The Lady Mustangs have been working to overcome adversity at the midpoint of their season. WIth weather cancellations and sickness traveling through the team, the girls battled to string together a couple of wins before the conference tournament. On Tuesday, January 21, the Mustangs relied on defense to get the energy in the gym flowing. The team combined for 28 steals, which led to some points in transition. Silver Lake got off to a hot start, leading the Flyers 16-4 after the quarter break and finished the half 39-12. The Mustangs continued their dominance in the third quarter, leading Franklin 17-7. With help from a shooting percentage of 43%, the Lady Mustangs defeated the Flyers 54-27.
After two days off due to weather, Silver Lake faced Red Cloud for the second time of the season on Friday, January 24. Once again, the Mustangs had a strong defensive showing, picking up 18 steals. As a team, Silver Lake shot 52% from the field which helped the Mustangs get off to a strong first quarter of 19-0. Red Cloud made a little run in the second quarter; however, the Mustangs still commanded the court, leading 36-9 at the half. The Mustangs came out of the break strong, putting together a 21-3 run in the third quarter. With a fourth quarter of running clock, the Mustangs were outscored 7-4 to end the game with a victory of 61-19.
The following week, the Mustangs traveled to Wilcox to take on the Falcons on Tuesday, January 28. Despite sickness eliminating some of the Mustang’s bench, they found success early, leading 16-11 to end the first quarter break. Following a buzzer shot from the Falcons, the Mustangs led by 7 going into the half time break. Relying on defense once again, the Mustangs outscored Wilcox-Hildreth by 5 in each of the second half quarters to defeat the Falcons 55-38. Silver Lake combined for 23 steals and pulled down 26 rebounds. These victories improved the Mustang’s record to 12-2 for the season.
