Lady Tigers Fall Short Against Cloud

Fort Hays Tech Northwest Women's Basketball fell to the Cloud County Community College T-Birds at home on Wednesday evening, 73-80.

The opening quarter began slowly, with both teams exchanging early leads before the Lady Tigers' offense found its rhythm. Tech went on an 11–3 run to put the score at 18-9 before closing the quarter with a commanding 22–11 advantage. The second quarter proved much tighter, as the T-Birds worked to chip away at the deficit. Cloud would quickly find themselves within single digits again as both teams battled to keep pace. The T-Birds would find themselves within five points several times before the Tigers stretched their lead back out again, as was the case at the end of the half, as Cloud found themselves within five with 17 seconds to play before Marta Rodriguez made a triple at the buzzer to end the half leading 39-31.

The T-Birds found their offensive stride early in the second half, knocking down consecutive triples to narrow the lead to 38-41 just over a minute into the second half. Cloud would quickly tie up the game, 42-42 with 7:20 remaining, and briefly took the lead with a triple before Tech responded with a triple of their own. The back-and-forth battle continued with the Lady Tigers narrowly holding a 58–56 advantage heading into the fourth.

In the final period, the Lady Tigers would start to struggle to keep pace as their fouls also added up. Cloud was the first to lose a player to fouls with 5:42 remaining while holding a 63–61 lead. However, Tech's new transfer, Taisiia Vypovska, would soon foul out with just under three minutes to play and the T-Birds only leading 70-68. The Lady Tigers would soon take another hit as starter Marieke Acthun fouled out just under the two-minute mark.

With one minute remaining, Zoey Burton drained a three-pointer to pull Tech within two, 75–73, before Tech called a full timeout. On the ensuing possession, Cloud's Camiah Muldrow drew a foul and converted one of two free throws. Tech would get a good look from three before missing the mark. The Lady Tigers were forced to foul again, sending Muldrow back to the line, where she converted both attempts. Muldrow added two more free throws on the following possession to seal the victory for the T-Birds.

The Lady Tigers finished with four players in double figures, led by sophomore Al'asia Brown with 16 points. Marta Rodriguez added 15, Taisiia Vypovska recorded 12 points and eight rebounds, and Vitória Fernandes chipped in 10. Tech would also shoot 40 percent from beyond the arc, their best outside shooting of the season. 

Cloud County also placed four players in double figures, with Camiah Muldrow leading all scorers with 32 points. Muldrow consistently pressured Tech's defense and played a major role in the Lady Tigers' foul trouble. Muldrow would go to the foul line a total of nine times, with five of them occurring with under three and a half to play. 

FHNW returns to action Saturday at home, where they will face Colby Community College at 12:00 p.m.