VALLEY CENTER 51 SALINA SOUTH 33

The Salina South Cougars’ season came to an end in the first round of sub-state action as they fell to the Valley Center Hornets 51-33 on the road on Wednesday night.

It was a tight game early as Valley Center led by just one point after the opening quarter. The Hornets slowly found more ground in the second frame, extending their lead to 22-15 at the half.

While the Cougars found a way to navigate a stingy Hornet defense throughout the first half, the script flipped in the second as the Hornets generated numerous turnovers to secure control of the contest.

Valley Center ended up outscoring Salina South 29-14 in the second half of the contest to secure the 18-point win and move on to the next round.

The Cougars were led offensively on the night by Paityn Fritz who scored 24 of Salina South’s 33 points in the contest. Four other Cougars combined to score the other nine points for Salina South.

The loss ends the season for Salina South. The Cougars will finish the 2023-2024 campaign with an 11-10 record overall, going 7-5 in AVCTL-I play.

Scoring Breakdown

Salina South (11-10) 7 – 8 – 7 – 11 / 33

Valley Center (14-7) 8 – 14 – 16 – 13 / 51

Individual Scoring

Paityn Fritz – 24

Brooklyn Jordan – 3

Tamia Cheeks – 2

Aunisty McNeal – 2

Brylee Moss – 2

NEX-TECH WIRELESS PLAYER OF THE GAME:

Paityn Fritz

H&R BLOCK OF THE GAME:

Brooklyn Jordan