Basketball Preview: Andover Central Jaguars vs. Salina Central Mustangs
The Andover Central Jaguars will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against the Salina Central Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. Hopefully Andover Central focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up eight on Friday.
Last Friday, Andover Central's game was all tied up 20-20 at the half, but luckily for them it didn't stay that way. They came out on top against Eisenhower by a score of 51-42. That's two games straight that Andover Central has won by exactly nine points.
Andover Central's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Hayden Snodgrass led the charge by scoring 17 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Snodgrass has been hot recently, having posted 17 or more points the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Avery Mason, who scored 12 points.
Meanwhile, things could have been worse for Salina Central, but they could have been a whole lot better as they took a 44-30 loss to the Panthers on Friday. While losing is never fun, Salina Central can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 135th, while the Panthers are ranked 33rd).
The win makes it two in a row for Andover Central and bumps their season record up to 6-8. As for Salina Central, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-8 record this season.
Andover Central lost to the Mustangs at home by a decisive 49-35 margin in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Salina Central's Saniya Triplett, who scored 16 points along with five assists and four steals. Now that Andover Central knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
