By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Not a lot from the Washburn Rural girls' second-half performance at Hayden Friday night is likely to make the Junior Blues' highlight reel as things got a little ragged over the final two quarters
But it didn't matter, as the No. 7-ranked (Class 6A) Junior Blues had already put the Centennial League game out of reach by halftime in a 56-32 romp past the Wildcats.
Washburn Rural senior Brooklyn DeLeye splits Hayden defenders Avery Grunert (3) and Lauren Sandstrom (5) during Friday's 56-32 Rural Centennial League romp at Hayden. DeLeye led all scorers with 17 points. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural junior Zoe Canfield (left) had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 56-32 Centennial League win over Hayden. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN
Washburn Rural, which improved to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the league with its fourth straight win, scored the final nine points of the first quarter to take a 19-10 lead over the Wildcats and then outscored Hayden 20-4 in the second quarter to take a commanding 39-14 advantage at the half.
Hayden (3-3, 0-2) actually outscored defending state champ Rural by an 18-17 margin after halftime as the Junior Blues committed 15 of their 18 turnovers in the second half.
"I think overall it was a good win, coming in here and playing, and they're a really good team,'' Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. "I was just wanting us to be more intense on both ends.
"I thought in the first half we were and I thought we had a decent lead at halftime. No matter what we talked about at haltime, which is not what got done, I thought we had this mentality of we can coast and you can't coast against any team, let alone a team like Hayden and I thought they outplayed us in the third and fourth quarter.''
But the Junior Blues still forced a running clock over the final four and a half minutes after senior Brooklyn DeLeye converted a 3-point play to put her team up, 56-25.
DeLeye finished with a game-high 17 points and also grabbed eight rebounds while junior Zoe Canfield recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Sophomore Kate Hinck also cracked double figures for the Junior Blues, scoring all 11 of her points in the first half, including three 3-pointers.
Sophomore Kaliya Fulton led Hayden with nine points while juniors Lauren Sandstrom and Avery Grunert added eight points apiece. Fulton and Grunert both canned a pair of 3-pointers on the night.
Washburn Rural will travel to Topeka High next Tuesday to face the No. 6-ranked Trojans while Hayden will travel to Junction City.
Topeka High dropped a 51-40 decision to No. 3-ranked (5A) Emporia Friday night while Junction City fell to Manhattan, 47-25.
WASHBURN RURAL GIRLS 56, HAYDEN 32
Washburn Rural 19 20 10 7 -- 56
Hayden 10 4 8 10 -- 32
Washburn Rural (5-2, 2-0) -- Lutz 3-9 0-0 7, Hinck 4-8 0-0 11, C. Carlgren 3-7 0-0 6, Canfield 3-6 7-9 15, DeLeye 6-9 4-5 17, Horyna 0-0 0-0 0, Ochs 0-0 0-0 0, Bunck 0-2 0-0 0, Schroeder 0-0 0-0 0, Walker 0-0 0-0 0, Haggard 0-0 0-0 0, J. Carlgren 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-41 11-14 56.
Hayden (3-3, 0-2) -- Lenherr 0-3 0-0 0, Sandstrom 3-13 2-4 8, Fulton 3-6 1-4 9, Meier 0-7 0-0 0, Greco 0-2 2-2 2, Grunert 3-9 0-2 8, Cruz 0-0 0-0 0, Reid 1-1 0-0 3, Watts 1-1 0-0 2, Schmidt 0-0 0-0 0, Carswell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-42 5-12 32.
3-point goals -- Washburn Rural 7 (Hinck 3, Canfield 2, Lutz, DeLeye), Hayden 5 (Grunert 2, Fulton 2, Reid). Total fouls -- Washburn Rural 10, Hayden 13. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.
