By Dustin Armbruster
Hays Post Sports
Hays - Hays High resumed Western Athletic Conference play on Friday evening by hosting rival Great Bend. It was Indian Call for the Hays. Zoe Winter from the girls' team and Dawson Ruder from the boys' team were voted Queen and King.
Girls
#2 Hays 61 - Great Bend 22
Hays High never trailed as they ran away with a 61-22 victory over Great Bend.
It took a few minutes for the Hays to get things in gear, but once they did they piled up the points. The Indians didn't hit their second field goal until there was 5:25 left in the first quarter. The first of Jenna Schmeidler's game high 23 points put Hays ahead 6-2. Great Bend pulled within five at 9-4 before Hays went on their first big run.
The Indians scored the next 11 points to close out the final three-plus minutes of the first quarter for a 20-4 lead.
Great Bend scored the first two points of the first quarter. The rest of the half belonged to Hays. The Indians outscored the Panthers 12-2 through the remainder of the second quarter for a 32-8 lead at the half. Freshman Ramiyah Turner added the final five points of the first half.
Highlights
The pressure from Hays never let up. The Indians used a 12-0 third quarter run to expand their advantage to 48-11 in just two minutes. Liz Cunningham and Morgan Armbruster each provided a three pointer during the stretch while Schmeidler added a conventional three point play.
Hays entered the fourth quarter with a 37 point lead and the final eight minutes were played with a continuous clock. Great Bend did score seven straight points in the quarter only to be answered by an 8-2 run by Hays for the final of 61-22. Freshmen Joslyn Bates scored her first career points in her first ever game during the run.
Coach Len Melvin
Hays High has now won 22 consecutive conference games. The 22 points allowed is the sixth time an opponent has scored 29 or less points. It was the fifth game an opponent has been held to single digit made field goals.
Schmeidler 23, Humphrey 0, LaBarge 3, Koerner 0, Cunningham 4, Armbruster 6, Turner 5, Newell 0, Harrington 5, Winter 11, Bates 2, Lewallen 0.
Boys
#10 Hays 50 - Great Bend 37
Hays High used a 15-2 fourth quarter to break open a tie game and grab a 50-37 victory over Great Bend.
Hays never trailed in the first half but never led by more than six points. Great Bend didn't score for the first three minutes of the game. The Indians though could only muster a pair of Izaac Fox field goals over the same stretch for a 4-0 advantage.
Hays pulled ahead by four points five times over a five minute stretch that lasted into the second quarter. The Indians did build the lead to six at 15-9 after scoring the first five points of the quarter. Great Bend though answered every time Hays threatened to pull away. Leading by two, Dawson Ruder scored four points in thirty second for another six point lead at 20-14 midway through the quarter.
Andre Pfiefer scored the final point of the first half from the free throw line that gave Hays a 24-21 lead as the teams headed for the locker rooms.
Highlights
The third quarter provided fireworks for both teams. The game had four lead changes and three ties, all of which occurred in the third. The first tie came at 28-28 with 5:00 remaining. The Panthers grabbed the first lead at 29-28 twenty second later. Fox took the lead right back and Brody Harmoney regained the lead once again with the first of his two made three point field goals. It was the only threes Hays made on the night.
Harmoney's three gave the Indians a 33-31 edge. The two teams tied again at 33 and 35 points, but Hays never trailed again.
With the two teams deadlocked at 35, the stingy Hays defense yielded just two fourth quarter points on 1 of 13 shooting by the Panthers. Great Bend scored their only two points of the final eight minutes to make the score 38-37 with just over six minutes remaining.
The Indians scored the final 12 points of the game. A Trey Oakley conventional three point play put Hays up by four and setup the home team for victory 50-37.
Coach Sean Dreiling
Hays held Great Bend to 23 points under their season average of 60. It's the fifth straight opponent they have kept to 43 points or less.
Izaac Fox grabbed a career high 15 rebounds in his seventh double-double of the season.
Pfiefer 1, Homeier 2, Oakley 9, Harmoney 6, Schmidtberger 0, Fox 12, Smalley 2, Day 3, Ruder 12.