HAYFIELD —The No. 3 ranked Hayfield girls basketball team has started the season out with a gauntlet of a schedule and its hoping that pays dividends for them when the postseason rolls around.

Hayfield faced its biggest test yet as it lost to Byron, which is ranked No. 8 in Class AA, by a score of 67-62 in Hayfield Gym Tuesday.

The Bears (1-0 overall, 1-0 HVL) were led by Ayoka Lee, their 6-5 center who has committed to Kansas State University, as she poured in 31 points and dominated the glass on both ends of the floor. The game saw 11 ties and 22 lead changes and neither team led by more than six.

“That’s a great high school basketball game. This is only going to make us better,” Hayfield co-head coach Kasey Krekling said. “They’re ranked in AA for a reason and Ayoka Lee is going to Kansas State for a reason. She’s that good and we don’t have anybody within five inches of her height.”

Hayfield tied the game up at 62 apiece when Maggie Streightiff hit a three-pointer with 3:35 left, but the Vikings went cold down the stretch. Byron took the lead for good when Hailey Braaten hit two free throws to put her team up 64-62 with 1:51 left and after a Hayfield turnover, Lee put the game away with a three-point play with 33.7 seconds left.

“It was a game of runs and were just on the wrong side of a run at the end of the game,” Krekling said. “[Playing Lee] is very similar to facing [Lyle-Pacelli’s Kristi] Fett and [Goodhue’s Sydney] Lodermeier. They both have size and that’s something we have to get ready for in the future.”

Olivia Matti had 22 points, nine rebounds and three assists for the Vikings (2-1 overall) as she connected on four three-pointers. She’s enjoyed the start to the season as Hayfield has already played two top-teams in Class AA.

“These games are really fun. I really like knowing that it’s going to be a competitive game and having that mind set that we need to do well in order to succeed,” Matti said. “We’ve been doing well and we’re proud of our two wins. Tonight was a good battle and the good thing is we know what we need to work on now.”

Streightiff had 21 points and nine rebounds for Hayfield, Carrie Rutledge had nine points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals and Kate Kruger had eight points, four rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.

Byron 36  31  —  67

at Hayfield 34  28  —  62

Hayfield scoring: Olivia Matti, 22; Maggie Streightiff, 21; Carrie Rutledge, 9; Kate Kruger, 8; Elecia Brown, 2; free throws: 50 percent (3-for-6); rebounds: 34 (Streightiff, 9; Matti, 9); turnovers: 11