By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
After a very successful 20-4 campaign the Southeast of Saline girls’ basketball team picked up right where they left off, and will roll into the final month of their season ranked #10 in Class 3A with an overall record of 11-2.
The Lady Trojans are one of the only teams in the area to maintain a spot in the KBCA rankings since the preseason poll was unveiled back in early December, and their play on the floor has been stellar, as the team has outscored their opposition by just short of 200 total points.
After returning their whole starting five from a season ago, Southeast has only become more dangerous as they have discovered increased depth and new rotations.
“We’re learning to play more together and getting a feel for each other including our depth off the bench,” SES head coach Shauna Smith said. “That’s been the best thing I’ve seen from this team so far this season.”
While their starting five of Lexi Jacobson, Brielle Ptacek, Maddie Harris, Reagan Goetz, and Avery Caselman have all played up to expectations, the Lady Trojans now have three additional pieces that consistently make their mark every single night.
“Emma Zurfluh has given us some big minutes and she’s grown a lot in her first year of varsity experience,” Smith said. “We’ve also seen something similar with Abigail Pearson who’s learning a new position on the fly, and then Adyson Rohr has been discovering her role on the team and she’s been good on the glass and on defense.”
For a span of about two weeks, Southeast fell into a bit of a shooting slump, but was carried by the fantastic efforts of Lexi Jacobson, who has become the focal point of the Lady Trojan offense, dominating larger bigs in the paint with her quickness and agility.
“Our inside play has really improved since our first couple of games and Lexi Jacobson has really exploded,” she said. “That’s been great for us, people are going to have to work harder to cover her now that she’s found her identity inside.”
Like in previous years, SES has shined the brightest on the defensive end where the Lady Trojans allow just 35 points per game on average, allowing just one team all season to cross the 50-point threshold.
Offensively, Southeast is stocked with capable shooters, but will continue to look for easier buckets around the rim as their three-point shooting has tailed off a bit in the new year.
“We’re still trying to get to the basket a little bit more instead of just sitting out on the three-point line like we did at the Sterling Tournament,” she said.
While SES will likely have to stare down a giant in the form of 2nd-ranked Phillipsburg at sub-state, the Lady Trojans refuse to look past their upcoming league schedule, which has seen a ton of improvement across the board with another year of experience around the NCAA.
“We haven’t looked too far ahead because our league is much improved and we have a lot of battles ahead but we know how challenging Phillipsburg will be and we’re using these games to prepare for that.”
The Lady Trojans will retake the floor on Tuesday when Southeast hosts Sacred Heart looking for the season sweep of their biggest rival.