Beavers Dominate Conference Opener - Cameron Cox

[PRATT, KS-Nov 19th, 2025] - The Pratt Community College Women's Basketball team hosted Fort Hays Tech Northwest for their conference opener on Wednesday night. The Beavers would cruise past the Tigers, taking the win 83-44. 

Game Recap: The Beavers opened the game on fire, jumping out to a 6-0 lead early and scoring on their first three possessions. Pratt (5-1, 1-0) continued to put defensive pressure on Fort Hays Tech Northwest (0-6, 0-1), forcing two turnovers and three airballs in the first three minutes. Following an airball, Pratt drove down the court and scored an easy layup by Kalani Brock to make the score 8-0 in favor of the Beavers. Both teams then went cold for the next three minutes, but a clever inbounds play led to a layup for the Beavers, making the score 10-0 at the five-minute mark. The Beavers would finally give up their first points as Fort Hays Tech Northwest recorded a layup with a little under 5:00 left. Pratt's suffocating defense was able to hold the Tigers scoreless for the first five minutes of game time. Pratt would continue to put on the pressure in the first quarter and lead 20-2 with 1:30 left in the opening frame. Pratt would then give up a flurry of points to the Tigers as they were able to narrow the gap to 21-9 by the end of the first quarter. 

To start the second, the Beavers would continue their defensive dominance, holding the Tigers scoreless in their first four possessions. Pratt would capitalize with a three-pointer by Alivia Wright, pushing the score to 24-9 early in the second. The Tigers capitalized on Pratt's misses and closed the gap to 26-14 with 6:45 left in the second. Pratt and Fort Hays Tech Northwest traded blows, with both teams scoring two layups on their following two possessions to make the score 30-18 at the second media timeout. The Tigers came out of the timeout with a three-pointer, cutting the Beaver lead to just nine points. The Beavers quickly responded with an 8-0 run fueled by Polla Balint scoring 6 straight. Pratt pushed the lead to 38-21 with three minutes left in the second quarter. Both teams would go the next six possessions without scoring until Kalani Brock fooled her defender and made an easy layup. The Beavers would end the half with a Brock fadeaway layup as time expired, making the score at halftime Pratt 42, Fort Hays Tech Northwest 23. 

The Beavers would come out of the break with a quick three-point bucket from Emilia Borissova. The Beavers and the Tigers then put on a defensive masterclass for the next three minutes until the Tigers hit a three-pointer. The Beavers then responded quickly with five straight points from Borissova as she hit a step-back two and an open three-point bucket. The Beavers led the Tigers 49-26 with 5:50 left after a Fort Hays Tech Northwest timeout. The Tigers come out of the timeout with a miss that turned into fastbreak points as Brock found Balint for an open layup. The Pratt defense continued to suffocate the Tigers offense with two forced turnovers that would lead to two made Beaver baskets. Pratt kept pushing the pace as Balint hit a putback bucket right before the media timeout to make the score 57-28 in favor of the Beavers. The Beavers and the Tigers would go back in fourth for the remainder of the third, where the Beavers lead after three quarters, 65-35. 

The Beavers started off the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, making the lead 33 points. The first three minutes of the fourth saw Pratt push the lead forward, 69-35. Pratt would give the starters a rest for the remainder of the fourth. After both teams traded multiple trips to the free-throw line, the score sat at 70-40 with 5:30 remaining in the game. The Beavers would lead the Tigers 73-41 at the final media timeout. Pratt would continue to cruise to victory and secured a dominant 83-44 win over conference foe Fort Hays Tech Northwest.  

Player Notes: 

Kalani Brock had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds 

Polla Balint led the Beavers in scoring with 20 points

Emilia Borissova shot 70% from the field and finished with 16 points