GREAT BREND, Kan. — The Hutchinson Salthawks were on the road again Friday night, traveling to Great Bend for two non-league games with a familiar foe in the Panthers. Hutch managed a split with the Panthers with the Salthawk girls dropping the first game, 44-36, and the boys winning, 71-61.
Girls Recap
Great Bend led 20-19 at halftime, then pulled away by outscoring the Salthawks 24-17 in the second half of play.
Washburn commit Sadie Spray led the Panthers with 21 points. Emilee Hall added 10 to help Great Bend go to 7-2 on the season.
Hutchinson falls to 4-3, dropping their second straight game this week. The Salthawks led by Kaia Smith's 15 points. Grace Posch was close behind with 14, Azariah Dawes chipped in 6 and Rachel Tomac added 1.
The Salthawks host Derby on Tuesday at the Salthawk Activity Center for a 6 p.m. tipoff.
Boys Recap
Trailing at halftime 41-40, the Salthawks rallied back to outscore the Panthers 17-8 in the third quarter en route to a 71-61 win over Great Bend.
Jax Heneha had the hot hand early by scoring from long range to finish with a career-high 17 points. Julian Smith came on strong with corner triples to lead the Salthawks in scoring with 18. Terrell King scored 12, eight of which came in the second half. Devon Spiller added 8 and Taishaun Govain came off the bench to add 9 strong points. Treyden Tecklenburg scored 3 first half points for the Salthawks.
Ian Premer kept Great Bend close with 14 points but fouled out late in the contest. Maddox Spray added 13 and Carter Coombs had 8. The Panthers fall to 6-3 on the season.
Next week is tournament week for the 6-1 Salthawks, as they travel to McPherson to play in the McPherson Invitational Tournament. Seeded No. 2 in the tourney, Hutchinson opens with St. James Academy out of Lenexa.
St. James was 1-6 going into Friday nights game with Blue Valley, but has played some very good competition so far in the season.