By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Southeast of Saline basketball teams split a two-game set in Hesston on Friday, with the Lady Trojans taking down the 4th-ranked Swathers.
Girls: SE of Saline 40, #4 Hesston 37
The Southeast girls continue to hang their hat on defense, forcing 19 turnovers and holding a state-ranked Hesston team to just 37 points in their season opener.
Both teams got off to a slow start in a game that had just 13 combined points in the first quarter, but in the second, the Lady Trojans came alive, turning a three-point deficit into a three-point lead.
Hesston fought back in the third quarter but Southeast did just enough to hold on for the win, defeating the Swathers 40-37.
While SES didn’t have any double-digit scorers, they spread out their offense with four nine-point nights from Kyiah Samuelson, Suttyn Douglas, Taryn Goetz and Vada Durfee.
Jacy Proctor led all scorers on the night, posting 19 points for Hesston in a tight loss.
With this win, the Lady Trojans improve to 2-0 while the Lady Swathers fall to 0-1.
Boys: SE of Saline 42, #1 Hesston 63
The Trojans put up a good fight against the preseason favorites to win 3A, but failed to overcome a slow start, falling to first-ranked Hesston 63-42.
The Swathers came out of the gates hot, taking a 20-8 lead into the second quarter, and a 36-18 lead into the half.
Southeast added 12 points in the third and fourth quarters, but it wasn’t enough as Hesston pulled away and never looked back.
Drew Bartell (22) and Ty Unruh (17) led all scorers in this matchup while Tiernan Pracek (14) again led the effort for the Trojans.
The Swathers begin their campaign at 1-0 while Southeast falls to 0-2.
Both Trojan teams will be back at it next Tuesday for a home opener against Abilene.
You can watch both of these games on demand below.