Maize girls surge past Derby in wake of Roland injury; boys lose

Nick Springer, Reporter

Senior HaLee Roland is now out for the season with an ACL injury. Roland joins juiniors Jacey Handy and Brianna Johnson to be sidelined with an ACL injury.
Senior HaLee Roland is now out for the season with an ACL injury. Roland joins juiniors Jacey Handy and Brianna Johnson to be sidelined with an ACL injury.

The Maize boys lost 55-49, and the girls picked up another crucial victory against the Derby Panthers Tuesday night.

The boys had won two in a row heading into Tuesday’s AVCTL matchup against Derby. The Panthers handed Maize their first loss in league play. Despite the loss, the Eagles remain atop the league standings with Salina South closing the gap in second place. The defeat dropped Maize to 10-6 on the season.

The girls picked up a pivotal win after watching their lone senior, HaLee Roland, go down with an apparent knee injury. In the wake of her injury, Maize rallied to grab a critical victory. Roland suffered a torn ACL when she went down awkwardly early in the game.

“Today I found out the game I love more than anything is being temporarily taken from me,” Roland said in an Instagram post.

The Eagles improved to 11-5 while handing Derby their first league loss of the season.

Both teams will be back in action Friday night on the road at Campus.