The Manhattan High girls were not able to pull off a season sweep of Centennial League foe Hayden, falling in Topeka 66-61 Tuesday evening.
In the first matchup between these two in Manhattan back on Jan. 16, the Indians (15-5, 5-2) put on a defensive clinic, allowing just 10 points in the first half on the way to a 13-point victory.
However, Tuesday’s matchup featured a lot more offense from the Wildcats (15-4, 6-2), as they jumped out to a 12-point, 26-12 lead after the first quarter.
Hayden led by as much as 15 in the first half, but a strong second-quarter effort from MHS cut the Wildcat lead down to seven, 42-35, heading into the second half.
The Indians came alive out of the break, outscoring Hayden 18-6 in the third quarter and leading by as much as seven heading into the final period.
Unfortunately for Manhattan, that’s when the offense dried up. After seven scoreless minutes for the Indians, Hayden had taken control, using an 18-8 fourth quarter to leave MHS with a tough road loss.
Kat Ball put up a game-high 21 points, followed by 16 for Evie Banks, 10 for Delaney Larson, six for Bailey Busch, five for Jorryn Hall, two for Avery Ingram, and a point for Jelena Depusoir.
For Hayden, star Hailey Schmidtlein had 20 points, followed by 13 for Sophia Wichman, 11 for Lauren Borjon, 10 for Blakely Walter, six for Alana Mitchell, four for Emberly Connell and two for Kadence Watts.
After two straight losses, the Indians will look to get back to their winning ways on Friday when they host rival Junction City. The Indians beat the Blue Jays 66-31 back on Jan. 13 and will be looking for their 36th straight win in the series.
HAYDEN 66,
MANHATTAN 61
Hayden (15-4, 6-2) — 26; 16; 6; 18; — 66
MHS (15-5, 5-2) — 12; 23; 18; 8; — 61
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
MHS — Ball 21, Banks 16, Larson 10, Busch 6, Hall 5, Ingram 2, Depusoir 1.
Hayden — Schmidtlein 20, Wichman 13, Borjon 11, Walter 10, Mitchell 6, Connell 4, Watts 2.