South Girls Earn State Bid

Mike Hammett - Fri 09:57 PM 03/01/2013

After four straight years of falling short in the sub-state championship game, the Salina South girls basketball team broke through for its first state bid since 1998 with a 56-46 win over Great Bend.

The Cougars trailed 7-6 early, but scored the final eight points of the first quarter and went on a 13-1 run overall to take a 19-8 lead with 5:48 to go in the second quarter.

However, Great Bend responded by scoring nine of the final 13 points of the half, including seven of the last eight, cutting South's lead to 23-17 at halftime.

In the second half, the Cougars opened strong, scoring 12 of the first 15 points, including an 8-0 run to open up a 35-20 lead on Emilee Holloway's three with 4:17 to go in the quarter. The Panthers would close within 10 before Central closed the quarter on another Holloway three to lead 44-31 to the fourth quarter.

In the final frame, Great Bend would pull within five at 49-44 with 2:30 to play before South answered on a lay-in by Cassidy Cook with 1:49 to go to put South up by seven. The Cougars would seal the win with free throws.

Janai Mitchell led the way with 15 points and 15 rebounds in a double-double. Cassidy Cook added 14 points and Emilee Holloway had 13. Megan Holloway, the team's leading scorer on the season, was limited to nine points.

The Cougars are 16-5 and await their placement in next week's Class 5A state tournament in Topeka.

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