Hutchinson always has the reputation of being defensive-minded.

The Salthawks turned to the mentality to complete a come-from-behind victory.

Hutch used a 22-4 burst in the second half to turn a seven-point deficit into a 43-30 road victory at Salina South Thursday night. The Salthawks improved to 2-0 while the Cougars fell to 0-5.

Salina South’s defense was the real star in the first half. The Cougars forced seven turnovers in the first eight minutes. However, the Cougars couldn’t cash in, settling for a 7-7 tie after the first.

The first three buckets in the second period were threes, two by South. Senior Mariah Janda nailed her second trey on the night and sophomore Acacia Weis followed with a triple, giving South a brief three-point lead. Hutch closed the gap by intermission at 15-15.

South took advantage of turnovers to open the second half. The Cougars scored points off miscues to build a 22-15 cushion midway through the third.

Hutch didn’t get its first bucket of the half until the 3:15 mark of the third. That’s when the avalanche hit as the Salthawks went on a 22-4 spurt to go ahead by 11 en route to the win.

Ziya Simms led Hutch with 14 points. Harlie Wilson added 12.

Kylie Arnold paced South with nine points. South returns to the floor in 2021, hosting Maize on January 8.