By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Beating ranked Class 6A teams has become a familiar thing for the Hayden Lady Wildcats, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association.
After beating defending Class 6A champion Shawnee Mission South in their 2024 finale and then topping 6A runnerup Washburn Rural, the Wildcats knocked off No. 5 Manhattan 54-47 in an instant classic Friday night at Hayden.
Senior Millie Ramsey scored 8 of her 13 points in the closing minutes as Hayden took a 54-47 Centennial League victory over Manhattan. [File photo/TSN]
The Lady Wildcats, who are off to a 9-0 start after placing third in 3A last year, would start off up 12-8 at the end of the first quarter and would go into halftime with a 30-24 lead.
But Hayden would cool off at the end the third quarter, allowing the Indians to come back and tie it up at 40 going into the fourth quarter.
The Centennial League rivals would trade punches until Hayden senior Millie Ramsey would deliver the knockout punch with 4:10 left in the game.
Ramsey would hit the biggest shot of the night with a 3 pointer to tie it up at 46 before hitting another 3-pointer on the next possession to put Hayden up 49-46 with 2:20 left.
Ramsey then put the icing on the cake with a layup to put the Wildcats up 51-46 with 1:15 left in the game, followed by two Brylee Meier free throws and the Cats would survive a hard fought game against the Lady Indians.
Senior Brylee scored a game-high 16 points as Hayden took a 54-47 Centennial League victory over Manhattan. [File photo/TSN]
The Wildcats who got another good scoring night from senior Meier, who would lead all scorers with 16 points.
“She carries us through times when our offense is stagnant with her ability to shoot the ball,'' Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said of Meier. "And when times are tough, she’s been a tremendous leader for us. The comments she makes on the bench during a time out are perfectly in sync with the message.”
“I felt like going into the game I knew I was going to have to be a big leader for the team,'' Meier said. "I just had to make sure we had energy in times where everyone was tired and staying positive when shots weren’t falling.”
Ramsey stepped up when it counted the most in the final four minutes with 8 huge points and would finish with 13 points.
“Millie was big for us in our win tonight,'' Meier said. "We have been telling her all season to just keep shooting the ball. She is one of the best shooters on our team, so I know that I can trust her to shoot it. Without her making those threes I dont think we would have ended in the position we did.
"Millie is just a big part of our team and so glad she is here.”
“She came through when it mattered,'' Reynoldson said of Ramsey. "She was frustrated early on but kept fighting, We asked her to just stay the course and emphasized getting her the ball and she carried us home.”
“Honestly, I love giving Millie the ball because her and Brylee they can both get us up,'' said Hayden freshman Hailey Schmidtlein, who finished with 15 points. "Finding those two is such an important part of the game when the games are that close. So when Millie hits those threes and makes those free throws that was a huge part of the game and got our energy and momentum up to get the win.''
Freshman Hailey Schmidtlein scored 15 points in Hayden's 54-47 Centennial League win over Manhattan Friday night. [File photo/TSN]
The Wildcats would get another big night of not just offense out of Schmedtlein but also on defense, where she has been the one tasked with guarding the other team's best player.
“My level of defense, it’s more being aggressive and watching film and knowing what that player likes to do,” Schmidtlein said.
“She’s a great leader, just even as a freshman, she’s a great leader,'' Ramsey said about Schmidtlein. "She comes and works hard every day, she pushes everyone, and I think her defense is gonna help us a lot throughout the season.”
“I can’t say enough,'' Reynoldson said of Schmidtlein. "Her speed, quickness and length are one thing, but what’s the biggest asset that she brings is her tenacity and her attitude. She is a great defender.”
Manhattan would get 12 points from their junior guard Delaney Larson and 13 points from junior Kat Ball.
The Wildcats will be back in action Friday with a makeup game against Emporia at Emporia in a girls only contest.
HAYDEN GIRLS 54, MANHATTAN 47
Manhattan 8 16 16 7 -- 47
Hayden 12 18 10 14 -- 54
Manhattan (5-3, 1-1) — Ball 4-11 1-1 13, Larson 5-9 0-0 12, Busch 3-8 1-2 8, Peabody 3-6 1-2 7, Kaus 1-2 0-0 2, Dodds 1-1 0-0 2, Parcell 1-4 0-2 2, Banks 1-2 0-0 2, Jorryn Hall 0-3 0-0 0, Ingram 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 19-46 4-9 47.
Hayden (9-0, 3-0) — Meier 5-10 3-6 16, Schmidtlein 5-12 5-7 15, Ramsey 5-11 1-4 13, Greco 3-6 1-2 7, Reid 1-2 1-1 3, Walter 0-1 0-0 0, Huscher 0-0 0-0 0, Foster 0-0 0-0 0, Watts 0-0 0-0 0, Connell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-42 11-20 54.
3-point goals — Manhattan 6 (Ball 4, Larson 2). Hayden 5 (Meier 3, Ramsey 2). Total Fouls — Manhattan 19, Hayden 12. Fouled out — Busch.
