By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The battle for Salina will be reignited on Tuesday evening as the Central Lady Mustangs prepare to host Salina South.
Central got the better of their cross-town rival in the first meeting, tipping off their season with a dominant 53-24 victory and never looking back.
Since then, the Lady Stangs have bolted out to a 12-0 record and enter this contest as the #1 team in Class 5A.
“They are a really good basketball team,” Lady Cougar head coach Justin Ebert said. “We are going to have to play at a very high-level tonight in order to stay in the game. Central does a great job of riding momentum and scoring off of turnovers and in transition.”
The Cougars stumbled out of the gate at 1-7 but have played their best basketball recently winning three of their last four contests.
“They have very solid guard play and they're going to try to dictate the pace of the game,” Central head coach Chris Fear said. “They’ve had some of their younger players gain confidence and I think they are a much better team than when we played in early December.”
Much of the Mustang's success on offense can be attributed to senior standout Aubrie Kierscht, who has averaged more than 23 points per game to start her senior campaign.
The Lady Stangs will need another big night out of Kierscht and her supporting cast with a pair of key role players unavailable tonight.
Despite the losses to their personnel, Central still fields one of the deepest and most dangerous lineups in the state, and each player has settled into her role as the season has developed.
“They’re getting contributions throughout their entire roster,” Ebert said. “They have developed tons of depth of scoring and can beat teams with a lot of different players.”
On the Cougar side of things, their recent success has come in smothering opponents with immaculate defense.
In their last three wins, South has held the opposition to an average of 22 points per game, and will need an all-time defensive performance to keep Central within reach.
“We found our defensive identity as a team over the past few weeks and hopefully that continues into tonight’s game,” Ebert said. “We have to value the basketball and eliminate turnovers and on the defensive end, contesting shots and clearing the boards will be critical.”
Tip-off between the Lady Stangs and Cougars is set for 6 pm at Salina Central High School with the boy’s game to follow at 7:00.