By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Southeast of Saline girls basketball team completed the season sweep of the Trojan War tonight with a 59-51 win in Beloit.
This marks the second five-game win streak of the season for SES, who moves to 13-3 on the year and a perfect 7-0 in league play.
“I thought we battled to the end,” Trojan head coach Shauna Smith said. “We knew we were going to have to grit it out after a few 20+ point victories.”
Beloit meanwhile, falls to 9-8 overall and 6-2 in league play, with their only two NCAA losses coming at the hands of Southeast.
Beloit kept things interesting and even held a lead at the half, but SES was able to pull away at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
They’re a good team and we knew they were going to be better since the last time we saw them,” Smith said. This was always going to be a ‘gut it out game.”
The purple and white were led by a career performance from Brielle Ptacek, who posted 16 points and three big triples in the win.
“Brielle came in and got us rolling and that loosened everybody else up,” she said. “I thought we really cleaned things up in the second half with our defensive assignments as well.”
Ptacek was joined in double figures by Reagan Goetz and Avery Caselman who each added ten, while eight total Trojans found the ledger.
Versatility and depth have been huge keys for SES down the stretch, and tonight, their bench outscored Beloit’s 29-6.
“Karsyn is averaging about 12 points a game and everyone else is right around 6,” Smith said. “It’s not all about starting, we really like having that second wave of kids coming off the bench that can all score.”
Southeast’s defense was in good form again tonight, forcing 21 rebounds while surrendering the ball just ten times.
In addition to moving one step closer to a league title, SES also puts some distance between themselves and Beloit in the sub-state standings, with Smoky Valley looking like the only real threat to a one-seed.
The Lady Trojans will have their final true test in league play on Friday when they return home for a rematch with Minneapolis, who have cooled off some after a hot 5-1 start.
“They’re always tough for us no matter what but we’ve been playing well at home so hopefully we can come away with another big win on Friday.”
For a full replay of both of tonight's games, click HERE.