BUHLER, Kan. – For the second time in a week, the Buhler girls found themselves down by double-digits in the first half, and just like they did on Tuesday, the Crusaders mounted a furious comeback. Hutchinson saw its 17-point lead trimmed to three in the fourth quarter but managed to hold on for a 50-44 victory.
Kaia Smith could not miss early, connecting on four threes that helped the Salthawks build a double-digit lead in the first half. Smith would later knock down two more critical outside shots and finish with a game-high 21 points.
It was 32-15 early in the third quarter when Buhler went to work. Natalya Krafels hit a pull-up three with two minutes to go in that period that cut the lead to nine. In the fourth, a pair of threes, one by Gracie Oard and one by Ella Voss, twice cut the lead to just three.
In the end, however, it was Smith’s deadly release that decided the outcome. She answered both Buhler fourth quarter threes with ones of her own, leading Hutchinson to win by six.
Sammie Brooks finished with a team-high 11 points for the Crusaders. Krafels and Voss both contributed 9 points.
Hutchinson boys 84, Buhler 57 – Some nights it’s just your night. Such was the case for the Hutchinson boys on Friday. The Salthawks raced out to a 13-point first-quarter lead and never looked back.
Hutchinson used suffocating defense and lightning-quick offense to put on a show in front of a packed Jim Baker Fieldhouse. Four Salthawks finished in double-figures, led by Julian Smith’s 26 points. Smith finished six of nine from the three-point line.
A much less experienced Buhler team never quit. After being outscored by 20 points in the first half, the Crusaders narrowed that margin to just seven points in the second half.
For Buhler, Mitchel McDaniel finished with a team-high 15 points. Jared Miller added 10.
Buhler is home again on Tuesday to host McPherson. Hutchinson stays on the road, traveling to Salina South.
