Pictured is sophomore point guard Kyla Hamel- courtesy of Tanner Colvin

The Salina South Cougars ended their first month of the season on the road at Valley Center on Friday night in a pair of Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League games.

Girls: Salina South 43, Valley Center 35

The Salina South Lady Cougars snagged a sixth-straight victory in the first matchup, defeating a pesky Hornet squad 43-35.

Valley Center started the game red hot from three-point range, thanks to the shooting of Rachel Garten, who made four first half threes and led all scorers with 16 points at the intermission.

Salina South struggled early to find their offensive rhythm, but leaned on their leading scorer, Paityn Fritz, to pull them out of their early rut. Fritz scored 12 in the opening half, including a pair of threes to lead the Cougars to a 23-20 advantage heading into the locker room.

In the second half, South’s defense dictated the tempo, frustrating the Hornets and holding them to just 15 points the rest of the game. That defense would lead to offense on the other side, once again led by Fritz’s efforts down low.

Fritz would finish the game with 23 points and was a perfect 5-5 at the free throw line to help ice the victory.

Additionally for South, Brooklyn Jordan scored nine points, and Kyla Hamell added six.

For Justin Ebert’s team, they improve to 6-1 overall on the year, and will take a 2-0 AVCTL record and its six game winning-streak into the holiday break.

Boys: Valley Center 53, #6 5A Salina South 43

The boys contest would be a near mirror image of the opener at the start, with Valley Center jumping out front early until the Cougar offense would settle in.

Sawyer Walker would jump start South’s scoring with three triples in the first half, and a team-high 11 points at the break, while Valley Center struggled to find offense to close the second quarter.

Valley Center’s offensive hardships in the second period would see them held to just 17 points at the half, and the Cougars in front, leading by six (23-17).

In the second half, Valley Center’s defense would then dictate the finish. Running a unique 2-1-2 zone, the Hornets began to wear down South, creating numerous turnovers that would lead to points in transition, along with quality offense for the home team.

Valley Center would then heat up from three point range, led by the tandem of Nash Jamalod and Rylan Bailey, who each would score 15 points.

The Cougars turnover issues would see them struggle to find the bottom of the basket after halftime, scoring 10 of their 20 second half points at the free throw line, and managing just five made field goals in the third and fourth quarters combined.

Gavin DeVoe would provide the only offensive spark for South in the second half, carrying the load for 15 points at the end of the contest, but it wouldn’t be enough to keep the #6 ranked team in Kansas Class 5A among the state’s unbeatens.

Valley Center would outscore Salina South 36-20 in the second half, and 25-13 in the fourth quarter to claim a 53-43 victory to end the night’s festivities.

The loss is the first of the year for the Cougar boys, ending their six-game winning streak and sending them into the holiday break at 6-1 overall and 1-1 in the AVCTL.

Salina South will be back in action on January 2nd at home against the Derby Panthers.