WICHITA, Kan. — Top-seeded Halstead used a strong second half Wednesday afternoon to hold off No. 8 Marysville, 38-31, in the Class 3A girls state quarterfinals at Charles Koch Arena.
The defending state champion Dragons improved to 26-0 and extended their winning streak to 38 straight games, advancing to Friday’s state semifinal at 1:30 p.m. at Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Halstead will face the winner of No. 4 Osage City (23-3) and No. 5 Girard (19-6), who meet at 8 p.m. Wednesday at White Auditorium in Emporia.
Marysville led 20-17 at halftime after outscoring Halstead 11-9 in the second quarter, but the Dragons took control after the break. Halstead opened the third quarter with a 14-7 advantage to grab a 31-27 lead entering the fourth, then limited Marysville to just four points in the final period.
Piper Schroeder led Halstead with 17 points, including two 3-pointers, while Onnyka Nedich added eight points and Bailey Bernal chipped in seven. Halstead finished 13 of 43 from the field and hit 4 of 14 from beyond the arc.
Kacy Roesch paced Marysville with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Aubrey Dressman added 10 rebounds. The Bulldogs shot 11 of 43 from the floor and went 2 of 19 from 3-point range. The stout Dragon defense still has yet to allow an opponent to score over 50 points.