ADAMS — It’s better late than never.

The Hayfield girls basketball team finally found its offensive rhythm in the last few minutes of a 50-39 win over Southland on the road Monday.

After committing 28 turnovers in the first 28 minutes of the game, the Vikings (1-0 overall) took care of the ball and closed the contest out on a 10-3 run over the last three minutes.

Jordyn Krekling, who sat out much of the second half with four fouls, scored on two straight lay-ups off of high screens to put her team up 44-36 with 1:56 left in the game.

“We had a few looks where we finally ran a decent set and got Jordyn the ball off a good screen,” Hayfield head coach Fred Kindschy said. “We executed when we needed to on three possessions in a row. That just took the wind out of their sails.”

Senior guard Kayla Garness found Krekling, who scored 14 points, on both of her lay-ups down the stretch. Garness, who had 14 points and six steals, said the Vikings were motivated to close out strong after leading just 37-34 with 4:32 left in the game.

“We knew we had to push ourselves and show who we are at the end,” she said. “It was a fun game.”

While the Hayfield offense was struggling early on, it was senior center Kiley Severson that kept her team in the game. Severson scored 16 points against a lot of pressure from the Rebels (0-3 overall) and she also grabbed 16 boards. Severson said the middle was open, thanks to Hayfield’s outside threats.

“I’ve got a lot of outside shooters out there, so I can always kick it out,” she said. “We started off slow (tonight) and worked our way into it. We need to start off and set the tempo ourselves.”

The Rebels had five different underclassmen score, but no player reached double figures. Freshman Jana Schammel led the way with nine points.

“As we go along, they’ll figure out their roles. Any night could be anybody’s night,” Southland head coach Bob Sheehan said.

Sheehan said his young squad is getting better with each day and he was pleased with how they battled with the Vikings Monday.

“Once they learn to settle down and get under control we’ll be just fine,” Sheehan said. “They played their hearts out tonight and I was really proud of them. We gave a good team a heck of a run for awhile.”

For Hayfield, Kindschy was happy his squad did something it didn’t do very well last season — close out a close game. His team had trouble finding the go-to scorer down the stretch last season.

“It’s a good win because we answered down the stretch,” Kindschy said. “Last year that was a problem for us, so it was nice to see a couple of seniors step up tonight.”

Hayfield never trailed after taking a 7-6 lead on an early score by Severson.

The Rebels had the ball down 34-31 with seven minutes left in the game, but Beth Felten came up with a steal and she dished the ball to Garness for a breakaway lay-up to make it 36-31 Vikings.

Hayfield’s Kelsey Severson blocked a three-point shot by Kelli Smith at the buzzer of the first half to keep the Vikings up 25-22 at the break.

The Rebels have been missing senior center Haley Janssen since the season opened with an ankle injury. She could be back as early as a week, but the team will make sure she’s full strength before she returns.

Hayfield 25 25 — 50

Southland 22 17 — 39

Hayfield: Kiley Severson, 16; Jordyn Krekling, 14; Kayla Garness, 14; Molly Streightiff, 4; Beth Felten, 2; Kelsey Severson, 2; Alyssa Selk, 1; free throws: 45 percent (10-for-22); rebounds: 38 (Severson, 16); turnovers: 28

Southland: Jana Schammel, 9; Kelli Smith, 5; Madilyn Schmitz, 5; Brandi Schammel, 5; Breanne Vogel, 4; Hilary Bottema, 4; Brianna Reinartz, 3; Lindsey Bottema, 2; Sarah Nelson, 2; free throws: 60 percent (6-for-10); rebounds: 26 (Reinartz, 7; Brandi Schammel, 6); turnovers: 31