HAYS, Kan. – Griffon Women's Basketball (4-9, 0-4 MIAA) was outscored by No. 6 Fort Hays State 31-13 in the third quarter, which led to a 87-56 defeat at the hand of the Tigers on Saturday at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays.

MoWest, which hadn't lost in Hays since February 2022, hung in early, trailing 36-31 at halftime after holding the Tigers to eight second quarter points.

Things got off to a bad start quickly in the third quarter, as Hays opened the second half on a 17-2 run to lead 53-35 with 4:30 remaining in the third.

The Griffons, who start 0-4 in the MIAA play for the first time since 2013-14, were held scoreless for the first 5:23 of the fourth quarter, allowing the Hays lead to balloon to as much as 35 points.

MoWest shot only 7-of-29 (24.1%) the second half, including just 1-of-10 from three.

Mia Morel led the Griffons with 13 points. LaNicia Parker came off the bench for 11 points. Ana Oliveira Dias scored 10 to go with seven assists. Lindsey Kelderman scored eight, while Nakiya Harris had seven points and a game-high 16 rebounds.

Talexa Weeter led four Tigers in double figures with 29 points to go with 14 rebounds. Hays hit 34 field goals, while MWSU hit only 20. The Tigers turned MoWest over 21 times, scoring 25 points off of the giveaways.

MoWest returns home to open a four-game homestand, starting with Washburn (10-3, 3-1 MIAA) on Wednesday, January 7. Tip-off from MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph is set for 5:30 p.m.

The game will be broadcast live on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) and available to watch on the MIAA Network.