The 17th Annual Mid-America Classic wrapped up Saturday in McPherson, the day saw an entire slate of action for even the hungriest of basketball appetites.
The championship game had a playful “David vs. Goliath” tone to it as the feel good story of the tourney, Hays High met up with basketball powerhouse McPherson.
The Cinderella story of Hays in the Mid-America Classic is as follows, the Indians bested both Manhattan and Andale to find themselves in the championship game.
The interesting numbers coming into the final game actually found that several key members of the Hays squad were leaders in some of the more important statistical categories during tournament play.
Paige Lunsford came into the game as the top scorer of the tourney; Katelyn Schumacher entered the game with as the leading rebounder and Taylor Herman lead all players in blocks so far in the Mid-America Classic.
Aside from those stats, McPherson came into the mgame with the ultimate number that takes precedent over anything. The Bullpups came into the championship game with a perfect record, from the tipoff they wanted to make sure it stayed unblemished.
However, the gritty play of Hays set the pace of the game in the first half. The Indians got a spark from Paige Lunsford who was simply electric on the floor. Lunsford went 5 for 7 in the first half for a total of 12 points.
McPherson responded with the play of Hailey Ruder, a perfect showing from the field and the free-thrown line saw Ruder put up 14 first-half points.
Hays still held onto a slim halftime lead 25-24. Could the underdog finish off what would be considered an almost improbable run in the Mid-America Classic?
That answer quickly came to life in the third quarter as McPherson simply found momentum and used it to their advantage on both ends of the court.
Ashton Bruner, Katelyn Loecker, and Tanner Hein all knocked down key buckets in that stretch.
In a run that whipped the hometown crowd into a frenzy the Bullpups outscored Hays 20-6 in the third quarter, in the process McPherson would mount a double-digit lead entering the fourth and final quarter.
Hays simply did not have any magic left, the lightning was indeed out of the bottle for the Indians. Nevertheless, Hays has to be commended for leading McPherson at the end of the first and second quarters.
McPherson’s second half rush would land them with the 17th annual Mid-America classic title topping Hays High by a final of 52-42.
Buhler vs. Goddard
The seventh-place game tipped off at the “Roundhouse” at 2 p.m., the game was an offensive treat for those on hand. Buhler and Goddard combined for 140 points; in the end Buhler topped Goddard 78-62.
Manhattan vs. Beloit
Following that game, defense was on display for the fifth-place title. Manhattan, who came into the tournament unbeaten, faced Beloit who was coming off a win over Goddard. The girls from Manhattan took care of business over Beloit 36-42.
Gardner-Edgerton vs. Andale
A gritty 9-2 Gardner-Edgerton squad came out determined to erase the memories of a loss Friday night to the host school McPherson. Standing in the way of the Trailblazers was the girls’ squad from Andale.
Gardner-Edgerton jumped all over Andale in the first quarter with a 17-10 lead. After the Trailblazers opened up a 28-15 halftime lead the mood seemed cemented that they had the third place title safely in hand.
The Trailblazers went on to end the Mid-America Classic on a high note capturing the third-place title over Andale in convincing fashion 61-46.
Gardner-Edgerton found their offensive identity in Shelbe VanDeBerghe and Danie Plank. For starters, VanDeBerghe went 6 for 11 from the field racking up 14 points. Plank was just slightly better going 6 for 9 from the field adding up to a game high 15 points.
