By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
After winning just four games in 2019-20, the Ell-Saline Cardinals girls basketball team started the new season off right, winning five of their first seven including several double digit victories.
While the team has dropped each of their last five, a 5-7 record heading into the back half of the season is still a great improvement for Ell-Saline in coach Bill Gies’ first season at the helm.
“I wouldn’t say we’re content with where we are just yet,” Gies said. “We see growth in our kids every single game but it seems like we haven’t been able to get all of our kids to fire at the same time. We’re pleased with what we’ve done but we still have a lot of work left to do.”
This year's Ell-Saline squad is very young, carrying just three seniors on a roster of 22 players. That trio of Reese Ditto, Hannah Backus and Bryanna Rowley has helped usher the Lady Cardinals into a new era.
“These kids work their tails off and we’re having fun,” Gies said. “You have to rely on your seniors because they typically set the pace for the full season and each of those kids bring something different to the game.”
While the record may not reflect it, Ell-Saline has been up to the challenge in almost every game they have played in this year, with a cumulative point differential of just -2.
Defensively the Cards have looked very good in 2020-21, but offensively are still trying to settle into their new identity.
“The kids would think I’m lying when I say this but we need to shoot more.” he said. “We’re doing a great job of spreading the ball around but we’re still passing up some shots that we need to take. We also need to be more physical, we’ve made strides but we need to continue to grow in that regard.”
While the progress that has been made on the floor is very encouraging for Ell-Saline, it’s the progress off the floor that might spell even better things for the program's future.
“The culture is going to continue to get better every year,” Gies said. “We have some kids coming up that thanks to our senior leadership this year will continue to make this a fun place to play.”
The final month of the Cardinals season will be a difficult one, featuring opponents like 8-5 Berean Academy, 8-5 Ellinwood and state-ranked 11-1 Sterling.
“We are in a very tough league schedule from here on out,” he said. “But I think what’s good for us is that we have great competition heading into sub-state which will get us in a position to head into our tournament with a little more experience.”
Ell-Saline will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Hutch Trinity for a contest with the 3-10 Celtics.