By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
The Class 4A girls sub-state championship game on Friday night was a rematch from last season as the Hayden Wildcats hosted the Baldwin Bulldogs.
Hayden girls basketball rolled to a Class 4A state tournament berth with a 51-22 win over Baldwin. [Hayden girls basketball]
Following a competitive first half, the Lady Wildcats punched their ticket to the state quarterfinals with a 51-22 victory.
Hayden overwhelmed the visiting Lady Bulldogs with a 10-0 run over the first four minutes of the game. Following a timeout, Baldwin settled in and was able to cut the lead down to 12-9, but sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein scored to end the quarter with Hayden leading 14-9.
Baldwin took the lead (15-14) at the start of the second quarter, thanks to two 3-pointers by sophomore Logyn Scoby and junior Audrey Searl, respectively.
Hayden immediately responded with a 3-pointer of their own by sophomore Blakely Walter, to regain the lead at 17-15. The Lady Wildcats outscored the Lady Bulldogs 9-1 to end the first half and led 26-16.
The second half was total domination by Hayden as they outscored Baldwin 25-6, leading to a running clock halfway through the fourth quarter.
Coach Carvel Reynoldson was able to give the four seniors -- Ella Foster, Reese Huscher, Lauren Borjon and Kadence Watts a proper send-off as he substituted each one of them separately over the final two minutes of the contest.
Hayden was able to force Baldwin into 26 turnovers in the game
Schmidtlein led the Lady Wildcats with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Walter was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 12 points. Watts pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
The Bulldogs were led in scoring by sophomore Cami Collum and junior Emerson Nigh, who both scored 5 points apiece.
The Hayden Wildcats will advance to play in the state quarterfinals this coming Tuesday, March 10. The pairings and location of their game will be released on Saturday.
HAYDEN 51, BALDWIN 22
Baldwin 9 7 3 3 -- 22
Hayden 14 12 14 11 -- 51
Baldwin (11-14) -- Scoby 1-6 0-0 3, Neufeld 1-6 1-2 3, Collum 0-3 5-8 5, Nigh 2-9 0-0 5, Searl 1-3 0-0 3, Griffith 0-1 0-0 0, Brunker 0-0 0-0 0, Chambers 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 6-29 7-12 22.
Hayden (19-6) -- Walter 5-12 0-2 12, Schmidtlein 10-24 1-4 21, Foster 0-4 0-0 0, Huscher 1-1 0-0 3, Watts 2-3 1-2 3, Wichman 1-1 2-2 4, Mitchell 0-3 0-0 0, Borjon 1-5 0-1 3, Wrench 0-0 0-0 0, Connell 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 21-56 4-11 51.
3-point field goals -- Baldwin 3 (Scoby, Nigh, Searl), Hayden 5 (Walter 2, Huscher, Borjon, Connell). Total Fouls -- Baldwin 14, Hayden 18. Fouled out - Connell. Technical fouls -- none.
