By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Southeast of Saline Lady Trojans stunned the #1 team in Class 3A on Thursday night handing the Hugoton Eagles their second loss of the season 61-58.
Southeast fell behind early but dug deep and found an 8-0 run to take a 27-23 lead into the half.
SES maintained that momentum to take a 13-point advantage into the fourth quarter, but missed free throws allowed the Eagles to storm back and take the lead with under 30 seconds to play.
Things looked dire but in the final moments, Maddie Harris sliced to the basket and dropped in the equalizer to send the semi-final to overtime.
Despite losing Mallorie Pearson and Karsyn Schlesener to fouls, and conceding a late comeback, the Trojans buckled down in overtime, sank six critical free throws, and hung on for dear life to win a thriller.
"I told the girls to take this all in but to stay hungry for more," SES head coach Shauna Smith said. "We believed we could do this from the moment we stepped on the court and responded very well when the time came."
It was a special night for Maddie Harris, who led the way with a season-high 17 points in addition to the bucket that sent the game to overtime.
While the top-two scores overall belonged to Eagles Mikyn Hamlin (19) and Gianna Vos (18), SES finished the night with eight players over five points and a ninth with four.
"The team did a great job of all contributing without two of our leaders available late," Smith said. "Everyone stepped up and did exactly what we needed to do.
Southeast will head to the tournament final where they will meet either 10-0 Sterling, the #1 team in Class 2A, or 6-4 Scott City at 6 pm.
For more on both SES basketball teams closing out the Sterling Invitational, stay tuned to the Salina Post.