Girls
The Lady Mustangs entered Tuesday night’s matchup with Andover riding a three-game win streak, after a slow 1-4 start to the season. Central had their hands full against undefeated and No. 2 ranked Andover. Despite a competitive effort from the Lady Mustangs, a late second half surge from the 2nd ranked Trojans was enough to propel them past Salina Central 68-48.
Salina Central, coming off three straight wins, entered Tuesday’s game knowing they would be up against a tough opponent in Andover, but the Lady Mustangs showed no fear. A back-and-forth first quarter led by senior point guard Lexi Guerro of the Mustangs ended tied 15-15. The second quarter got off to a fast start for Andover, as they opened the quarter on a 6-0 run, led by the talented junior Bella Bouddhara finished the first half with a team leading 9 points. Central struggled to get a rhythm going offensively in the 2nd quarter and they found themselves trailing 29-19 at the half.
Central would kick off the 3rd quarter red hot offensively, as Lexi Guerro would score 6 straight points to bring the Lady Mustangs within 4. After the Andover timeout the Trojans would respond with back-to-back triples from Bella Bouddhara to re-extend their lead. Central would punch right back with junior Grace Ostmeyer finding success in the paint, and junior Katy Wagner who forced multiple turnovers on the defensive side. At the midway point in the 3rd quarter Salina Central found themselves trailing by just a mere 2 points.
From the midway point of the 3rd quarter up until the final buzzer, the rest of the game was dominated by Andover. Bella Bouddhara, who finished with a team high 23 points, alongside juniors Sam Siegrist and Katie Robert, took over late in the second half offensively, leading Andover to a final score of 68-48 over Salina Central.
The Lady Mustangs 3-game winning streak comes to an end as they fall to 4-5 on the season while the Lady Trojans improve to 7-0. Salina Central will be back in action on Thursday (1/8) to take on Andover Central at home.
Boys
Much like the Lady Mustangs, the Mustangs entered Tuesday’s game 4-4 on the season and riding a 3-game win streak, including an impressive victory last week against Valley Center. Andover (5-1) came in on a 5-game win streak after they dropped their season opener to Mill Valley. Andover jumped out to a fast, explosive start, and never looked back. Despite an impressive 2nd half of play from the Mustangs, it was too little too late, as they fell 69-53.
It was all Andover in the first half on Tuesday night, as they jumped out to an 11-1 lead early on before Central called a timeout to try and slow down a fast paced and aggressive Trojans offense. Despite a slow start on offense, Salina Central was able to muster some points in the 1st quarter at the free throw line, scoring 5 of their 7 1st quarter points from the charity stripe.
Central’s offense started to find some rhythm in the 2nd quarter, but Valley Center simply could not miss a shot. Senior Griffin Hand led the Trojans with 13 first half points, and 6 foot 7 junior Drew Hutchinson proved to be a problem in the paint against the Mustangs in the 1st half. At the break it was Andover 39, Central 18.
Despite a bad first half from Salina Central, being down by 21 points on the road to a talented Andover team, the Mustangs came out firing in the second half. Central was able to find a consistent rhythm, led by sophomore Kaden Nienke and senior Greyson Jones, both finishing with 19, and 18 points respectively.
Andover ultimately toppled the Mustangs, snapping their 3-game win streak by a final score of 69-53. Salina Central, down by 21 at halftime, outscored Andover 35-30 in the second half of play.
Andover won its 6th straight game, improving to 6-1 on the season while the Mustangs fall to 4-5 overall. Salina Central will be back in action Thursday (1-8) against Andover Central at home.
