Great Bend’s leading scorer Regan Unruh made the game’s key play with an assist.
The Panthers held a 37-36 lead on Hays High when Unruh found Carly Boyd for a crucial inside basket with 1:40 left.
“I was just trying to make a play to help my team,” Unruh said. “When your shot is off, you just want to do whatever it takes to win a game.”
The Panthers finished off a 10-0 run to end the game to erase a 36-32 deficit with just over four minutes left. Unruh made two free throws and Lauren Welsch added a free throw for a 42-36 victory over Hays High.
The Panthers appeared in trouble when Audra Schmeidler keyed a 13-3 run with four inside baskets and an assist for a 36-32 lead.
That’s when the Panthers’ scrappy defense pushed the Indians out of their offense in the final minutes. The Panthers are undersized, but feature a lot of quickness. They shut out the Indians in the final four minutes. The defending Western Athletic Conference champions improved to 5-2 and 2-0 in league play.
“Schmeidler hurt us, but we were able to pressure the basketball so Hays could not get the ball inside,” said Great Bend coach Carrie Minton. “The girls stepped up defensively to force a few turnovers in the final minutes. The girls found a way to come back and get a win, which was the most important thing.”
Unruh led  the Panthers with 13 points and Lauren Welsch added 12 points. Unruh made 4 of 11 shots and Welsch, a 70 percent shooter, made 2 of 10 foul shots.
The Panthers somehow overcame 9 of 29 free throw shooting and 14 of 45 field goal shooting. The Panthers made 6 of 13 free throws in the second half.
“There are nights like that where you don’t shoot it that well, and the girls found a way to overcome that,” Minton said. “That was a good win for a team that is gaining experience game-by game.”
Minton didn’t like the 20 turnovers, but the Panthers offset that by getting 21 takeaways
Schmeidler led Hays with 13 points and double-digit rebounds. Mattison Schlaefli added seven points. Ashlyn Parrish gave the Indians the lead with a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter.
“Hays is really improved, as we knew that,” Minton said. “They are really well coached.”
The Panthers’ fullcourt pressure keyed a quick 14-2 start. Welsch and Unruh drilled 3-pointers and the Panthers converted seven Hays turnovers into some easy baskets.
Hays High rallied with a 15-8 edge in the second quarter for a 20-17 halftime deficit. The Indians Schmeidler made a pair of rebound baskets and the Indians converted a 3-pointer.
But the Panthers’ shooting slowed in the second quarter. Great Bend finished the half with 3 of 16 free throw shooting and 3 of 10 shooting from 3-point range. Great Bend converted 7 of 25 field goals.

GREAT BEND 42, HAYS 36
Hays High 2 15 15 4 – 36
Great Bend 12 8 11 11 – 42
HAYS HIGH—Kleweno 1-6 0-1 2; Smith 0-1 0-1 0; Schlaefli 3-9 0-1 7; George 1-5 0-2 2; Schmeidler 6-16 1-1 13; Parrish 2-7 0-0 5; Peckham 0-1 0-0 0; Keller 1-1 3-5 6; Park 0-2 0-0 0; Russell 0-3 2-2 2; Totals 14-50 6-12 36.
GREAT BEND—Kasselman 2-4 1-3 6; Welsch 5-11 2-10 14; Moyers 0-3 0-0 0; Unruh 4-11 3-7 13; Warren 0-1 0-1 0; Mauler 0-8 0-0 0; Kottas 0-0 0-0 0; Boyd 2-4 1-4 5; Dreiling 0-1 2-4 2; Stein 1-3 0-0 2; Totals 14-45 9-29 42.
3-pointers—HH 2-12 (Schlaefli 1-2, Schmeidler 0-2, Parish 1-2, Kleweno 0-4, Park 0-1, Russell 0-1), GB 5-19 (Welsch 2-4, Unruh 2-4, Burkhart 0-1, Moyers 0-1, Mauler 0-5, Stein 0-1, Kasselman 1-3).