Photo courtesy 0f Tanner Colvin

GIRLS FINAL:

DERBY 56

SALINA SOUTH 31

The Lady Cougars returned from their holiday break riding a six-game winning streak, but a familiar challenge awaited them Friday night in the Derby Panthers, a league opponent that has historically given them trouble.

Derby jumped out to an early lead in a first quarter that showed South needed to warm up offensively. After the first eight minutes it was 13-3. The second quarter proved to be much more like the Lady Cougars we’ve seen during their winning streak. They proceeded to outscore Derby 14-2 in the quarter, and with a complete role-reversal, took the lead into halftime at 17-15.

South was forced to match Derby’s physical brand of defense throughout the game, the intensity never left whether they were in man or zone. Picking up full court, applying ball pressure and fighting for loose balls was abundant throughout the entire night.

Offensively, Derby was able to contain South’s leading scorer in Paityn Fritz, keeping her scoreless throughout the game. Fritz was hit on multiple attempts inside the paint but was not granted a single trip to the free throw line, a rare sight for any game she’s ever played in.

So, South was forced to create opportunities outside the arc. Brylee Moss hit three 3-pointers and scored a team-high 11 points. Other scorers included Brooklyn Jordan with four, Kyla Hamel and Elle Barth with two, Sophie Daily with five and Izzy Maxton with four.

Derby began finding gaps in South’s coverage and exploded for 23 fourth quarter points and pulled away to hand the Lady Cougars their first loss to a league opponent and snap their 6-game winning streak.

BOYS FINAL:

DERBY 51

SALINA SOUTH 45

More physical play ensued later on in the Cougars matchup with the Panthers.

Head coach Jason Hooper predicted that playing the Panthers and their relentless pressure would prove to become more of a mental challenge than physical. Several late miscues may have proved his point in the end.

South and Derby were separated by one point after three quarters of play at 31-30. Neither team ever felt in control up to that point, in part because the defensive intensity on both sides never allowed for it.

Every momentum swing stemmed from turnovers, as both teams capitalized on the majority of each other’s mistakes.

Unfortunately for South, those mistakes came with the game in the balance. In the fourth quarter, Derby’s full court pressure began to wear on South and suddenly breaking it wasn’t as simple.

Derby forced a 10-second violation and picked off passes in the backcourt for easy baskets, while South continued to grind in the half court.

Already down four and needing to foul, Derby looked to inbound from the far sideline and got a player loose behind the defense for an easy layup. Being down six with under a minute to go, put the game out of reach.

Derby made its free throws and handed South a second-straight loss to start 2026. The Cougars return home for a matchup with Great Bend on Tuesday.