By NOAH HELGET
Salina Post Contributor
Sacred Heart returned home on Thursday and hosted Hays TMP for a girls and boys double header. The Lady Knights fell to the Lady Monarchs 55-45. In the Boys game, Sacred Heart took the lead early and was never down the rest of the game winning over the Monarchs 68-53.
The girls' game was close wire to wire through the first three quarters. Five different Lady Knights scored in the opening quarter as Sacred Heart held a 14-13 lead.
The momentum changed at the 5:06 mark in the second as the Lady Monarchs took a five-point lead and led the rest of the game.
The Lady Knights brought it back within six going into half, down 23-29.
Sacred Heart going into the third quarter needed to take good shots. Never able to lead in the third, Adelyn Lee brought the deficit to within four, with her adding 7 points to her total. The Lady Knights ended the third down by five, 33-38.
Down by three late through the final quarter, five Lady Knights had tallied a bucket. But the Lady Monarchs took charge and went on a 9-4 run to pick up the win.
Adelyn Lee led the Lady Knights in scoring with 11. Mia Hamilton contributed with 10 and Skylar Douglas as well as Nicole Richards both finished with 8.
Sacred Heart Lady Knights fall to 6-8 on the season while the Lady Monarchs go to 9-6 overall.
The Lady Knights will have a quick turnaround as they hit the road for Minneapolis in a League rematch.
The Hays TMP Monarchs never took a lead in the boys' game. They had it as close to one, as they were down 8-9 midway through the opening quarter.
The Knights led 15-8 after the opening quarter and never looked back. They were up at halftime 32-23, and up by nine after three quarters. 17 three three-pointers were made in the contest by both teams, 10 from Sacred Heart and 7 coming from the Monarchs.
Ty Schmeidler led the way with 19 for the Monarchs, and Jacob Seib finished the game with 12, four of the 17 three-pointers coming from Schmeidler.
Maddox Wells led the scoring for the Knights finishing with 21. Will Tuttle finished the game with 19, and Dominic Matteucci finished with 12.
The Knights remain a perfect 14-0 heading into the final game of the week on the road at Minneapolis. The Monarchs fall to 7-8 on the season.