By Dustin Armbruster
Delayed by two days, Hays High and Salina South finally got onto the hardwood after mother nature nature dropped seven plus inches of snow on Hays.
Girls Hays 46 – Salina South 38
The Lady Indians smothered South defensively over the first twelve minutes of the game holding the Cougars to just 2 of 18 shooting. Hays used their defense to create a 10-6 lead after one quarter. The Lady Indians then boosted their lead to nine at 17-8 following a 7-2 run over the first four minutes of the second quarter. South owned the final four minutes of the second quarter though making three field goals and hitting two of three free throws to cut the Hays lead down to 20-16.
Highlights
Hays pushed their lead up to twelve twice in the second half including the third quarter break of 42-30. South like they did in the second quarter made a push. The Cougars hit their first five shots of the fourth quarter to cut the Hays lead down to three at 36-33 with just under two and half minutes remaining. Hays solved the Cougars full court pressure in time to make three layups and four of eight free throws to secure the 46-38 win.
Coach Kirk Maska
Savannah Schneider came off the bench to score a game high 12. Nicole Dinkel added 11. Hays improves to 6-8, matching last year’s win total. South falls to 5-8. The Cougars were led by Allie Valdez with 12.
Hays 52 – Salina South 46
Hays High couldn’t buy a field goal in the first half making just 2 of their first 19 attempts before making their last three to close the first half. On the flip side South made four of their first five and built their lead as high as nine on two occasions. With South leading 20-11, Hays scored the final four points of the first half to trail 20-15.
Highlights
The Indians used those last four points of the second half combined with the first seven of the second half to take their first lead of the game 22-20. The two teams traded baskets over the next five minutes before Hays built at three point lead with four seconds left in the third quarter. South’s Jacob Marcotte nailed a half court shot to tie the game at 31 through three.
South the scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to grab a 36-31 lead. Hays tied the game at 36 and 38 all before South took a two possession lead 42-38 with 3:30 remaining. Hays scored the next five points to regain the lead at 43-42 on a Drew Young three pointer. Jacob Marcotte gave the Cougars their final lead at 44-43 with 1:42 remaining on a pair of free throws. Hays used a 9-2 run to close the game hitting their final four free throws and win 52-46.
Coach Rick Keltner
Hays was lead in scoring by Drew Young with 16. Trace Kochevar matched him with 16 for Salina South and Dylan Becker added 10.
Hays improves to 12-2 on the season and is ranked #5 in class 4A-1. Salina South drops to 9-4 and is ranked #5 in 5A.