By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
SALINA -- The Hayden girls had a shot at knocking off five-time defending Class 4A champion Bishop Miege in the semifinal round Friday, but the Wildcats faded in the second half, losing 59-42.
Freshman Hailey Schmidtlein (2) scored 17 points in Hayden's 59-42 Class 4A state semifinal loss to Bishop Miege Friday night. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
The Wildcats will have a short night to recover. They face Buhler in the consolation game at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Tony’s Pizza Event Center in Salina. The Wildcats placed third at Class 3A state a year ago.
After falling into an early hole Friday, Hayden drew back to within four points in the second period. They trailed 23-17 at the half.
But in the second half, every time Hayden tried to narrow the gap, Miege had an answer.
“We started off in a 9-3 hole, and then at halftime I was feeling really good down six,” said Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson. “But it just seemed like every time we would make a play to cut (into the Miege lead), they would hit a big shot. Next play they hit threes, sometimes by people we didn’t expect to hit them. So that was frustrating.”
Hayden was hit immediately by a 7-0 Miege run out of halftime. They held on to trail by just 10, 41-31 at the end of the third period before running out of steam in the fourth.
“We knew we just couldn’t do the same thing the entire time because (Hayden is) just so talented and they have so many different weapons,” said Miege coach Mike Allen. “We felt like we had to mix up some press, maybe mix in a couple of zone looks and still do our base man. Mixing it up helped us to extend the lead.”
Producing a lot of the big plays in the second half was junior Mary Grant. Having put up five points in the first half, Grant exploded for 13 points in the third period and nine more in the fourth period. She hit all five of her 3-point attempts and all four of her foul shots, finishing with 27 points.
Senior Millie Ramsey scored 10 points in Hayden's 59-42 Class 4A state semifinal loss to Bishop Miege. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Senior Brylee Meier scored 10 points in Hayden's 59-42 Class 4A state semifinal loss to Bishop Miege. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Freshman Hailey Schmidtlein led the Wildcats with 17 points before fouling out late in the fourth period. Seniors Millie Ramsey and Brylee Meier each added 10 for Hayden.
The Stags’ victory set up a rematch with Wellington, the team Bishop Miege defeated 75-62 in last year’s title game.
Reynoldson’s group, meanwhile, has to recover from the disappointment in time to face Buhler in a game that can sometimes be a letdown.
“They understand that it’s so important to finish on a win if you have the opportunity to do so,” Reynoldson said. “There’s a big difference between 22-3 or 21-4. They’re the ones who, in the locker room, said, ‘Hey, we’ve got one more.’
"They were very emotional. These girls believed they were going to win tonight. So, they are struggling with it.”
BISHOP MIEGE 59, HAYDEN 42
Bishop Miege 11 12 18 18 -- 59
Hayden 5 12 14 11 -- 42
Bishop Miege (19-4) – Lemay 1-6 0-0 3, Grant 9-15 4-4 27, Duckers 3-6 0-0 8, McClinton 3-4 0-0 6, Verlhurst 6-14 0-0 13, Kurt 0-2 0-0 0, Erskine 0-1 2-2 2, Schleicher 0-0 0-0 0, Vossen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-48 6-6 59.
Hayden (21-3) – Schmidtlein 5-12 7-10 17, Ramsey 2-7 6-6 10, Reid 0-0 0-0 0, Meier 3-12 2-2 10, Greco 1-3 0-0 2, Walter 1-1 0-0 3, Foster 0-0 0-0 0, Huscher 0-1 0-0 0, Borjon 0-0 0-0 0, Watts 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-36 15-18 42.
3-point goals – Bishop Miege 9 (Grant 5, Duckers 2, Verlhurst 1, Lemay 1). Hayden 3 (Meier 2, Walter 1). Total fouls – Bishop Miege 15, Hayden 14. Fouled out – Schmidtlein. Technical fouls – none.
