Salina South boys and girls basketball tune up for Salina Invitational with sweep of Campus
Salina South's boys and girls both served notice Friday night that they are poised and ready for next week's Salina Invitational Tournament.
The Cougar girls turned in their most complete performance on the season and dominated Campus on the way to a 59-20 blowout while the boys used a big fourth quarter to complete the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division I sweep, 58-46, at the South gym.
"One thing about Tuesday night that was so disappointing was our mental intensity and effort," South coach Justin Ebert said of a 47-43 home loss to Newton earlier in the week. "Tonight we were able to play 32 minutes and really bring it.
"Now we're going into next week with a little momentum. It was nice to have some positive stuff happen."
The Cougars, who improved to 2-7 overall and 1-5 in the AVCTL, face Class 6A power Liberal at 6 p.m. Thursday in the first round in a first-round SIT game at South.
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South's boys, who picked up their third straight victory, improved to 4-5 and evened their league record at 3-3. They open the SIT Thursday as the No. 8 seed with a 7:30 p.m. game against top-seeded Buhler, which beat them on Dec. 7, 57-47, at South.
"We've really grown up and done a nice job the last three games," South coach Jason Hooper said.
South girls bounce back strong
To put the South girls' bounce-back effort in perspective, they pounded a Campus team that in turn beat Newton by 30 before Christmas.
"Obviously, with the slow start we've had, it was good to go out and see some shots go down," said Ebert, who watched the Cougars jump out to a 15-5 first-quarter lead while shooting 50% from the floor, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range.
Senior guard Sydney Peterson led the charge, hitting all three shots and scoring seven of her game-high 17 points in the opening quarter. Kalysa Hamel knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the first half as the Cougars stretched the lead to 27-10 at intermission.
South also forced 10 turnovers — 21 for the game — and limited Campus to 21.1% shooting in the first half. The Colts (1-8, 1-4) finished at 23.5%.
"This gives us a lot of confidence," said Peterson, who went 7 for 10 from the field and hit two of her three 3-point attempts. "We've worked a lot in practice on our defense and our shots finally started falling.
"It all finally clicked."
While Peterson was equally effective from the perimeter and in transition, junior forward Lauren Harris provided the muscle underneath with a double-double, scoring 12 points and leading South to a 36-23 rebounding advantage with 10.
"Every day in practice we work on rebounding, going and getting the ball and being aggressive," Harris said. "It makes it a lot easier when everybody is hitting shots because it allows me to just go and get rebounds."
The 5-foot-8 Harris held her own on the boards against a taller Campus team, especially at the offensive end.
"Lauren is always going to be an undersized post, but I thought tonight she really fought for rebounds," Ebert said.
Peterson has established herself as South's most consistent scorer.
"Syd is clearly our biggest offensive threat," Ebert said. "Her offensive game has matured so much."
For Campus, which did not have more than two baskets in any quarter, center Mya Free led the way with seven points while BreAna Tillemans grabbed seven rebounds.
Defensive switch sparks Cougar boys
South's boys had no trouble scoring, but they weren't stopping Campus at the other end, either.
So after Te'Jon McDaniel's 3-pointer put the Cougars up 35-34 with 5:03 left in the third quarter, Hooper called timeout and switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense that ultimately shut Campus down.
The Colts got a 3-pointer from Zion Young to go back in front, 37-35, on the next possession, but that would be their last lead. Quevon Purucker's rebound basket tied it, and he found Zach Davidson up for a layup to put South back in front.
The Cougars took a 41-39 lead to the fourth quarter, and after Young tied it at 41, reeled off seven straight points on a Carter Copes 3-pointer, two Te'Jon McDaniel free throws and a basket by Edgar Garcia.
Campus never did solve the Cougar zone, hitting just 3 of 16 shots in the fourth quarter.
"They just kept driving and creating space and we weren't rotating," South guard Devin Myers said. "We practiced (the 1-3-1) just one time and then ran it tonight and got a lot of stops."
Hooper said he made the switch out of necessity after Campus shot 50% in the first half. The Colts were just 9 of 31 after the break for 29%.
"They're really hard to guard in the half court," Hooper said. "We stayed right with them and answered them on offense, but I felt we needed to change the tempo and that's why we went with the 1-3-1.
"I thought with the zone, it got their guys to stand around and not get in a shooting rhythm."
South's offense was on point most of the night. The Cougars shot better than 50% in each quarter and finished 22 of 38 from the floor for 57.9%. They also made 6 of 11 3-pointers.
"Hooper the past couple of weeks has emphasized being patient," said McDaniel, who led the Cougars with 20 points and six rebounds. "We changed to a new offensive set that got everybody active and moving.
"Hooper always tells us if we don't have a good shot, look for a second option."
In addition to McDaniel, who was 7 of 10 from the field and hit both of his 3-pointers, South got 10 points from both Myers and Garcia. Copes gave the Cougars a lift off the bench with a pair of 3-pointers and Purucker scored all six of his points in the second half.
Young had 17 points and Andrew Howard 14 to lead Campus, which fell to 3-6 with a 2-3 AVCTL record.
"We've had a completely different mindset," Hooper said of South's 3-game winning streak. "I just feel as a team we've matured."
This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Salina South boys and girls basketball sweep Campus
