By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
HOYT -- Hayden's Lady Wildcats started Friday's Class 3A sub-state semifinal on a roll and never looked back, advancing to Saturday's championship game with a 57-10 romp past Atchison County at Royal Valley.
Hayden's starters cheer for their teammates in Friday's 57-10 Class 3A sub-state semifinal win over Atchison County. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
Hayden's bench cheers late in Friday's 57-10 Class 3A sub-state victory over Atchison County. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
After going up 13-2 in the first quarter the Wildcats would be in command 28-6 at halftime and played stifling defense in the second half as the Wildcats shut out the Tigers in the third quarter and would allow only four points in the fourth.
“We were engaged,'' Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. "We worked hard in practice this week about upping our communication and the more you talk the more engaged you are and that was a point of emphasis this week and it was great to see us come out and do it.”
The Wildcats' offensive scoring output was spread out as eight of the 12 girls that played scored at least one or more points with three players cracking double figures.
Hayden junior Amelia Ramsey heads upcourt after hitting a 3-pointer in Friday's 57-10 win over Atchison County. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
The Wildcats were led in scoring by juniors Brylee Meier with 13 points and three 3-pointers and Amelia Ramsey with 12 points while senior Lauren Sandstrom had 11.
“They are great players and we need them to keep that up if we are going to make a run,'' Reynoldson said. "The players win or lose them for you and you need them to show up and they did.
“We are one step closer to getting to Hutchinson. I thought we needed to come out with energy and effort and communication and we did that. We were engaged from the start. We were shooting some quick 3s early and once we started getting the ball inside we pulled away.”
With the win the Wildcats advanced to the 6:30 p.m. Saturday night sub-state championship game against Jefferson West, which beat Hiawatha, 51-41.
“I think if we do just what we always talk about in practice we will be OK,'' Reynoldson said. "We have to make sure we are sharing the ball and staying engaged on defense until we get the defensive rebound or the steal.”
The Lady Wildcats will take the floor after the Hayden boys play Sabetha in Saturday's boys sub-state championship game.
HAYDEN GIRLS 57, ATCHISON COUNTY 10
Atchison County 2 4 0 4 -- 10
Hayden 13 15 18 11-- 57
Atchison County (7-14) – Wagner 1-4 0-2 2, Bauerle 1-6 0-1 2, Martin 1-4 0-0 2, Scholz 0-1 1-2 1, Chew 0-0 0-0 0, Ava Speer 1-1 0-0 3, Ellie Speer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 4-16 1-5 10.
Hayden (18-4) – Meier 5-9 0-0 13, Ramsey 5-7 1-2 12, Sandstrom 5-9 1-2 11, Grunert 3-8 0-0 7, Greco 2-7 0-0 4, Reese Huscher 2-2 0-2 5, Foster 1-2 1-3 3, Watts 1-1 0-0 2, Reid 0-4 0-0 0, Reagan Huscher 0-2 0-0 0, Borjon 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 24-53 2-8 57.
3-point goals – Hayden 7 (Meier 3, Grunert, Ramsey, Foster, Reese Huscher). Totals Fouls– Atchison County 10, Hayden 9
