BY JIM MISUNAs
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
The Great Bend Panther girls were down double digits when Hays High coach Len Melvin directed the Indians to spread the offensive court.
Indian point guard Carly Lang dictated tempo the rest of the second half as Hays rolled to a hard-fought 48-34 Western Athletic Conference basketball victory. Lang scored 12 points and dished out several assists while expertly handling the basketball.
The tricky Lang was a challenging matchup.
"She's a good player, but we were were behind and had to play man defense," said Great Bend coach Cindy Beck. "She took advantage. We've got to play better in our man defense. Our halfcourt man we have to guard and rotate. We were a step behind. We gave up easy baskets."
Hays (1-2, 2-5) won its first WAC ballgame after averaging 32 points per game. Aleyia Ruder scored 13 points and Reanna Green added seven points as the Indians finished shots inside. The Indians are 2-0 in Barton County after beating Hoisington earlier this season.
The Panthers (0-2, 3-4) have lost back-to-back WAC games against Garden City and Hays with 6A unbeaten powerhouses Liberal and Dodge City still on the schedule for two games apiece.
Sparkplug Sydney Unruh scored nine points and played a strong floor game, but made three of 11 shots. Sadie Spray converted a 3-pointer and scored seven points. The pesky Panthers forced 20 Indian turnovers, but failed to take advantage with 12 of 46 field goal shooting and 17 turnovers.
The Indians led 14-9 after one quarter and 26-16 at halftime. The Panthers started out with a sluggish offensive rhythm with 6 of 25 shooting the first half, 24 percent.
"We've got to come out ready to play," said Great Bend coach Beck. "I'm tired of digging a hole. We've got to play better basketball."
Green, Ruder and Ginny Ke scored to start the second half for a 32-16 lead starting the second half. The Panthers responded as Unruh, Taryn Warren and Candice Smith scored third-quarter baskets for a 38-28 score and the Panthers never got closer. The Panthers made 6 of 21 shots after halftime, 29 percent.
"These girls will always play hard, but we didn't play our best game what we can put forth," Beck said. "We have some girls with confidence issues. We've got to learn from it and get after it Friday."
The Panthers finish a three-game homestand against 6A Hutchinson High Friday night.
INDIANS 48, PANTHERS 34
Hays High 14 12 12 10 — 48
Great Bend 9 7 12 6 — 34
HAYS HIGH (1-2, 2-5)—Ruder 4-6 4-6 13, Lang 5-9 2-4 12, , Flax 0-3 0-0 0, Green 3-7 0-0 7, Johnson 1-2 1-2 3, Ginny Ke 1-3 0-0 2, Lummus 2-5 0-0 6, Engel 2-7 1-2 5, Totals 18-42 8-14 48
GREAT BEND (0-2, 3-4)—Spray 0-4 4-6 4, Unruh 2-6 0-0 4, Warren 0-1 0-0 0, Harbaugh 1-2 0-0 2, Kaiser 0-4 0-0 0, Hall 2-4 0-0 4, Smith 1-4 0-0 2, Totals 12-46 8-17 34
3-pointers—H 4-12 (Lummus 2-4, Green 1-3, Flax 0-1, Engel 0-1), GB 2-10 (Spray 1-2, Unruh 1-4, Warren 0-1, Kaiser 0-3)
