By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- The Shawnee Heights Lady T-Birds faced off against the Hays Indians in a Class 5A girls semifinal matchup Friday at Koch Arena, but playing without junior starter Pearmella Carter proved to be a major challenge.
Junior Sami Baum led Shawnee Heights with 21 points in Friday's 66-41 Class 5A semifinal loss to Hays. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
The T-Birds struggled to get anything going offensively or defensively and were out-rebounded 40-22 in a 66-41 loss.
Carter’s absence was felt throughout the night, particularly in the post.
“Her being out was definitely a factor,” said Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells. “She’s been one of our post defenders all year, and we had girls playing post that hadn’t played much post defense throughout the season. They had a couple really good post players, and we knew that coming in.
"We tried to give them some help and do some things for them, but obviously it wasn’t enough with the way they were scoring inside and outside. It was a tall task for us tonight.”
The T-Birds also could not find their rhythm from beyond the arc, finishing just 1 for-17 from 3-point range. Their lone three came in the third quarter from Sami Baum.
“It was just one of those nights where we had a couple misses early and it kind of got in our heads,” Wells said. “Then we just kept missing and couldn’t get it going from the perimeter.
"Even some of our layups and point-blank shots were missing. It was just a struggle for us all the way around.”
Shawnee Heights dug itself into an early hole when Hays opened the game on a 9 0 run. The T-Birds didn’t record their first points until the four-minute mark of the first quarter when Imani McGlory made a free throw.
Heights was outscored 9-6 the rest of the quarter and trailed 18-7 after one. The second quarter followed a similar script. Hays began the period with another 8-0 run before Baum finally scored for the T-Birds.
The struggles continued as Hays’ Jenna Schmeidler scored nine straight points, helping the Indians take a commanding 35-13 lead into halftime.
Hays never let up in the second half.
Baum tried to spark Shawnee Heights with 11 of her team-high 21 points in the third quarter, but the T-Birds couldn’t string together the defensive stops needed to close the gap.
Hays led 49-24 after three quarters and remained firmly in control.
Baum opened the fourth quarter with a basket, followed by Reianna Vega. KK Emmot added nine points in the final period, but the T-Birds were unable to mount a comeback as Hays secured the 25-point victory.
With the loss, Shawnee Heights will now face No. 1 seed Andover, who fell to St. James 61-44 in the other semifinal. That third-place game is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Wichita State.
Hays was led by Schmeidler, who scored a career-high 33 points in the win.
HAYS 66, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 41
Shawnee Heights 7 6 11 17 -- 41
Hays 18 15 16 17 -- 66
Shawnee Heights (22-5) -- Baum 9-12 2-2 21, Emmot 4-11 3-5 11, Vega 2-11 0-0 4, McGlory 0-5 1-2 1, Schmidt 0-1 0-0 0, Hamilton 1-1 0-0 2, Johnson 0-1 2-2 2, Carlyle 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-43 8-11 41.
Hays (22-5) -- Schmeidler 13-19 0-0 33, Winter 5-13 2-2 12, Buckles 4-8 1-1 9, Humphrey 2-2 0-0 5, Newell 0-0 0-0 0, Rupp 1-3 0-0 3, Armbruster 1-8 0-0 2, Labarge 0-1 1-2 1, Harrington 0-0 1-2 1, Turner 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 5-7 66.
3-point goals -- Shawnee Heights 1 (Baum), Hays 9 (Schmeidler 7, Humphrey, Rupp). Total Fouls -- Shawnee Heights 10, Hays 12. Fouled Out -- none.
