By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

EMPORIA -- Junior Naomi Bancroft knows the Fort Hays State University women's basketball team has changed its offense and defense, will make mistakes and suffer through inconsistent stretches under new coach Tony Hobson.

But Bancroft and her teammates have enjoyed the change from Annette Wiles to Hobson, the former national championship-winning coach at NAIA Hastings (Neb.) College.

"It is so much better," Bancroft said. "The game is fun again. At least we have that. ... Anytime you are enjoying it and having fun, you are always going to play a little harder and it's a lot easier. He is a great coach to play for. He is working just as hard as we are."

On Saturday night, the Hobson era yielded a positive start in Fort Hays' first regular season game.

Helped by a big night from Bancroft and junior Erica Biel, the Tigers defeated Tabor College, 78-63, in the first game of the Lady Hornet Classic at Emporia State University. Fort Hays moved to 1-0 for the fifth straight year, while Tabor dropped to 0-4.

"There a lot of positives, but a lot of room for improvement," Bancroft said. "Everyone is new. We all kind of feel like freshman again. Every game is a big time learning experience. Every practice is a big time learning experience. We just have to keep focusing and keep improving everyday."

The game saw several large runs, including a 14-2 burst in the first half by Fort Hays that propelled the Tigers to 31-13 lead. Bancroft had 17 points in the first 5:50, including five 3-pointers.

Tabor had a 14-0 run that cut the game to one at 46-45 with 15:55 left before an 20-0 Fort Hays spurt that put the contest out of reach.

"Tonight we got by with it, but it's not going to be that way," Hobson said. "If we do get a little run and hit two or three 3s in a row, which this team is going to do, because we are going to shoot quite a few of them, we have to lock it down and maintain that cushion we get."

Bancroft, the team's top returning scorer who set the school record for 3s made (86) and attempted (245), finished with a game-high 19 points and was 5-for-11 from 3-point range.

Biel delivered 17 points and 17 rebounds, the first double-double of her career. She broke her career single-best in points by three and rebounds by seven.

Biel's day was the first double-double of her career and tied her for 10th on the single game rebounding list in Fort Hays history. Since 1983, Biel's 17 rebounds is tied for third-best and matched Wiles', a former All-American for the Tigers, career-high.

"First thing, she is tireless," Hobson said. "She really never gets tired. The second thing is from the shoulders to ends (of the hands) she is very strong. She has got big hands and she is tough, so she can really control the ball when she gets her hand on it. Her performance tonight didn't surprise me. She is going to continue to get better offensively."

In the first half, Bancroft's offense led the Tigers early. Bancroft sunk a 3-pointer from the right side 45 seconds into the game that gave Fort Hays a 3-0 lead, a lead they would never lose.

Two minutes later, Bancroft hit another 3 from the elbow, the first of eight points in 90 seconds that gave Fort Hays a 16-2 lead and forced a Tabor timeout.

Bancroft collected her fifth 3-pointer for a 19-9 advantage at 14:10. Fort Hays led by 18 before Tabor's big run cut the game to one point early in the second half.

The Tigers had some inconsistencies and turnovers with Hobson's high-paced offense and didn't score in the second half until 15:24 remained

"The game is changing and everything is uptempo now," Bancroft said. "It's no longer walk the ball down and set the offense up. That is what we are used to and we kind of feel like we are running around with our heads cut off.

"We are getting more comfortable with it," she added. "Sometimes it looks really good. Sometimes it looks really ugly. That is just part of learning and learning how to play with his system. It's going to work for us."

Biel took over in the second half, especially on the rebounding end. She had 10 points and five rebounds in the first half and in the locker room the team reminded Biel about a statistic.

"We came in and (said) we only had four offensive rebounds," Bancroft said. "That was all we said and she took it to heart and it showed. She battled down there and she did her job, more than we can ask for."

In the second half, Biel, the team's only starting forward on a guard-heavy team, had 12 rebounds and helped Fort Hays finish with a plus-13 edge on the glass.

The rebounding margin was better than any non-conference game from last season -- and helped Fort Hays start with a win under a new, likable coach.

"The respect that the whole team has for him is just at a different level," Bancroft said. "Last year we played scared and that doesn't work. This year, we will mistakes, but we will get better because we can learn from our mistakes."