By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden's girls basketball team didn't play nearly as clean or as crisp as coach Carvel Reynoldson would have liked Tuesday night, but that often happens in a season-opener.
But even though the Wildcats didn't shoot particularly well from either the field or the foul line and turned the ball over 20 times, Hayden achieved its biggest objective, taking a 52-38 Centennial League win over an improved Highland Park team on the Scots' home floor.
"We came out right away and I didn't think we were playing very hard and then from about a minute and a half on I thought we played really hard, we just didn't play very smart,'' Reynoldson said. "And the problem is we have a lot of young girls on the court, but they weren't the biggest culprits.
"It was the ones that should know better, but I think it was kind of a situation where we've been practicing for so long against each other and we got out there and were just a little too excited.''
Senior Macy Smith returned from a knee injury last season to score 18 points in Hayden's 52-38 season-opening win over Highland Park Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Except for a 2-0 defict and a tie at 5-all, Hayden never trailed against Highland Park (0-2, 0-2) and survived some Highland Park runs along the way to lead 14-5 at the end of the first quarter, 31-21 at the half and 41-32 at the start of the third quarter.
Hayden led by 15 in the first half and by 16 midway through the third quarter, but Highland Park wouldn't got away, getting within seven points (45-38) with 3:08 remaining on a 3-pointer from senior Aisya Taylor before the Wildcats scored the final seven points.
Senior Macy Smith, who missed most of last season with an ACL injury, scored a game-high 18 points for the Wildcats while senior Carly Stuke added 13 points and freshman Brylee Meier eight points and 10 rebounds.
Senior Atiya Gonzales led Highland Park with 15 points, including three 3-pointers, while senior Taylor added 8 points with a pair of 3s.
HAYDEN GIRLS 52, HIGHLAND PARK 38
Hayden 14 17 10 11 -- 52
Highland Park 5 16 11 6 -- 38
Hayden (1-0, 1-0) -- Lenherr 0-3 0-0 0, Sandstrom 2-5 1-1 5, Anguiano 0-4 0-1 0, Smith 9-17 0-1 18, Stuke 3-14 5-7 13, Delgado 0-1 0-2 0, Huscher 1-2 0-0 3, Schmidtlein 0-2 0-0 0, Meier 3-5 2-2 8, Greco 2-5 1-2 5, Reid 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-58 9-16 52.
Highland Park (0-2, 0-2) -- Gonzales 6-12 0-0 15, Sanders 1-15 0-0 3, Taylor 3-9 0-2 8, Mitchell 0-6 0-0 0, Parker-Brown 1-2 0-0 3, Reed 2-6 0-0 5, Nunez 0-2 0-0 0, Shutts 0-0 0-0 0, Ramsey 2-10 0-0 4. Totals 15-62 0-2 38.
3-point goals -- Hayden 3 (Stuke 2, Huscher), Highland Park 8 (Gonzales 3, Taylor 2, Sanders, Parker-Brown, Reed) Total fouls -- Hayden 8, Highland Park18. Fouled out -- none.
