By JAYCEE DALE
The Hays High School girls’ basketball team was set to face Abilene on Tuesday night. When the game was finished, the Indians were came to battle to a 47-44 victory.
Hays High led the Cowgirls 11-9 after the first quarter.
The Indians didn’t let the Cowgirls take the lead, increasing their lead to five with 3:15 left in the first half.
Hays High didn’t back down on offense, going into the locker room with a 27-14 advantage.
The closest Abilene would get in the third quarter was nine points, 34-25, entering the final period.
But the Cowgirls got hot in the fourth quarter, making it a one-point game with 4 minutes to go. With two minutes to play, the Indians had a narrow 40-39 advantage.
Abilene hit a 3-pointer with 1:45 remaining, taking its first lead of the game. The Indians trailed by four with 37 seconds to go.
Abilene fouled Hays High’s Tasiah Nunnery, and the Indians hoped to make it a two-point game. But Nunnery missed both attempts.
Reanna Green was able to grab the rebound, though, allowing Nunnery to get an easy layup — pulling HHS with two points with 32 seconds remaining.
Later, Green was able to snag another huge rebound and eventually was fouled while making a shot. The free throw was good, giving HHS a 45-44 lead with 10 seconds remaining.
The Indians played tough defense the final seconds and didn’t allow the Cowgirls to get across half court.
Abilene fouled Brooklyn Schaffer, and she make both free throws to make it 47-44.
Nunnery led the Indians with a career-high 21 points.
Hays High will host Garden City at 6 p.m. Friday at the HHS gym.
