Game Notes: Haven at Halstead

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Haven Wildcats traveled to Halstead tonight for a contest with very meaningful implications for 3A sub-state seeding. Entering the evening Haven sat tied with Hoisington atop the Hoisington sub-state and the Dragons were a game up on both Santa Fe Trail and Hesston in a Southeast of Saline sub-state that includes six teams with winning records. A win for either team locked up a sub-state top seed. A loss could drop either out of the top see. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game opened as a tight contest with Halstead taking a 12-9 lead into the second quarter. The Dragons scoring was spread around while Haven's [player_tooltip player_id='544003' first='Avery' last='Brawner'] scored 8 of the 9 points. In a first half marked by the Dragons missing a bushel of layups the Wildcats were not boxing out and got hammered on the offensive glass. And while the Wildcats struggled to take advantage of their substantial size advantage on the offensive end due to inconsistent entry passes and guards missing open players the team had a block party defensive end with several players getting swats. Halstead opened a 22-15 lead headed into the half. The second half had a bit of a different script. Haven took control of their defensive glass and Halstead, while burying a few timely threes, tried mightily with their full court pressure to break the game open. The teams battled to a draw in the third leaving Halstead with a 34-27 lead. Haven's bigs made big shots around the hoop and off mid-range jumpers to get the game within 4 points twice in the fourth but Halstead hung on for a 43-38 win with timely perimeter shots and several made free throws. With the win Halstead locked up the top seed in the Southeast of Saline sub-state while Haven, despite having beaten Hoisington, dropped a game back in the Hoisington sub-state. Several players for both teams had good moments but below are players who especially stood out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Halstead</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='872360' first='Dalaina' last='Schutte']</strong>, 5'9", SF, 2025 - Schutte played a major role on both ends of the floor. Facing a bigger, stronger Wildcat team with a pair of posts with serious hops defended block post-ups well and was sticky versus the flex style offensive Haven ran. Offensively she hit a timely three late and knocked down free throws to help keep the Wildcats an arm's length away. Expect her to enter the class rankings next month.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='396409' first='Dominique' last='Schutte'], 5'11", CG, 2024 - Schutte did a little bit of everything offensively from running the point to hitting a couple three balls to making nice plays within the paint. She moved very well without the ball and made consistently good decisions passing. Defensively she challenged shots well when she got the opportunity but often was guarding weaker Haven guards to help her stay out of foul trouble. Her length proved to be important defensively but frankly her effectiveness was diminished by the constant shuttling in and out of players that kept her off the floor too much. She never got into a offensive flow.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='544036' first='Addisen' last='Wills'], 5'5" PG, 2026 - Wills was terrific all game and was vocally taking charge at the point during crunch time. She and senior point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='862406' first='Lauren' last='Wilson']</strong> were effective off the bounce in the first half, consistently getting to the hoop against defenders lacking the quickness to stop them. Wills handled the ball with speed, pushed tempo at every opportunity, and defended fiercely on the perimeter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Haven</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='544003' first='Avery' last='Brawner'], 5'11", PF/C, 2026 - Brawner and teammate [player_tooltip player_id='616756' first='Sienna' last='DeFrain'] took turns dominating the boards in the second half due to their physical size advantage and their hops. Easily the biggest and physically strongest player on the floor for either team she scored 8 of her team's first 9 points and finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Scoring inside was one thing but getting to the line and knocking down free throws all game and hitting a few mid-range jumpers in the second half were huge. Fast with good hands, finishing through contact ability, and with terrific hops Halstead could not stop her inside.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='616756' first='Sienna' last='DeFrain'], 5'9", PF, 2025 - With her solid frame and good hops DeFrain worked along side teammate [player_tooltip player_id='544003' first='Avery' last='Brawner'] to dominate inside play on both ends in the second half. Finishing with 14 points she used her length, quickness and speed to create opportunities on both ends of the floor. She scored inside well but also showed the ability to score the mid-range, challenged jumper. She got the line frequently but maybe shot 50%. Improving that will make her a walking three point play. Defensively she was often matched up with Ottawa University commit [player_tooltip player_id='396409' first='Dominique' last='Schutte'] and did a credible job of staying with her inside the arc. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='231277' first='Sadie' last='Estill'], 5'10", PG, 2024 - The return of Estill from an injury incurred late last summer was literally a big difference maker. Several inches taller than most of the Halstead guards she made consistently strong passing decisions against the Dragons' full court pressure. Despite not being a factor in the scoring column Estill showed herself to have the best perimeter handles on the team. She showed terrific speed and hops. Her lateral quickness is not completely back but her length disrupted drives to the basket off the bounce and affected shooting decisions on the perimeter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->