By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
With two months of the high school basketball season in the books, the Southeast of Saline and Chapman girls’ basketball teams will square off on Friday to kick off the final leg of their 2022-23 campaigns.
The Lady Trojans will enter this contest at 12-2, ranked as the #9 team in Class 3A, while the resurgent and home-standing Lady Irish come in at 8-6.
A season ago, these two met in a 68-26 home victory for Southeast, but the Lady Trojans know that this year’s Chapman team is much improved from the one they saw in early 2022.
“Chapman was pretty young last year but they’re all a year older and more experienced,” SES head coach Shauna Smith said. “They have some real size with two girls who are way bigger than we are. They play inside out a little bit and they really get after it so we have to play under control and not give up easy baskets in the lane.”
A similar respect has been afforded to Southeast from the Chapman side of the matchup, as the Lady Irish prepare for what should be a real battle on their home floor.
“They play hard, they’re very well coached and they shoot the ball well,” Chapman head coach Michael Wahlmeier said. “Last year they lit us up early and we didn’t respond very well so we’ve got to be ready to go from the tip, we have to be ready to defend and we have to be able to score ourselves. We don’t want to get into a track meet with them but you can’t expect to hold them to just a few points.”
Both teams have developed a reputation for wanting to push the pace this season, and each will have to lock in mentally to ensure that they don’t speed themselves up beyond the point of comfort.
“They want to get out and run and they have some really athletic kids,” Smith said. “We like to run too but we have to remember that we don’t have to shoot the ball after one or two passes and we have to make teams guard us for longer.”
One of the biggest keys for the Lady Irish will come in how they handle the Southeast press, something that has allowed the Lady Trojans to score easy buckets in bunches this season.
“Controlling the tempo is huge,” Wahlmeier said. “We like to run too but not like they do. We want to slow them down as much as possible but still be in the rhythm that we like to play in. Transition defense will be important, we need to make sure we’re sprinting back and it has to be the whole team.”
To lock down a second five-game winning streak this season, SES will once again have to contend with the renowned post play of Maya Kirkpatrick and Keira Jones, who have done an excellent job of keeping opponents off the glass this season.
“We’ve gotten better with every game at understanding how we need to defend to keep teams that have us outsized off balance,” Smith said. “Everyone has a different role but overall we’ve done a really nice job.”
On the other side of this matchup, Chapman will need to play at their peak to avoid their first three-game skid of the campaign and to eliminate a top-ten 3A opponent.
“We need to take care of the basketball and make sure we’re not giving them second chances,” Wahlmeier said. “Rebounding is also huge for us and we have to make sure we’re doing that to limit their scoring opportunities.”
Tip-off between the Lady Irish and Trojans is set for 6:00 at Chapman high school, with the boys’ game to follow at 7:30.
Both games can be heard on KINA (910 AM or 107.5 FM) courtesy of Eagle Radio, or streamed with live audio and video on the Salina Post.