By KLINT SPILLER

The Hays Daily News

MANHATTAN -- On Friday, the Hill City prep girls' basketball team did something that no other Ringneck team had done in 34 years -- make the state championship game.

The Ringnecks (23-2) defeated Mid-Continent-League foe Osborne 49-43 in the semifinal round of the Class 2A state tournament at Bramlage Coliseum to advance to Saturday's state title game.

"I mean, since the first day of practice, (a state championship) has been our goal," sophomore guard Kelsey Keith said. "It is what we have wanted to do. Going into practice on Nov. 17, we thought 'We are going to the state tournament and will compete for a state championship.' "

The two schools that are only 64 miles apart saw each other twice during the regular season, but had to make the three-hour journey here to have their final meeting against each other. With the win, Hill City ended up sweeping the series against Osborne (19-6).

"That is no slouch over there that we played," Osborne coach John Boden said. "They are a great basketball team. I think both teams represented the MCL very well. Lexi Hardiek is a great player. Just the fact that we held her under 20 again is a pretty good accomplishment."

Both teams struggled shooting. Hill City shot 37.5 percent from the field and 25 percent from the 3-point line, while Osborne was even worse, shooting 30.8 percent overall and 17.6 percent from the 3-point line.

However, both teams made up for it in different ways.

Osborne outrebounded the Ringnecks 24 to 12 in the first half, including 16 on the offensive boards.

"That is the way Osborne basketball is," Boden said. "It is being scrappy, rebounding, putting the ball in the hole and pressing."

However, Hill City buckled down in the second half and grabbed 18 rebounds to Osborne's 12.

Hill City also dominated from the foul line, getting sent 14 times and hitting 21-of-28 to Osborne's eight free throws.

"We are definitely a really good free-throw shooting team," junior guard Lexi Hardiek said. "We practice free throws all the time. We are confident there."

Hardiek and Keith led Hill City in scoring with 18 and 17 points, respectively, while junior forward Tayler Money grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Keith was 12-of-12 from the foul throw line with 10 of her free throws coming in the fourth quarter to close out the game.

"I like to be aggressive and go hard toward the basket," Keith said. "The defense usually gets in my way and sends me to the line, so I get to shoot a lot of free throws."

Hardiek, who shot 46 percent from behind the arc during the regular season, had an off shooting night, making 4-of-15 from the field and 3-of-10 from 3-point range. She was good from the foul line, making 7-of-8.

"I didn't shoot the greatest, but when you aren't on, you just have to drive the ball," Hardiek said.

Osborne had four players who each scored eight points: seniors Megan Burch, Andrea Cady, Paige Noel and Emily Girard. Girard also grabbed 14 rebounds.

"I've got eight seniors that are in there that are just sick, because they left some guts out on the floor and just didn't get it done," Boden said.

Failing to box out Osborne, Hill City gave up multiple second-chance opportunities in the first half and fell behind 18-10 midway through the second quarter. It was the biggest lead of the game for either team.

Girard was a big component of that, scoring all eight of her points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the first half.

Hardiek sparked the Hill City offense with a 3-pointer with 4:15 left in the second quarter. It was Hill City's first shot of the period.

The Ringnecks went on an 11-2 run to get the game close again and sent the game into halftime tied 22-22.

"I just knew we were down, and if we kept letting them make their run, it was going to be really hard to come back," Hardiek said. "We just needed to score, and that is what we did."

Osborne struggled shooting in the third quarter and didn't manage to dominate the boards like it did in the first half as both teams had seven rebounds and one offensive rebound apiece in the third quarter.

"We weren't really boxing out, and at halftime, we realized that we needed to box out a little bit better," Keith said. "We came out in the second half and tried to do better."

Hill City took a 36-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Since her team was struggling shooting and had the lead, Hill City coach Linda Nighswonger decided to run more of a stall offense in the fourth quarter, forcing Osborne to foul.

"We didn't really intend to run our stall that long, but we couldn't get anything to fall," Nighswonger said. "We figured they would come out and foul us, but then we didn't do a very good job of holding onto the ball. It almost backfired."

Hill City didn't sink a field goal in the fourth quarter but made 13-of-16 free throws.

Osborne had multiple players in foul trouble, and three players fouled out in the final two minutes, including the team's leading scorer in the regular season, junior guard Jordyn Sturgeon.

"Jordyn Sturgeon just didn't get in the game much tonight," Boden said. "I don't know if she was nervous or pressing a little too much. She got in foul trouble, and when your leading scorer gets in foul trouble, then you are going to have troubles scoring."