and people from Topeka but also fans from Hays who come and support our team, is a great feeling,” Legette said. “This was my last game here so it was bittersweet. I am happy for my team.”

Fort Hays, ranked No. 3 in the WBCA top 25, was coming off its first loss of the season on Wednesday at Emporia State.

The Tigers got back on track with the win, improving to 16-1 overall and 7-1 in the MIAA. Washburn slipped to 11-5 and 6-1.

“It is always nice to bounce back after the loss at Emporia,” Kennett said. “Obviously, you don’t want that to happen. We played well here. It is a hard place to play at.”

Even before Legette’s basket, Fort Hays was in control. Washburn scored the first field goal in the third quarter, but trailed 34-22. The Tigers quickly responded with a three-point play by Kennett followed by Legette’s bucket.

Fort Hays maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the third quarter. Washburn made a slight run in the fourth quarter, several times cutting its deficit under 10. The first time came on a field goal by senior Taylor Blue to make it 49-40.

And with 2:11 left, Washburn closed to six points at 53-47 on two free throws by Nicole Murugarren. Legette pushed the advantage back to eight with a power move in the paint with under 2 minutes left.

“It shows a lot of character and fight in this team,” Kennett said about the victory. “We definitely needed it if we are going to do some big things this year.”

A three-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer by Kennett and solid defense throughout the first half sent Fort Hays into halftime with a 34-20 lead.

The Tigers started strong, jumping to an early 7-2 lead that increased to 16-8 late in the first quarter. Washburn scored the next two baskets and closed it to 16-12. It appeared that was going to be score after one quarter.

Nope.

Kennett dribbled a couple of times about 5-feet beyond the three-point arc, basically to lineup her long three-point attempt. She hit nothing but net as the buzzer sounded.

“Honestly, at the end of the Emporia game, I had a chance to at least tie it with a three-pointer and I didn’t. That was kind of going on in the back of my head,” Kennett said. “I was trying to make the most of it. I put it on the money, I guess.”

The Tigers kept the momentum going and eventually extended their lead to double digits at 26-16 on a three-pointer by senior Carly Heim.

Late in the second quarter, Fort Hays sophomore Whitney Randall scored on a three-point play that increased the Tigers’ lead to 34-18.

In the first half, Fort Hays limited Washburn to nine field goals in 25 attempts for 36 percent from the field.

“I think we knew their stuff pretty well,” Kennett said. “We did our homework and studied plays.”