GIRLS FINAL
SALINA CENTRAL 59
TMP 52
The Lady Mustangs were in early season action again Friday night as they took on the TMP Monarch’s in the consolation bracket of the Hays City shootout. After a loss on Thursday against Hugoton to open the season, head coach Paige Talbott and the Lady Mustangs picked up their first win of the season with a 59-52 comeback win on Friday night.
The Monarch’s got off to a quick start scoring their first 12 points of the game from behind the arc as they jumped out to an early first quarter lead. Juniors Hannah Rose and Raegan Allen led the charge early on offense for TMP as they took a 31-24 lead into the locker room over Salina Central. Seven made three pointers from TMP were the difference in the first half, but it was Makambri Hastings and Lexi Guerrero that kept the Mustangs within striking distance as they combined for 18 of Centrals 24 points in the first half.
After another hot start offensively for the Monarch’s, TMP found themselves leading by 12 midway through the third quarter. Coming out of a Mustang timeout Salina Central started heating up offensively and cut the lead down to two late in the third quarter. A few turnovers committed by Central at the end of the third quarter led to a run and a 10-point lead for TMP heading to the final 8 minutes of play.
Despite trailing by 10 points going into the fourth quarter the Mustangs found some stops on defense and the offense heated up quick with the help of Brooke Banninger and Grace Ostmeyer, as the two upperclassmen helped lead the Mustangs from behind. Salina Central went on to outscore TMP 18-3 in the final quarter to pick up their first win of the season, 59-52.
The Lady Mustangs will be back in action tomorrow at 1:30pm at Hays High School with a chance to finish third in the consolation bracket of this year’s Hays City Shootout.
BOYS FINAL
HAYS 55
SALINA CENTRAL 46
The Mustangs entered Friday night 1-0 after an impressive opening game victory on Thursday night against Hugoton that included three Mustang players with 20+ points. On Friday, Salina Central was tasked with a matchup against a very talented Hay’s team in a hostile environment. Despite a hard fought 32 minutes, the Mustangs fell to Hays 55-46.
It was a rather slow start on offense for both teams in the first quarter with the first points of the game not coming until almost three minutes in. Salina Central jumped out to a 7-1 lead midway through the first quarter but the Indians offense came to life in the final two minutes as they grabbed an 11-9 lead over Salina Central at the end of one.
The Mustangs got off to a hot start in the second quarter with the help of Greyson Jones who ended with 11 points in the first half. Defensively, the Mustangs were able to control the paint on both sides of the court, forcing Hay’s into more low percentage shots. It was the final 90 seconds, however, that hurt the Mustangs heading into the half. The Indians applied full court pressure three straight possessions, all three leading to turnovers from the Mustangs, and to Hay’s credit they capitalized on the other end. Salina Central trailed 25-22 at the break. Greyson Jones and Kaden Nienke combined for 18 of the Mustangs 22 first half points.
The Hay’s Indians got off to a quick start in the third quarter going on an 8-0 before the Mustangs could respond. Dawson Ruder, standing at 6 foot 6 for the Indians, took over the game for Hay’s in the second half, scoring 13 points in the third quarter and 21 total points in the second half, a guy the Mustangs limited to just one made field goal in the first half. The Mustangs got back within six points in the final 60 seconds of the game thanks to a big fourth quarter effort from Sophmore Kaden Nienke who finished with 21 points, but it was too little too late as Salina Central fell 55-46 to Hay’s. Kaden Nienke finished with 21 points, followed by Greyson Jones with 15 and Grant Ostmeyer with eight.
The Mustangs will be back in action tomorrow at 3:15pm at Hays Highschool with a chance to finish 3rd in this years Hays City Shootout.
