By Fred Solis
The Hutchinson Tribune
HAVEN—Haven and Maize played each other to a 27-27 draw through three quarters in the fight for fifth place at the Wildcat Classic last week before the Eagles topped the Wildcats 15-8 in the final frame to claim the 42-35 victory.
The game was tight and tied at end of each of the game’s preceding three quarters—8, 18, and 27 points, respectively.
It looked like Maize was going to pull away from Haven when they spurted out to a 16-11 lead about midway through the second quarter. But Haven tied it on a basket by Hadley Idacavage and a trey by Hallie Williams at 2:41. Avery Brawner then got a bucket to put Haven up by two but Maize got a buzzer-beater to go and tied the game at 18 at the break.
The two squads matched firepower again in the third quarter and neither could gain an advantage.
But the Eagles used an 11-3 run to go up 38-30 with 3:54 to go in the game. Haven got just five points the rest of the way on four free throws by Brawner and one by Rilynn Patry.
During that fateful fourth quarter, the Wildcats also committed eight fouls and four turnovers, taking them out of any offensive rhythm. Haven had 16 turnovers and 11 fouls on the night, while Maize had 11 turnovers and was whistled for 18 fouls.
Haven 51, Valley Center 24
In Haven’s second game of the tournament, the Wildcats outscored Valley Center 10-6 in the first quarter, with six of the points belonging to Brawner. She had a game-high 24 points and Patry joined her in double digits with 10 points.
Valley Center opened the second quarter with a 3 to make it a one-point game, but Brawner exploded with 10 straight points to push Haven’s lead to 20-11 with 1:25 to go in the first half. The Hornets got a basket and the Wildcats got a late free throw to make it a 21-11 game at the end the of second quarter.
Haven opened the third quarter on a 5-0 run before Valley Center got a bucket at 5:04, their first points since 3:17 in the second quarter. By then the Wildcats were enjoying a 13-point lead. Haven expanded their advantage to 18 points, 40-22, by the end of the third quarter.
The Wildcats owned the fourth quarter as well, as they used a game-ending 11-2 run to put away the Hornets. Brawner finished with a game-high 17 points and was named to the all-tournament team.
Garden Plain 52, Haven 32
In Haven’s opening game against Garden Plain, Haven enjoyed an 11-10 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Owls went on an 11-4 late second-quarter run to go on top 25-19 at halftime.
Garden Plain made halftime adjustments that shut down Brawner and the Wildcats’ offense.
“They were very aware of her,” said Haven Coach Dwight Roper, referring to Garden Plain’s second-half defense of Brawner. “They did a good job of doubling down on her when she caught the ball and we didn’t do a good enough job of using her.”
Brawner scored 11 points in the first half but was shut down with just one point in the second half. Overall, the Wildcats shot just 10-of-53 from the floor, reflection Haven’s poor shooting in the face of Garden Plain’s zone and defense of Brawner.
“When you’re not making shots, zones or any other defense is pretty effective,” he said. “We just didn’t do a good job of attacking it and then we didn’t hit shots and had too many turnovers.”
The 10-6 Wildcats next home game is Friday, Feb. 6, as they host Smoky Valley.