Picture courtesy of Tanner Colvin

It took Salina Central’s girls a few weeks to gain their footing at the start of the season, but now that it matters most, the Mustangs are walking the walk.

Five straight victories to close the regular season not only assured the Mustangs of a winning record heading into Wednesday’s 6 p.m. Class 5A basketball sub-state opener against Salina South, but it also secured a home court for the matchup of crosstown rivals at the Brickhouse.

“We’ve grown a lot,” said Lexie Guerrero, Central’s senior point guard. “When we first came in, we struggled in a lot of little things that we just had to put in a little extra work to fix throughout the season.”

“We did, and it really helped us in this last stretch of the season, which obviously helped us play at home for the first round.”

The Mustangs and Cougars bring identical 13-10 records into their third and deciding matchup this season with South dominating the first meeting, 51-32, on Dec. 12, and Central returning the favor, 68-40, on Jan. 26 in the third-place game of the Salina Invitational Tournament.

Senior Lexie Guerrero

“We had a lot of time to reflect on how we did the first time, and we worked on places where we needed to work, where we struggled, and it really helped us out,” said Guerrero, who scored a career-high 32 points in the second South game. “Honestly, I feel like it’s a good matchup, because the first time they were hitting shots and we couldn’t, and the second time we were hitting shots and they weren’t.”

“If we go out and play how we’re supposed to, I think we’ve got it and we can advance.”

Even though the Mustangs followed the SIT victory over South with three straight losses, second-year Central coach Paige Talbott saw the game as a pivotal point for her team. They bounced back from those setbacks against a challenging portion of the schedule to win out.

“The first time we played them early in the year, we were not playing nearly our type of basketball or at the level that we can play,” Talbott said. “And then that second time that we played South in the SIT we were playing our basketball.”

Head coach Paige Talbott

“There were some tough games in between, but that was a really big turning point for us as a program, and we’ve been playing very well since then. We’ve grown a lot since that very first time, but even grown a lot since the second time we faced South as well.”

Returning starters Guerrero and junior forward Grace Ostmeyer lead a balanced scoring attack at about 10.5 points per game, with the 5-foot-10 Ostmeyer the top rebounder. But they are hardly the only threats, with seniors Brooke Banninger and Macy O’Hara, and junior Makambri Hastings rounding out the starting lineup and juniors Katy Wagner, Juliet Abbott and Harper Turpin adding depth off the bench.

“We have a very dynamic team,” Talbott said. “We have excellent shooters on the perimeter, and Brooke Banninger has been playing very well outside for us, but also she has been getting stronger inside and feeling more confident driving the ball, too.

“We’ve become more versatile, but we understand our strengths, and they play to them. On any given night, we have multiple players that all have different strengths, so it can become very hard to beat a team like us.”

Banninger, a first-year starter as a senior, said the Mustangs embrace their versatility.

Senior Brooke Banninger

“When someone’s hot, we’ll pass them the ball. Make that extra pass,” Banninger said. “I definitely think we’ve clicked on the court, just understanding teammates, their good days and their bad days.

“The communication off the court really helps us come together and play our best basketball on the court.”

Central also has improved defensively, which will be critical against a South team led by 6-foot-3 senior center Paityn Fritz, who had 21 points and 14 rebounds in the first meeting and 27 points in the rematch. Senior guard Brookly Jordan scored 17 points in the Cougars’ December victory.

The Mustangs’ winning streak certainly has bolstered their confidence heading into the sub-state.

“I feel like we’re trying to be confident, more so than cocky,” Guerrero said. “Going into the playoffs, those missing pieces that we had at the beginning, we’re pretty solid.”