HAYS — The Great Bend Middle School eighth-grade girls rolled to a 22-13 halftime lead and downed Hays Middle School for their second victory of the season. 

The Panther girls made the trip to Hays full of anticipation and determination to spoil Hays’ home-court advantage. The Panthers led 12-5 after one quarter and 22-13 at halftime. The Panthers (2-0) shut out the Indians in the third quarter for a 33-13 lead to trigger a running clock in the fourth quarter.  

Emilee Hall’s role in the first half was more of a decoy, but she took over the third period with nine of her game-high 13 points. Other scorers were Macy Nachtigal (11), Makenzie Premer (6) and Sadie Spray (5).  

“It’s the most fun I’ve had coaching in a long time,” said Great Bend coach Kyle Jeffery. “We were able to be the dominant team and hush the crowd.  Macy Nachtigal, our birthday girl, started hot on both ends of the floor, scoring our first seven points, and pressuring Hays into several first-quarter turnovers.”

GBMS B TEAM — Hays Middle School rolled past Great Bend 37-16. The B-team (1-1) was unable to connect with the basket in their first loss.  

Maleigha Ribordy scored six points. Other scorers were Halle Post (4), Addy Nicholson (4), Kaleigh Sheets (2).

with 2 points. 

“The girls showed a lot of hustle,” said coach Courtney Maska. “We need to run the plays we work on in practice. We need to be patient and take good shots.”