By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
A meeting of two of the top girls teams in the 4A classification went the way of the Hayden Wildcats Thursday. The Wildcats blew out Eudora 53-30 in the final regular season game, a match with plenty of postseason implications.
Millie Ramsey led Hayden with 17 points in Thursday's 53-30 Night win over Eudora. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The final rankings by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association had Hayden ranked second, one spot ahead of Eudora. The regular season clash at Hayden was important because five of the top six teams in 4A are in the East bracket, with Eudora tentatively seeded first prior to Thursday night.
“We will be seeded first now, because we’re both 18-2 and the tiebreaker is head-to-head,” said Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson. “I think this is going to give us a confidence boost because we haven’t played many 4A teams. So, to beat (Eudora) pretty good, that’s got to give us confidence moving forward.”
Hayden slowly pulled away from the visitors in the first half, sparked by 11 points from senior point guard Norma Greco.
An 8-0 run by the Cardinals in the third period re-invigorated their hopes. But with the Hayden lead shaved to just 34-28, the Wildcats clamped down. They ran off 11 unanswered points to finish the period leading 45-28. The Wildcats then milked the clock, outscoring Eudora 8-2 in the final quarter.
“We played really good help defense. Hailey Schmidtlein did a great job on their best player,” Reynoldson said. “The thing about Eudora is they are very well coached. They have great scouting reports, and they guard the scouting reports really well. I thought if we hit some shots, it would be a great night for us. But I knew it was going to be tough. I have a lot of respect for (Eudora).”
Senior Norma Greco scored 11 points in Hayden's 53-30 win over Eudora Thursday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden senior Amelia Ramsey was held to five points in the first half. But she hit all five of her field goal attempts in the second to finish with 17. Greco and Schmidtlein added 11.
“We’re feeling great. It was emotional, being senior night,” Greco said. “We wanted this one bad, especially since we lost to them last year.”
Greco said, aside from the impact on seeding, the victory added to the confidence of the Wildcats.
“We were confident going in already,” Greco said. “You have to be. Otherwise, it never helps if you think you’re going to lose. But I think this really helps. It shows us that we can go a long way.”
HAYDEN GIRLS 53, EUDORA 30
Eudora 7 8 13 2 -- 30
Hayden 16 19 8 -- 53
Eudora (18-2) – Keltner 0-3 1-2 1, Deterding 3-10 0-0 7, Brunkow 4-9 0-0 8, Dye 3-10 0-4 6, Kuntz 1-1 0-0 2, Owens 2-6 0-0 4, Reitcheck 1-3 0-0 2, Warren 0-1 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Jayne 0-0 0-0 0, Brooks 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Allison. Totals14-43 1-6 30.
Hayden (18-2) – Schmidtlein 4-11 2-6 11, Ramsey 7-10 2-2 17, Reid 2-4 0-0 6, Meier 4-12 0-2 8, Greco 4-8 0-0 11, Foster 0-1 0-0 0, Huscher 0-1 0-0 0, Walter 0-0 0-0 0, Watts 0-0 0-0 0, Borjon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-47 4-10 53.
3-point goals – Eudora 1 (Deterding 1), Hayden 6 (Greco 3, Reid 2, Ramsey 1, Schmidtlein 1). Total fouls – Eudora 8, Hayden 4. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
