HAYS, Kan. – Another fast start had the Aggies leading the fourth ranked Tigers early on Saturday, but the home team used free throws, rebounding, and second chance points to take over the lead and hand CU their first loss of the season.
The Cameron women's basketball team opened the 2021-22 season on fire, going 4-0 and outscoring their opponent by an average of 27 points. They drew their toughest test of the young season on Saturday when they took on No. 4 Fort Hays State on their home floor. The under-sized Aggies gave the Tigers everything they could handle, but the upset was out of reach late as CU fell 85-79.
Maighan Hedge is continuing to prove that she should be considered for a spot on the All-America team at the end of the year. The fourth-year guard put up 25 points and five assists against a very tough top-5 ranked opponent. Hedge was 8-15 from the floor and 8-9 from the charity stripe. She also swiped two balls on the defensive end. She has scored at least 20 points in four of the Aggies' five games to start the new campaign.
Korie Allensworth and
Stephanie Peterson were both over 15 points for the second straight game. Allensworth put up 18 on 16 shots with three made triples and added six boards. Peterson added 16 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds and two steals, all while playing the fourth quarter with four fouls.
Whitney Outon added 10 points, making it four Aggies to score in double-figures.
Despite a red-hot start to the game, the Aggies cooled down in the second and third quarters and ended the game shooting 44 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from three-point range. They were out-rebounded 55-28 with 26 of those FHSU boards coming on the offensive end, resulting in 23 second-chance points.
Another mismatch in the box score came by way of the free throw attempts, with the Tigers putting up 36 attempts from the charity stripe and converting 28 of them, while CU was just 16-19 from the free throw line, as the foul count was 25-18 in favor of the home team.
For the first time this season, the Aggies were unable to force a team into over 20 turnovers. They turned the ball over 14 times in the loss, while Fort Hays turned it over just 13 times, nine of which came on CU steals.
Like their game against Newman, the Aggies came out firing in the first quarter. They made almost 65 percent of their shots from the field while going 4-6 from long range. Peterson and Hedge each had nine as the Black and Gold led 27-19 after 10 minutes of action.
After getting stunned in the first period, the fourth ranked Tigers woke up in the second, outscoring the Aggies 28-16 to lead by four at the half. Lauren West was a big part of that run, scoring 20 points in the first half. Her team made four triples in the second frame and was 10-11 from the charity stripe as they took over the lead. On the other end of the floor, the Aggies just 37.5 percent from the floor and were 3-9 from three.
Neither team could get anything going in the third quarter, resulting in Fort Hays leading 64-57 heading into the final 10 minutes of play. The home team extended their lead to 10 to open the quarter but the Aggies quickly cut that to just four with a jumper by Peterson at the 6:51 mark. The Tigers used their size to get inside and get to the foul line and at the 2:40 mark led by 11. That was enough of a lead to withstand a small Aggie run that cut the lead to five as they held on for the 85-79 victory to stay undefeated.
The Tigers also had four players in double-figures, led by West's 24 points and a 22-point, 15-rebound outing by Katie Wagner.
Now 4-1 on the year, the Aggies continue their run through the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association when they host Central Oklahoma on Tuesday, Nov. 23, at 5:30 p.m., the first of three CU home games during Thanksgiving week.
