By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- Andale has gotten the better end of recent meetings with Hayden, with the Indians not only handing the Wildcats a heartbreaking three-set loss in last fall's Class 4A state championship match while also taking the past two 3A state title games in football.
Sophomore Sophia Wichman came off the bench to score 11 points and grab five rebounds in Hayden's 54-37 Class 4A state tournament win over Andale Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But Hayden gained a big measure of revenge on Tuesday in White Auditorium, with the No. 4-seeded Wildcats rolling to the 4A state basketball semifinals with a 54-37 quarterfinal win.
Now 20-6 on the season, Hayden will face No. 1 seed and defending 4A champion Wellington (23-1) in a 2 p.m. Thursday semifinal at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Sophomore Sophia Wichman, who gave the Wildcats a big lift with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals off the bench, said no one had to tell Hayden how important Tuesday's game was.
"That came up all this week,'' said Wichman, who was also a member of the Wildcats' volleyball team. "We were all just so hyped up. We were like, 'We cannot lose because we lost in volleyball and in football, so we have to take something back.' ''
No. 5 seed Andale (17-7) led 13-12 at the end of the opening quarter and 17-12 after two straight buckets to open the second quarter, but Hayden outscored the Indians 15-5 over the remainder of the first half to take a 27-22 advantage.
After holding a 15-9 scoring edge in the second stanza Hayden outscored Andale 16-7 in the third quarter to take a commanding 43-29 advantage into the fourth.
Hayden, third in 4A last season after a third-place finish in 3A in 2024, went on to take a game's biggest 21-point cushion (52-31) on a three-point play from sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein and cruised the rest of the way for the 17-point win.
Sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein scored a game-high 14 points with 5 rebounds and 4 steals in Hayden's 54-37 Class 4A state tournament win over Andale Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sophomore Blakely Walter scored 11 points in Hayden's 54-37 Class 4A state tournament win over Andale Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Schmidtlein led all scorers with 14 points and added 5 rebounds and 4 steals while sophomore Blakely Walter scored 11 points with Hayden's lone 3-pointer.
Senior Reese Huscher had a game-high five steals for the Wildcats.
Abbigail Winter led Andale with 12 points, including the Indians' only two treys, while Brooke Grimes added 11 points and Mayla Spexarth grabbed 17 rebounds.
Hayden didn't have one of its best offensive nights Tuesday, shooting 34.4 percent from the floor while going 1 of 14 from 3-point range and just 11 of 26 from the free throw line.
But that was plenty good enough for the Wildcats, who pestered Andale into 31.6 percent shooting and 29 turnovers.
"They came out and our first possession they stole it and got a layup,'' Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. "That was a terrible way to start, but I think the mixture of us playing some man to man, some fullcourt press and then that halfcourt 1-3-1 we played was really effective.''
Wellington advanced to the semifinals with a 51-43 victory over No. 8 seed Concordia.
"I think we've got a team that really pressures well and plays good defense and that will keep us in games,'' Reynoldson said. "I think we've got a good shot.''
HAYDEN GIRLS 54, ANDALE 37
Andale 13 9 7 8 -- 37
Hayden 12 15 16 11 -- 54
Andale (17-7) – M. Aouad 0-1 0-0 0, Mayla Spexarth 1-5 2-4 4, Grimes 2-8 7-9 11, Abbigail Winter 5-9 0-0 12, Stolz 1-5 2-2 4, Orth 2-5 0-0 4, Rau 0-0 0-0 0, Stanhope 1-3 0-0 2, B. Aouad 0-0 0-0 0, R. Winter 0-1 0-0 0, Ali Winter 0-1 0-0 0, Maleah Spexarth 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-38 11-15 43.
Hayden (20-6) – Walter 4-10 2-2 11, Schmidtlein 5-18 4-9 14, Foster 0-4 1-4 1, Huscher 1-2 0-1 2, Watts 2-2 3-6 7, Wichman 5-8 1-2 11, Mitchell 0-3 0-0 0, Slyter 0-0 0-0 0, Borjon 1-3 0-2 2, Wrench 0-0 0-0 0, Connell 3-11 0-0 6. Totals 21-61 11-26 54.
3-point goals – Andale 2 (Winter 2), Hayden 1 (Walter). Total fouls – Andale 18, Hayden 13. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.
