Girls Final 

Hutchinson 42

Salina South 40

Back on January 9th, the Salina South Cougars defeated the Hutchinson Salthawks 42-20 in a close matchup. This time, it was the Salthawks that edged out the Cougars. With 1.7 seconds left Danai Morgan for Hutchinson scored the final bucket of the game that lead to the 42-40 victory for the Salthawks. 

Throughout the contest it was close, with Hutchinson taking a 18-17 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Salthawks would increase their lead in the second half, but the Cougars were able to cut the deficit and tie the ballgame up late. It wasn’t until the bucket form Danai Morgan that Hutchinson took the lead for good. It was a struggle all night for the Cougars to contain Danai Morgan, as she was effective on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

It was a big milestone night for Paityn Fritz, as midway through the first quarter, she surpassed 1,000 career points at Salina South. Fritz would end the night with 19 points to lead all scorers. Also for the Cougars, Brooklyn Jordan contributed 14 points and Elle Barth and Brylee Moss both had a 3 point basket.

Danai Morgan for Hutchinson ended the night with 15 points and had a big second quarter with 9 points. Tenley Keeton also contributed 13 with 3, 3 point baskets. 

WIth the loss, Salina South dropped to 11-7 overall and Hutchinson improved to 8-8. Salina South will take on Maize next week.

Boys Final

Hutchinson 47

Salina South 39

It was a game that got away from Salina South quickly as the Cougars trailed 21-9 at the end of the first quarter. They would trail by as much as 18 in the second quarter but fought their way back to cut the deficit to 5 on several occasions, but were not able to narrow it further. Lamar Govain for Hutchinson had a big night and was mostly unstoppable of the Salthawks, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

In the second half of the game, Hutchinson only had 1 made field goal by Govain. All the rest of the second half points for the Salthawks came from the free throw line. They scored 13 of their 15 points from the line. The defensive effort for the Cougars showed up in the second half, but consistent fouling led to the Salthawks going to the free throw line. Towards the end of the game, Salina South had to foul but was still not able to overcome the deficit.

Salina South was led in scoring by Jaxon Myers with 10 points. Gavin DeVoe had 8 and Easton Wilcox had 7. For Hutchinson, they were led in scoring by Lamar Govain who had 28 points on the night. Eli Atha and Jalen Crable both had 9 points apiece. The only other point scored in the game was at the free throw line by Draydon Hippen. Only 4 players scored for Hutchinson on the night.

The loss breaks the Cougars 5 game winning streak and they fall to a 13-5 overall record. With the win, Hutchinson improves to 6-10 on the year. Salina South will host Maize next Tuesday.