By Moses Leos III
It was a night of reclamation Friday as the Hays Lady Rebels not only defeated the Anderson Lady Trojans 64-38, but also punched their ticket to the playoffs in the process.
“These girls were not going to lose,” head coach Danny Preuss said. “From the get-go, I challenged them to be the more physical team. They did that for four quarters.”
Three Lady Rebels scored in double figures, led by senior guard Karlie Schroeder’s game high 18-points. Junior Tara Ramsey contributed 14-points, while sophomore Amanda Benjamin had ten points.
With the win, Hays (20-8, 10-2) clinches the program’s seventh straight playoff berth with four games remaining.
Guiding Hays was an offense that executed from the floor. In addition, the Lady Rebel defense stymied an Anderson offense that scored 81 points on Jan. 20.
“We wanted to make a statement,” Madison Zapata said.
Hays’ physical and up-tempo play began from the onset. The Lady Rebels led 18-7 heading into the second frame.
Hays continued to build its lead in the second quarter. Despite missing several buckets, Hays outscored Anderson 9-4 to take a 27-11 halftime lead.
Hays hit the gas in the third frame, outscoring Anderson 19-8 in the quarter.
Preuss said the team was playing “in sync, making the extra pass” and knocking down layups.
Having multiple players contribute on offense also played a part in the team’s success.
“I have someone that steps up every other game,” Preuss said. “One night, it may be Karlie. Another night, it may be Choon [HeeChae] or Gabbi [Bosquez]. I think Karlie stepped up, but everyone played well.”
A bucket from sophomore Jaden Williams at the horn gave Hays a commanding 46-19 heading into the final quarter.
But Anderson, guided by physical play, rallied back to cut Hays’ lead to 50-32.
Hays found its groove in the final 3:26 of the game, kick started by a three-pointer from Chae. The Lady Rebels closed the game on a 12-6 run.
“I felt [Anderson] was hustling a little better. We had to hustle and play through,” Zapata said.
While Hays claims a playoff berth, the focus now lies on playoff positioning. But for Preuss, putting together four complete quarters of basketball was important.
“[The win] was very important,” Zapata said. “Now we have to finish out the season.”
Coming up
Hays hosts Westlake on Friday and travels to play state ranked Bowie on Tuesday.
