By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
When Hayden’s usually high-scoring Hailey Schmidtlein was slowed in the second half Friday at Washburn Rural, the Wildcats got a burst of production from the rest of the team to gain a 38-35 Centennial League victory over the Junior Blues.
Hayden sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein (center) led Hayden with a game-high 17 points in Friday's 38-35 Centennial League win over Washburn Rural. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Schmidtlein scored 14 of Hayden’s 17 points in the first half, and it looked like the Wildcats might ride the sophomore to the win. But Washburn Rural held Schmidtlein to just three points on five shot attempts in the second half. Points had to come from the rest of the Wildcats if they were to get the win.
Hayden senior Ella Foster capped the group effort with a 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining to extend Hayden’s 1-point lead. The Junior Blues got a couple of chances at the buzzer but couldn’t overcome the deficit.
“(Coach Carvel) Reynoldson always tells me to shoot the ball,'' Foster said. "I pass up a lot of shots I probably should shoot. But I saw the shot clock was at one and I knew it had to go up and it was just amazing to see it go in.”
Hayden got 18 second-half points from Foster and company, just the lift the Wildcats needed with Schmidtlein focusing on rebounding, defending, and distributing the ball.
“(Schmidtlein) can really put up big numbers and she was on her way to doing that,” Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. “I don’t know if (Washburn Rural) changed too much of what they were doing to her. But she just trusted her teammates a little bit more. She made some tough shots in the first half, and she got other people involved in the second half for easier shots, and it worked out for us.”
Lauren Borjon provided eight points for the Wildcats. Blakely Walter added five, Foster four and Kadence Watts, and Alana Mitchell contributed two points apiece to back Schmidtlein.
“The only way we’re going to be a really good team is if we get everybody contributing like we did in the second half,” Reynoldson said.
“Hailey opens up so many people,” Foster said. “We worked on at practice finding our posts and kicking it out. We had those shooters to knock down those shots. She knows that we count on her and we know what she can do. She steps up huge for us, but we’ve got her back.”
Senior Josie Carlgren led Washburn Rural with 15 points, including three 3-pointers, in Friday's 38-35 Centennial League loss to Hayden. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
The win lifted Hayden to 2-0 in the Centennial League and to 8-2 overall. The Wildcats had to overcome 15 points from Washburn Rural senior Josie Carlgren and 12 from freshman Brynn Anderson.
“It’s so hard to play here because they’re so well coached,” Reynoldson said of the Junior Blues. “If you get sloppy for any stretch of the game, you look up and you’re down five, six points like nothing. I have so much respect for the way they play, because nothing is ever easy. So, I like the way we persevered.”
HAYDEN GIRLS 38, WASHBURN RURAL 35
Hayden 7 10 10 11 -- 38
Washburn Rural 9 9 7 10 -- 35
Hayden (8-2, 2-0) – Schmidtlein 7-17 0-2 17, Foster 1-2 1-2 4, Huscher 0-2 0-0 0, Borjon 3-10 0-0 8, Watts 0-1 2-4 2, Walter 2-6 0-0 5, Connell 0-3 0-0 0, Mitchell 1-2 0-2 2, Wichman 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 14-45 3-10 38.
Washburn Rural (5-3, 1-1) – Rutherford 0-5 0-0 0, Hirschi 0-8 0-0 0, Walker 2-8 3-4 8, Anderson 5-10 1-4 12, Carlgren 4-11 4-4 15, Hinck 0-1 0-0 0, Peterson 0-2 0-0 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-45 8-12 35.
3-point goals – Hayden 7 (Schmidtlein 3, Borjon 2, Foster 1, Walter 1), Washburn Rural 5 (Carlgren 3, Anderson 1, Walker 1). Total fouls – Hayden 9, Washburn Rural 11. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
