Hays 41 Abilene Cowgirls 25
Hays – The Hays Lady Indians pulled away in the 4th quarter for the victory over Abilene Tuesday night. The Cowgirls put a scare into the #10 ranked team in Class 5A. Abilene fell behind 9-3 at the end of the 1st quarter but responded with a 16-point second quarter. The Cowgirls put together a 9-0 run, late in the first half, that was capped by a Jenna Hayes basket to give her team a 19-17 lead with 40 seconds left. The Lady Indians went on to tie the game up at 19, as they two teams entered the locker-room.
In the second half, Abilene, managed only 6 points in the but the Cowgirls still only trailed 28-24 after a Claira Dannefer bucket with 6:31 to play in the game. Hays would then respond with a 10-0 run to put Abilene away.
The Cowgirls were led by Dannefer, who finished with a game-high 11 points. She was the Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game. Hays improved to 11-6, while Abilene fell to 3-15.
Hays 70 Abilene Cowboys 46
Hays – Abilene faced their toughest opponent of the season Tuesday night in the Hays Indians. Hays with the victory is now 16-1, they are ranked #3 in Class 5A and their only loss is to #1 6A Lawrence Free State in overtime. They brought back two starters from a team that went 22-1 a season ago. Those two players led them in scoring in the win over Abilene. 6’6” Senior, Jace Linenberger finished with a team-high 20 points and Senior, Carson Kiefer totaled 13.
The Cowboys were able to keep the game close for a while because of the play of Senior, Kaleb Becker. He was coming off a season low 8 points in the loss to Wamego last Friday. Becker quickly put last Friday behind him, as he tied his career-high with 27 points.
Abilene fell to 12-6 with the loss and the Cowboys will travel to Clay Center Friday night. The Clay Center girls upset Wamego on the road 42-36 Tuesday night, while the boys fell to the Red Raiders 64-46. Abilene split with Clay Center on January 14, with the Cowgirls losing and Cowboys winning.
