With the holidays over and resolutions made, it was time to resume the 2020 portion of the basketball season, and the Lady Jays were ready to hit the hardwoods. The Kansas Basketball Coaches Association (KBCA) showed the 5-0 Bluejays some love and gave them a number five ranking in 3A just before the break, and now it was time for them to show why they deserve the recognition.

Sabetha resumed the season by traveling to the 2-3 Hiawatha Red Hawks on Tuesday, Jan. 7. Hiawatha was on a three-game skid headed into the contest and were looking for their first Big Seven win.

The Lady Jays blanked their host in the opening frame and also would dominate the rest of the contest — taking a 49-16 win on the road.

“We played well, especially considering we were coming back from the long layoff of Christmas break,” said Head Coach Nate Bauman. “I thought we were really good defensively and on the boards, which are two things we can always control with effort and discipline, two of our greatest strengths.”

The Lady Jays used a three-quarter court trap to force turnovers and then fell back into a zone to limit Hiawatha’s access to the lane. Melinna Schumann led her team in scoring in the first period — putting up 5 points on her way to finish the night with 22. Leah Renyer had 4 points, and Hannah Wertenberger had 1. Sabetha led 10-0 at the end of one.

The Jays managed just 9 points in the second quarter as they struggled a bit to get their shots to fall.

“We did not shoot it as well as we are capable of, but we did take good shots for our team and continued to share the ball well,” Coach Bauman said. “Hiawatha really plays hard on defense and certainly deserves some credit for making it difficult for us to score at times.”

Sabetha led 19-7 at the intermission, but the Red Hawks applied additional pressure to start the second half.

“They really try to pressure the ball in their half-court defense, and when teams do that we need to be able to attack that pressure by getting the ball inside,” Coach Bauman said. “I thought we did a good job of executing that to extend the lead.”

Five Bluejays scored in the third quarter, with Schumann adding 7 and Wertenberger putting in 4. They found paths to the lane and stretched their lead to 20.

Hiawatha was kept scoreless in the final frame, and the Lady Jays would cruise to a 49-16 road victory.

Sabetha improved to 6-0 and will host 6-0 Nemaha Central Thunder on Tuesday, Jan. 14. The Lady Jays’ game on Friday, Jan. 10, was canceled due to weather.