By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
EL DORADO -- The top-ranked team in Class 4A, the Hayden Lady Wildcats, would go up against 6A Gardner-Edgerton in the semifinal round of the 32nd annual Lady Cat Classic Friday night at El Dorado, with Hayden advancing to Saturday's championship game with a 57-49 victory.
Senior Amelia Ramsey (facing) led Hayden with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 57-49 win over Gardner-Edgerton. [File photo/TSN]
The Wildcats would go up 15-7 at the end of the first quarter and then the second quarter would see Gardner outscore the Wildcats 18-9 and take a 25-24 lead into halftime.
“I told the girls to stay the course and make sure we stay together,'' Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. "It wasn’t the same type of game that we have been used to, where Brylee Meier gets hot and helps us get on a run.”
The senior was 2-9 from the field but would contribute with eight assists on the night.
“Coach told us we have to keep fighting and to stay positive, stay together and don’t yell at each other and don’t get mad at each other, keep fighting and being aggressive,” Hayden senior Amelia Ramsey said.
The Blazers would come out of halftime and take a 33-29 lead in the third quarter and then the Wildcats would go on a 15-0 run en route to outscoring the Blazers 20-8 in the third quarter and leading the rest of the game.
The Wildcats got a big night from their 6-foot senior Ramsey, who would score 19 points and grab 10 rebounds to secure a double-double and help her team advance to the championship game.
“I have been working hard and staying positive,'' Ramsey said. "I feel like this game was pretty tough and we faced a lot of adversity, but overall we stayed positive and after halftime we came out with more energy.”
"She carried us through today, she was our rock and she got put backs,'' Reynoldson said of Ramsey. "We continued to feed her, and she is a very solid player and does what she needs to do for her teammates.”
The Wildcats got a great defensive game from senior guard Norma Greco, who would force nine Blazer turnovers.
Gardner-Edgerton was led in scoring by junior forward Landri Schaffer with 19 points.
With the win the Wildcats advance to a 4:15 p.m. championship game where they will go up against Class 5A No. 5 Maize South (11-1), which defeated Kapaun Mt. Carmel, 58-42.
“They're one of the best teams in the state, they have a great point guard and solid post players and they're a really well-coached team,'' Reynoldson said of Maize South.
HAYDEN 57, GARDNER-EDGERTON 49
Gardner-Edgerton 7 18 8 16 -- 49
Hayden 15 9 20 13 -- 57
Gardner-Edgerton (6-5) — Schaffer 4-10 10-11 19, Kyle 3-8 4-4 12, Ratley 4-7 1-2 10, E.Holle 3-5 0-1 6, A.Holle 0-2 0-0 0, Cox 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 14-34 17-20 49.
Hayden (12-0) — Ramsey 8-13 3-4 19, Schmidtlein 5-9 4-4 14, Greco 4-19 4-4 13, Meier 2-9 4-4 9, Reid 0-3 0-0 0, Watts 1-1 0-0 2, Huescher 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 15-16 57.
3-point goals -- Gardner-Edgerton 4 (Kyle 2, Schaffer, Ratley) Hayden 2 (Meier, Greco) Totals fouls -- Gardner-Edgerton 12, Hayden 11. Fouled out -- None.
