The Lady Mustangs were in action Tuesday night against the Andover Central Jaguars in a rematch from opening day. Salina Central, led by first year head coach Paige Talbott, had struggled in recent games offensively and ran out a different starting five than usual to try and combat the recent offensive struggles.
The Lady Mustangs couldn't have asked for a better start as they jumped out to an early 9-0 lead before the Jaguars called an early timeout to try and settle things down. Grace Ostmeyer, Tahila Morris, and Charlize Waltman all hit from behind the arc to help the Mustangs to an early 14-3 lead at the end of one quarter.
Andover Central settled in on offense in the second quarter but the Mustangs offense continued to thrive as Salina Central took a 25-13 lead into the half. Salina Central knocked down five shots from deep and Junior point guard Lexie Guerreo led the way scoring with nine first half points.
The third quarter got off to a slow start for both teams as each squad traded turnovers but it was the Jaguars offense that sparked a second half comeback. Andover Central started converting on Mustang turnovers by finding their luck from behind the arc and making it a three-point game heading into the final eight minutes of play.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth battle until the end as Andover Central would grab their first lead of the night with just over two minutes to play 41-40 over Salina Central. The Lady Mustangs would quickly respond grabbing the lead right back after two clutch freethrows by Grace Ostmeyer and a bucket from Tessa Snyder. It was 44-41 in favor of Salina Central with just seconds to go. Coming out of the Jaguars timeout Reese Wilborn of Andover Central would drill a deep three with just one second on the clock to tie the game and ultimately send it to overtime.
Free basketball at the Brickhouse started off as a back-and-forth battle but much like most of the second half it would be the three point shooting from the Jaguars that would help them eventually pull out the win by a final score of 55-49. Reese Wilborn, Taylin Tabor, and Kelsey Barscewski all had massive performances in the second half and overtime to propel Andover Central to the comeback victory. Lexi Guerrero finished with 17 points for the Mustangs.
Coach Fear's group entered Tuesday night looking to avenge their opening day loss to Andover Central which ended in a chaotic play that boosted the Jaguars to a 62-61 win.
The Mustangs started the game red hot on offense knocking down shots all over the floor, Kaden Snyder and Kamryn Jones combined for five 3-pointers in the first quarter and helped the Mustangs to a 27-17 lead at the end of one.
The second quarter was a completely different story, Andover Central couldn't miss a shot if they tried. Combined with some Mustang turnovers and early foul trouble, the Mustangs quickly found themselves down by six heading into the locker room. The Jaguars outscored the Mustangs 23-7 in the second quarter and led 40-34 at the break.
The third quarter was unfortunately much of the same for Salina Central, hot shooting from the Jaguars and a Mustangs offense searching for points, gave Andover Central a commanding 57-42 lead heading to the final eight minutes.
The Mustangs offense, after going quiet in the second and third quarter, found its life again putting up a dog fight in the fourth quarter. Kaden Snyder and Kamryn Jones started hitting big shots again and Grant Ostmeyer provided some big points off the bench. Salina Central brought it to a four-point game with just over three minutes to go. The final three minutes were back and forth but it ultimately came down to free throws for Andover Central as they did their job and knocked down big free throws in the final 60 seconds to close out the game. The Mustangs would fall by a final score of 70-61. Kaden Snyder led in scoring with 19 followed by Kamryn Jones with 16.