EMPORIA, Kan. — No. 7 seed Hesston erased most of an early double-digit deficit and briefly pulled even in the fourth quarter, but No. 2 Silver Lake pulled away late for a 54-45 win in the Class 3A girls state quarterfinals Wednesday night at White Auditorium.
Silver Lake (26-1) built a fast start and led 25-9 after the first quarter before Hesston (17-10) settled in and chipped away. The Swathers cut the margin to 28-21 by halftime and trimmed it to 39-33 heading into the fourth quarter.
Hesston battled all the way back to tie the game early in the final period, but Silver Lake responded behind a dominant performance from Kailyn Hanni, who scored a game-high 29 points to help the Eagles regain control and close out the win.
Jacy Proctor led Hesston with 15 points.
Silver Lake advances to Friday’s Class 3A state semifinal and will face No. 3 Holcomb (25-2) at 3:30 p.m. inside Hutchinson Sports Arena. Holcomb advanced with a 45-32 win over No. 6 Ellsworth on Wednesday at United Wireless Arena in Dodge City.