Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports
The Baldwin girls basketball team lost 51-22 against Hayden during a girls basketball game on March 6 at Hayden High School in Topeka. Senior guard Chloe Neufeld is pictured here during a game earlier this season.
TOPEKA — A defensive masterclass by the Hayden Wildcats spelled doom for the Baldwin girls in a season-ending 51-22 loss in Friday night’s Class 4A sub-state title clash.
Hayden (19-6) held the Bulldogs scoreless from the field for a stretch that spanned nearly three quarters, while using an extended 26-3 run to put the contest on ice.
“They just shut us down,” Baldwin head coach Kara Roland said. “We never really could get into a flow.”
To do so, Hayden threw a multitude of defensive sets at Baldwin. The Wildcats unleashed an unrelenting full-court trapping press, and were also stifling with their man defense in the halfcourt. They even deployed a 1-3-1 zone for the first time this season.
“Every single girl on our team plays great on-ball defense,” said Hayden sophomore guard Hailey Schmidtlein, who finished with a game-high 21 points and five steals. “We had a really good, new zone defense (we installed), and you could tell they weren’t quite ready for it. We also have a lot of fearless players who are willing to make the plays.”
Baldwin (11-14) coughed up the rock 25 times while shooting under 20 percent from the field, but also showed some fight after clawing back from an early double-digit deficit.
The Wildcats quickly jumped out to a 10-0 advantage, capped off by buckets from sophomore guard Blakely Walter and Schmidtlein. Baldwin replied with an 8-2 run, receiving scoring contributions from senior point guard Chloe Neufeld, and juniors Carson Chambers and Emme Nigh to slice the deficit to 14-9 at the conclusion of the opening frame.
Despite being outsized at nearly every position, Baldwin tightened up defensively over the final few minutes of the opening frame and early into the second quarter. The Bulldogs capitalized on defensive stops as back-to-back 3’s from sophomore Logyn Scoby and junior Audrey Searl handed Baldwin its first, and only lead of the contest, at 15-14 with 6:21 remaining in the first half.
Hayden closed the half on a 12-1 spurt, punctuated by Schmidtlein’s buzzer-beating jumper for a 26-16 halftime edge. The Wildcats also harassed Baldwin into 15 turnovers, while holding the Bulldogs to just two shots from the field over the final six-plus minutes of the first half.
The Wildcats came out on fire to open the second half, as Schmidtlein, a physical 6-foot-1 point presence on the perimeter, controlled the tempo. After the dust had settled, the Wildcats had outscored Baldwin 14-3 to seize an insurmountable 40-19 lead.
The Bulldogs were held scoreless from the field from just over six minutes remaining in the second quarter until late in the fourth quarter when Nigh vanquished the drought with a triple.
Neufeld, who is committed to play basketball at Ottawa University, said that the Bulldogs faced major adversity this season, which included both injuries and illnesses.
“But we really stayed together and had some big-time players show up for us,” she said.
Neufeld said that she took on a slightly new role this season, going from more of an off-ball guard to a floor general.
“I settled into a role I wasn’t really expecting — not being the leading scorer, but leading in some other stats like assists and steals,” she said. “And that was a great place to be.”
Neufeld, a four-year varsity starter, said she’s “come a long way mentally” since the first day of her freshman campaign, but that building confidence remains a process.
“I have a lot in my bag that I haven’t even shown on the court,” she said.
Neufeld said one of her fondest memories came during the opening round of sub-state play when the 13th-seeded Bulldogs knocked off No. 4 Independence 48-38.
“We were underdogs and won by 10,” she said. “I had a great game, but my teammates and who’ve they’ve been to me are the highlight of the season, and I’ll never forget them.”
Seal said that Neufeld has been a mentor and true team leader.
“Chloe has been such a great leader since my freshman year,” Searl said. “I’ve really looked up to her, and she’s just done an amazing job leading this team on and off the court. Her presence is going to be so missed next year.”
Added Roland, “I’m only in my second year as a head coach, and the seniors (Neufeld and Olivia Henry) have really pushed me to be a better coach. “
Roland said that sophomore guard Cami Collum will likely take over Neufeld’s role next season, and that several other players could go from limited roles to the varsity rotation.
“We have some underclassmen who can get varsity minutes, and I’m really excited to develop them this summer,” she said.
