By Brad Hallier
For KSHSAA Covered
HUTCHINSON -- Silver Lake's girls trailed by as many as 11 points in the third quarter of Friday's Class 3A semifinal against Hesston and the Eagles also had to take junior point guard Kailyn Hanni off the floor for a few minutes due to injury.
Silver Lake's girls celebrate Friday's 65-58 state semifinal victory over Hesston in Hutchinson. [Photo by Andrew Carpenter/Special to KSHSAA Covered]
When Hanni came back, she was instrumental in helping the Eagles dominate the fourth quarter, as they outscored the previously-undefeated Swathers 25-10 over the final eight minutes to pull out a 65-58 win.
Hanni, who drew 14 fouls, finished with a game-high 28 points to go with six assists and four rebounds. Her 15 made free throws were one off the 3A single-game record at a state tournament, set in 1995 by Rossville’s Jennifer Perine.
Silver Lake was 4 of 5 from the field in the fourth quarter, sank all three of its 3-pointers and made all 14 free throw attempts.
Hesston raced to its 11-point lead thanks to a strong performance from senior guard Kendal Brueggen, who finished with 27 points and five rebounds. But after shooting at least 50% in each of the first three quarters, the Swathers cooled off in the fourth quarter, making just 3 of 12 shots.
With the win Silver Lake will now look for its second straight title and eighth overall. The Eagles will play Halstead in Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship game.
Goodland boys 66, Silver Lake 60 -- Goodland, seeded sixth but ranked No. 1 in the final KBCA regular-season poll, had a strong fourth quarter in pushing past Silver Lake to reach its second straight championship game.
Goodland did so thanks to great ball security, as the Cowboys turned the ball over just three times. Meanwhile, the Cowboys turned eight Silver Lake turnovers into 10 points.
It was tight and tense throughout, as neither team led by more than seven points. There were 10 lead changes and three ties.
Brayton Mull led a balanced Goodland attack with 17 points. Brady Brumbaugh added 13 points, while Zach Thorson had another strong game with 10 points.
Dayne Johnson led Silver Lake with a dazzling display, scoring 28 points, grabbing nine rebounds, dishing out two assists and not turning the ball over.
