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No. 3-ranked Hayden girls improve to 4-0 with 61-37 romp past Basehor-Linwood
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- The Hayden girls continued their busy start to the 2025-2026 basketball season with a fourth straight win Tuesday in the opening round of the Paul Terry Classic, with the Wildcats rolling past Basehor-Linwood, 61-37.
Sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein (2) scored a game-high 22 points with three 3-pointers in Tuesday's 61-37 Hayden win over Basehor-Linwood in the opening round of the Paul Terry Classic. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden sophomore Blakely Walter (1) scored 16 points Tuesday as the Wildcats improved to 4-0 with a 61-37 win over Basehor-Linwood. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And while playing six games in the opening two weeks of the season doesn't leave much time for practice, Wildcat coach Carvel Reynoldson is happy with the progress his team has made in the early going.
"After our first game (at Pittsburg Colgan last week) I know I wished that we had more practices, but we had to play two more,'' Reynoldson said. "We kind of worked things out during those games and I think I like (the busy stretch). You learn a lot about your team.''
Reynoldson thought his Wildcat took another step forward in Tuesday's win.
"What we always talk about is that energy and effort are the things you can control all the time and I thought our energy and effort were great, so I'm satisfied,'' Reynoldson said.
"I think we've taken some steps with moving the ball on offense and getting ourselves some pretty good looks.''
Hayden, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, went wire to wire Tuesday against the Bobcats, scoring the opening five points of the game and opening up a commanding 22-9 advantage by the end of the first quarter.
The Wildcats went on to take a 33-16 cushion to the locker room at halftime and put the game out of reach with a 16-9 third quarter before both teams scored 12 points in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore standouts Hailey Schmidtlein and Blakely Walter combined for 38 points to power Hayden, with Schmidtlein scoring a game-high 22 points with three 3-pointers while Walter added 16 points with a pair of 3s.
Basehor-Linwood storms back to stun Hayden boys in Paul Terry Classic, 63-62
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- There were a lot of positives for Hayden's boys basketball team in Tuesday's opening round game in the Paul Terry Classic, with the Wildcats building a 17-point lead over Basehor-Linwood late in the first half and leading by seven points with just a minute remaining.
Senior Connor Hanika (3) scored 17 points to tie for team-high scoring honors in Tuesday's 63-62 Hayden loss to Basehor-Linwood in the first round of the Paul Terry Classic. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Junior Carter Compton (12) scored 17 points with three 3-pointers in Hayden's 63-62 loss to Basehor-Linwood. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But the way the game ended left a sour taste in Hayden's mouth, with the Bobcats storming back to take a 63-62 win over the Wildcats on a pair of free throws with 4.1 seconds remaining.
Hayden junior Mason Becker raced downcourt to get up a potential game-winning shot, but his attempt bounced off the rim as time ran out, dropping the Wildcats to 2-2 on the season.
Hayden didn't get its entire team together until just days before its first game due to the Wildcats' run to the Class 3A state football championship game, leaving Dwayne Anthony's team with precious little practice time.
But Anthony refused to use that as an excuse for Hayden's late-game problems Tuesday.
"I don't think we can blame that on practice time,'' Anthony said. "I think we've got to blame that on abandoning the things that got us to those leads.''
But Anthony was quick to say that the Wildcats will use Tuesday loss as a learning experience and will move on.
"I like my guys, and if that's the challenge that we have is not being hard-headed and sticking the course, then we'll be just fine,'' Anthony said. "We're going to learn, because this hurts.''
Hayden took a 32-15 lead with 1:33 left in the first half on a three-point play from junior Carter Compton, but the Bobcats (1-1) scored the final six points of the half to gain some momentum.
Basehor-Linwood, which got a huge 28-point night from junior Elliott Brown, continued to rally in the third quarter, getting as close as a point and trailing 43-40 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Hayden held off the Bobcats through most of the final stanza and led 60-53 with a minute left before Basehor-Linwood ended the game with a 10-2 run, getting the game-winning charities from senior Chase Young.
Senior Connor Hanika and Compton scored 17 points apiece to lead Hayden while Becker added 11 points.
Seaman girls notch first win in 65-18 UKC rout over Lansing
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The new-era Seaman girls recorded their first win Tuesday, blasting visitor Lansing 65-18 in a home United Kansas Conference contest.
Freshman Baylee Ayres led Seaman with 14 points in Tuesday's 65-18 UKC win over Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Vikings, who are replacing four starters and a ton of production from last year’s state runnerup, rebounded from a tough loss in the season opener against Piper last Tuesday.
“It’s good to get the smiles again,” Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. “I told the girls, ‘Show me that you learned from the first game. Show me that you learned from the practices we had after that.' And I thought the girls did that tonight. I saw a lot of growth just in those few practices we had and that game.”
The Vikings’ rebuilding effort took a step forward with a big second half. Shots started falling and newcomers got in the groove. Junior Brynn Spencer and freshman Kallie Zurmely combined to knock down five of six attempts from beyond the arc after halftime.
But it was another freshman, Baylee Ayres, who led the Vikings in scoring with 14 after not even playing in the first period. After recording four points in the loss to Piper, Ayers connected on five of seven field goal attempts and four of six free throws against Lansing.
“It’s not a surprise,” Tinsley said of Ayers. “We see her effort in practice. She gave us a nice lift. She brings a lot of energy, she’s athletic, and she plays that to her strengths. She’ll continue to get better with confidence.”
The Vikings were hoping to get right against an opponent who had been blown out in its first two outings. But the Lions hung around for more than 13 minutes before it got away. After Seaman ran out to a 13-2 lead, Lansing fought back. By scoring nine points early in the second quarter, Lansing cut the Seaman lead to 17-13. That point total eclipsed the Lions’ average of 10 points from their first two losses.
Seaman responded to the threat by running off 13 unanswered points to extend its halftime lead to 30-13.
Nine different Vikings scored, with four players tallying at least nine points. But it was the defense that produced the rout. Seaman swarmed the Lions, allowing the visitors just one field goal in the second half. In fact, Lansing was permitted just 20 field goal attempts in the contest, of which they hit just six.
Senior Maddie Gragg (32) scored 12 points for Seaman in Tuesday's 65-18 UKC win over Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
For senior Maddie Gragg, a key contributor to back-to-back tournament runs, getting the win helped ease the pain of the rocky start.
“It was rough from the beginning,” Gragg said of the ongoing transition. “I think the first game, everybody was just really nervous. But I think this game was definitely better for us because it’s a lower level (of competition) and everyone got to step up to the plate and score and contribute to it.”
