By RANDY GONZALES

rgonzales@dailynews.net

For goodness' sake, Taylor Goodness was too good Tuesday night.

Goodness, a 6-foot senior forward for the Salina South girls' basketball team, scored a season-high 33 points in a 71-36 win over Hays High at the HHS gym.

Salina South, ranked 10th in Class 5A, was leading by a single point at halftime, but outscored Hays High 29-2 in the third quarter to blow past the Indians.

"I don't think I ever experienced a 29-2 mismatch like that," said Hays High coach Kirk Maska, whose team was held without a basket in the third quarter.

Goodness -- who will play volleyball at University of Central Missouri -- had no such trouble. She scored 17 points in the third quarter, and made all five of her shots in the period, including a personal 9-0 run. Goodness scored inside at will, shooting both right-handed and left-handed bank shots for buckets. Goodness finished 12-of-15 from the floor and 9-of-10 at the foul line.

"The Goodness girl is amazing," Maska said. "She goes right, she goes left -- she's an athlete.

"I felt sorry for whoever was guarding her; the help wasn't there. They spread the floor and get the ball inside," he added.

Hays High also had a slow start to start the game, trailing 10-0 before rallying to get within 12-6 at the end of the period.

The Indians outscored the Cougars 18-13 in the second quarter to trail 25-24 at halftime. Sophomore forward Paige Lunsford scored seven of her team-high 11 points in the second quarter.

"We kind of got back in the ballgame in the second quarter," Maska said.

Maska was hoping his team would carry over that momentum into the second half.

"We kind of have been in every game," Maska said.

"I was excited, thought we would come out with a lot of energy in the second half. Didn't happen," Maska added.

Salina South (9-4) led 54-26 after three quarters. Maska emptied his bench in the final minutes.

"Biggest thing, I called a timeout," Maska said. "It's a 30-point (deficit). It's about pride, it's about heart. I thought they played hard."

Junior center Lindsey Schmeidler added 10 points and seven rebounds for Hays High (4-10), while junior center Sally Thompson pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for Salina South. Junior point guard Logan Antenen added 12 points for the Cougars.

Hays High returns to Western Athletic Conference action on Friday at Garden City.