HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Western Athletic Conference
Tuesday
At Panther Fieldhouse
GIRLS
Great Bend 51, Hays 48
HAYS (1-7, 1-1)
Paige Lunsford 2 3-4 7, Emily Pfeifer 2 0-0 5, Janae Gagnon 1 0-3 2, Taylor Herman 1 0-0 2, Hanna Pfannenstiel 0 2-2 2, Megan Bird 1 2-2 4, Karassa Prochaksa 0 0-1 0, Katelyn Schumacher 0 0-0 0, Kinsey Ashworth 1 0-2 3, Lindsey Schmeidler 9 5-11 23. Totals 17 12-25 48.
GREAT BEND (3-5, 2-0)
Brandi Schneider 0 0-0 0, Alexis Brack 3 0-0 9, Kelsey Crosby 0 0-0 0, Olivia Basye 0 0-0 0, Liz Kutina 2 3-4 7, Kaitlee Spray 0 2-2 2, Jennifer Allende 0 3-4 3, Taycee Bunn 1 0-0 3, Cassidy Tutak 2 3-7 7, Kalie LeShore 2 2-3 7, Jordan Haney 5 3-4 13. Totals 15 16-24 51.
Hays 9 7 14 18 — 48
Great Bend 11 15 10 15 — 51
Three-point goals — Great Bend 5 (Brack 3, Bunn, LeShore); Hays 2 (Pfeifer, Ashworth). Fouled out — None.
Look who’s sitting alone at the top of the early-season Western Athletic Conference girls’ basketball standings.
Great Bend High School, which started out the season 1-5, moved its record to 2-0 in conference play after holding off Hays 51-48 Tuesday night at Panther Gymnaisum
The Lady Panthers (3-5 overall) sit a half-game ahead of Dodge City (1-0), which was idle Tuesday night, in conference play. Those two teams meet Friday night in Dodge City.
Tuesday night, Great Bend’s Jordan Haney scored a career-high 13 points and Jennifer Allende converted 3 of 4 free throws in the final 1:21 of the fourth quarter to keep Hays (1-7, 0-2) at bay.
Trailing 51-48, Hays had to go the length of the floor on an inbounds play with four seconds remaining after Great Bend’s Kalie LeShore made the first of two free throws. But Paige Lunsford’s desperation 40-footer bounded off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
Hays had closed to 50-48 with five seconds left in regulation on Kinsey Ashworth’s 3-pointer from right corner. The Lady Indians were forced to foul on the inbounds play, putting LeShore at the line and setting in motion the Lady Indians’ desperation shot.
Great Bend, it seemed, spent the entire fourth quarter answering Hays’ runs.
Hays’ Emily Pfeifer’s 3-pointer with 1:30 left had slashed Great Bend’s lead to 45-42 before Allende converted two free throws at the 1:21 mark and Haney scored on a shot from the baseline 33 seconds later to make it a 49-42 ballgame.
Hays post player Lindsay Schmeidler scored 14 of her game-high 23 points in the second half.
Great Bend converted 7 of 9 free throws in the fourth quarter and made 16 of 24 for the game.
Hays made only 12 of 25 foul shots, including 8-for-14 after halftime.
Great Bend held a 40-32 lead with 6:43 remaining, when Hays started carving into the Lady Panthers’ lead. The Lady Indians got within four points before Haney made two free throws at the 4:41 mark for a 42-36 GBHS lead.
Hays trimmed the margin to 42-39 with 2:34 left, but Haney caught a pass from LeShore near the lane and shot in a basket from near the free-throw line to push the margin to 44-39.
