LINDSBORG, Kan. – In their Central Kansas League openers on Tuesday night in Lindsborg, the Hesston Swathers swept the Smoky Valley Vikings. Both games saw close battles early with Hesston pulling away in the second half.
Girls-Hesston 60, Smoky Valley 42 – The story of the night on the girls side was Hesston’s Kendal Brueggen. The Swathers were shorthanded without two starters including second leading scorer Abby Procter, but Brueggen picked up the slack, dropping 33 points on the night, including five three-pointers and 10-14 from the free throw line. Smoky Valley actually held a 24-22 lead late in the first half, but Brueggen hit a three to put Hesston up 27-24 at the break and the Swathers outscored the Vikings 22-8 in the third quarter to pull away for the 18-point win. Freshman Jacy Proctor added 10 for the Swathers, while Smoky Valley got a third straight double-double from Kat Blanchat with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Hesston is now 4-0 and 1-0 in the CKL, while the Vikings fell to 0-3 and 0-1.
Hesston – Brueggen 33, J. Proctor 10, Williams 7, Krehbiel 4, Yoder 4, Magill 2
SV – Blanchat 14, Haxton 8, Boughfman 7, Eyer 6, Debaere 4, Ryan 3
Boys-Hesston 56, Smoky Valley 35 – In a low scoring game early, Hesston led just 11-6 after one quarter and 21-13 at halftime. The Swathers matched their first half total in the third quarter alone, outscoring the Vikings 21-13 and finishing with a 21-point victory. Jerick Humphreys was the catalyst in the third for Hesston as he hit three straight three-pointers to end the quarter and finished with 12 of his team-high 14 points in that frame. Drew Bartell and Reed Friesen was also in double figures with 12 and 11, respectively. For Smoky Valley, Ty Heitschmidt led the team in scoring for the third time in three games, scoring a career high 18 points in the loss. Kristian Ryan added a season high 11. Smoky Valley dropped to 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the CKL and Hesston improved to 4-0 and 1-0.
Hesston – Humphreys 14, Bartell 12, Friesen 11, Unruh 6, Gonzalez 5, Larson 5, Lumbreras 2, Hansen 1
SV – Heitschmidt 18, Ryan 11, Gengler 2, Pavlovich 2, Anderson 1, Burgardt 1
