Story by KYLER ROWDEN-STUM Photos by PARKER NISBETH
Tiger Media Network
The first Hays City Shootout inside the brand-new Hays High gym delivered atmosphere, noise, and plenty of early-season intensity—but it was the Hays High Indians who seized the moment, knocking off rival TMP-Marian 57-22 in the opening round Thursday night.
Behind a balanced effort and a strong defensive second half, Hays High opened its season 1–0, while TMP begins its year 0–1 with a young roster still finding its identity.
TMP head coach John Linn: “We just have to keep improving.”
Despite the loss, TMP head coach John Linn said the experience is valuable for a Monarch team that entered the tournament as the smallest school in the field.
“We just have to keep improving each day,” Linn said. “We know the competition here is going to be tough… As long as we keep a positive attitude and keep working hard, we can eventually make good things happen.”
Linn emphasized that quick turnarounds will test his team throughout the weekend.
“We don’t have a lot of downtime,” he said. “We play again tomorrow and the same thing Saturday. Our girls just have to come with positive attitudes and give max effort all the time.”
The biggest point of improvement, Linn noted, was physicality—especially on the boards and in ball-handling.
“We’ve got to be more physical. There were a lot of times where we got our hands on a rebound and they just grabbed it away from us,” Linn said. “Offensively, they pushed us off our spots. We have to do a much better job of dictating instead of letting other teams dictate to us.”
Even with the struggles, Linn said this team’s ceiling is far from reached.
“What we look like today will not be what we look like at the end of the year,” he said. “Our girls have a lot of growth in them… We’ll be a different team when it really matters.”
Schmeidler, Hays High embrace the moment in new gym
For Hays High, the win was more than just a good start—it was a celebration of their first official game in the new facility.
Junior guard Jenna Schmeidler, who played a key role in the victory, said the crowd brought an energy the team fed off all night.
“The atmosphere was awesome tonight,” Schmeidler said. “It wasn’t our best game, but it wasn’t terribly bad either. Defensively, we definitely need to clean it up, and on offense too, but for a first game, it wasn’t too bad. I think we have a bright future this year.”
Schmeidler said the community support is already making an impact.
“The support means so much to us,” she said. “It just makes us want to play even harder because they’re always behind us.”
With the win, Hays High advances to play Hugoton in the championship semifinal round on Friday.
“Coach just wants us to get some rest, lock in, maybe watch some film,” Schmeidler said. “We watched some of Hugoton already—we just need to get prepped and give it our all.”
Before heading out, Schmeidler summed up the night simply:
“Our new gym is awesome, and I love it. Thank you to everyone who came out to support us.”