By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Southeast of Saline girls basketball team, fresh off a win over #6 Hillsboro, will remain at home for one final game before Christmas as they prepare to renew their rivalry with Sacred Heart.
SES comes into this game on a three-game win streak and with an overall record of 4-1 while Sacred Heart enters at 2-3, fresh off a loss to Minneapolis on Friday.
While the record for SES stands above what it has at this point in recent years, the team knows they still have a long way to go to get where they want to be.
“We have been happy with the growth that we’ve seen from this group so far but we know that we still have a ways to go to get to that top level,” Trojan head coach Shauna Smith said. “We’re still taking things one game at a time.”
Sacred Heart has seen considerable growth as well, but has a lot of work to do with an incredibly young team led by first-year head coach Carl Hines.
“Defensively we’re starting to buy in but we want to continue to add things to that,” he said. “These first six games have tested us and it’s been like going through a meat grinder but I expect that we’ll emerge more polished on the offensive end.”
The teams have traded punches in recent years, with Southeast winning both games a season ago, returning the favor from a pair of Sacred Heart victories the season before that.
“I think the whole school has this game circled on the calendar,” Hines said. “This will be my first year in the rivalry but when you walk the halls of Sacred Heart you know this is a big game.”
Sacred Heart runs their offense through sophomore standout Katie Weiss, who has averaged 17 points per game through the team’s first five contests.
Beyond Weis, no single Knight averages more than 6 points per game, but SES will have their hands full keeping another sophomore in Avery Eshelman, who pulled in 19 rebounds against Minneapolis, off the boards.
“They’re pretty post-oriented and they’re going to get after it and play hard,” Smith said. “There aren’t going to be any freebies tonight.”
Like many teams that have stared down SES this season, Sacred Heart has a size advantage, but will have to utilize that to perfection to get a win in their fifth road game of the year.
“If we’re going to keep this thing competitive we have to control the defensive rebounding and we have to come out and be a little more disciplined and win in the lane,” Hines said.
Tip-off between the Knights and Trojans is set for 6 pm at Southeast of Saline High School with the boy’s game to follow at 7.
As always both games can be heard on KINA (910 AM and 107.5 FM) courtesy of Eagle Radio.