By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's girls basketball team, ranked No. 2 in Class 6A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, remained unbeaten with a 56-28 rout over Centennial League rival Hayden Tuesday night at Hayden.
Washburn Rural’s impressive night wouldn’t have happened without pinpoint-accurate shooting, with the Junior Blues collecting eight 3-point shots on 11 attempts.
“It’s always nice when your shots go in the way they did for us tonight,” Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said.
The red-hot offense boosted Rural, 4-0 overall and in the league, earned the Junior Blues a 16-3 first-quarter advantage.
“I thought we were getting good looks. We were driving it well, kicking it well, and we spotted up well early,” Bordewick said.
Washburn Rural hit four 3-point shots in the second quarter, outscoring the Wildcats 20-5 to take a commanding 36-8 advantage.
Hayden had a difficult time making shots in the first half, shooting just 16 percent from the field. Hayden also turned the ball over 11 times in the first half compared to Rural’s four miscues.
The second half of the game was much more competitive for the Wildcats, with Hayden freshman Brylee Meier and senior Carly Stuke providing big sparks.
Meier finished with 13 points on the night and went six of six from the free throw line while Stuke hit five of seven charities and scored seven points.
Junior Brooklyn DeLeye, senior Emma Krueger and sophomore Zoe Canfield scored a combined 34 points on Tuesday night and shot a combined 74 percent from the field against the Wildcats.
DeLeye led the Lady Blues with 15 points, including a pair of 3-point shots, while Canfield scored 10 points and Krueger nine.
Washburn Rural’s bench contributed a solid 13 points, with senior Trenna Whitmore leading the Lady Blue bench with six points.
“This is just one game,'' Bordewick said. "We have to go into practice tomorrow and get better at some things, especially defensively and running the fastbreak. Those will be our two points of emphasis at least for Wednesday and Thursday this week.''
Washburn Rural will travel to Seaman (3-1, 3-1) on Friday while Hayden (2-1, 2-1) will hit the road to take on Junction City (0-3, 0-3).
WASHBURN RURAL 56, HAYDEN 28
Washburn Rural Girls 16 20 18 2 – 56
Hayden 3 5 10 10 – 28
Washburn Rural (4-0, 4-0) – DeLeye 6 1-2 15, Canfield 4 0-0 10, Krueger 4 2-2 9, Whitmore 3 0-0 6, Lutz 2 0-0 6, Bagshaw 1 2-2 4, Carlgren 1 0-0 3, Ingram 0 1-2 1.
Hayden (2-1, 2-1) – Meier 3 6-6 13, Stuke 1 5-7 7, Greco 1 1-2 4, Sandstorm 1,0-1 2, Anguiano 1 0-0 2.
3-point goals – Washburn Rural 8 (DeLeye 2, Canfield 2, Lutz 2, Carlgren, Krueger), Hayden 2 (Meier, Greco). Total fouls – Washburn Rural 18 Hayden 8.