By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Sacred Heart and Ell-Saline girls' basketball teams will open sub-state play in an all-area quarterfinal showdown on Tuesday night.
The Lady Knights come into this contest as the 4-seed at 11-9 riding a five-game winning streak while the Lady Cardinals enter as the 5-seed at 9-11 having won five of their last six.
These two last met in the 2021-22 season opener in an eventual 40-38 win for Ell-Saline.
This time around, both teams are gearing up for a high-caliber matchup, and for a chance to likely take on the 1-seed at the top of the bracket later this week.
“Ell-Saline is well-coached and athletic," Sacred Heart head coach Carl Hines said. "For us to move forward, we will have to play a complete game on both ends of the court.”
With both teams coming into this contest at the top of their game, this 4-5 matchup could very well see the best battle in the bracket when the two tip things off on Tuesday night.
"You want to be playing some of your best basketball this time of year and you want to be competitive," Ell-Saline head coach Brandi Schneider said. "These last several games these girls have done just that."
The winner of this game will await the result of the 1-8 matchup between Hillsboro (17-3) and Northern Heights (6-14) for a semifinal duel on Friday.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the bracket, another area team in Bennington (15-5) will host Marion (6-14), with the winner moving on to square off with either Chase County (13-7) or Herington (8-12).
Tip-off between the Lady Knights and Cardinals is scheduled for 7:00 at Sacred Heart High School in Salina.
For continuing coverage of both Sacred Heart and Ell-Saline hoops at sub-state, stay tuned to the Salina Post, and follow us on Twitter @spostsports.