Picture courtesy of Tanner Colvin

GIRLS FINAL:

SALINA SOUTH 51

MAIZE 45

Coming off a gut-wrenching loss to Hutchinson in the final seconds on Friday, the Lady Cougars aimed to start their week on a better note. For the second time this season, South took on Maize and had a better idea of what to expect from the Lady Eagles on Tuesday night.

While South did win the first of two meetings 44-38 back in January, they were surprised by the emergence of Maize freshman Heidi Williams. Williams made her varsity debut against South in that game, and put up 25 points. This time around, South’s game plan was centered around stopping Williams.

The Lady Cougars defended well to start the game and matched stops with great looks from the field that didn’t fall. South still managed to lead 15-8 after the first quarter.

Maize and Williams got going in the second quarter, exploding for 18 points in the frame capped by Williams nailing a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lady Eagles a 26-23 advantage at halftime. Williams had 15 first-half points.

The third quarter was the best for both teams defensively, as South regained the lead entering the fourth.

Williams continued to score for Maize but got little help from her supporting cast. South funneled multiple defenders to Williams forcing her to give up the ball in several key spots, but her teammates couldn’t cash in. She finished with 25 points, matching her output from their last meeting, but was inefficient and had over a handful of turnovers.

When shots weren’t falling late for Maize, South was tasked with making clutch free throws, and they did. South senior Brooklyn Jordan made seven free throws in the final minutes to help keep them ahead by two possessions and ultimately close out the game. Jordan finished with 12 points.

Paityn Fritz also got the line in the fourth and made several to reach her season average of 16 points. Sophomore point guard Kyla Hamel impressed offensively again with 11 points and Elle Barth finished with 6.

The Lady Cougars bounced back nicely and now turn their attention to the top team in the League, the Maize South Lady Mavs.

BOYS FINAL:

MAIZE 48

SALINA SOUTH 39

South acknowledged its offensive struggles after posting 39 points in last Friday’s loss to Hutchinson, but understood the task would be even tougher against one of the best teams in Class 6A on Tuesday.

Maize presents a particularly tough matchup for any team. They possess size, length and speed at all five positions and don’t have one dominant scorer, forcing you to defend all five on the floor.

It took a couple trips down the court before the Cougars scored their first points, but it was clear neither team would have big nights offensively.

It was the type of game where a 5-point lead felt like 10, and that’s where South stood trailing 23-18 at halftime. Maize took its first actual double-digit lead early in the third and South’s counter punch came in the form of several zone defenses.

Switching between both a 2-3 and 1-3-1 zone, South was able to stifle Maize and get shots to fall on its end to make it close heading into the fourth. But even the Eagles began to find gaps to exploit and hit open 3-pointers late to create the final separation needed.

The Cougars were never able to establish Gavin DeVoe on the block and committed too many live-ball turnovers and that almost always led to layups on the other end. They hung tough with Maize till the very end, but needed to play a cleaner game to come away with the win.

South was led in scoring by Sawyer Walker with 11 points, Jaxon Myers had 9, Kobie Henley had 7 and Gavin DeVoe scored 6.

Salina South will look to regroup and travel to Maize South on Friday for a matchup with the Mavericks.