By Michael Adams
Austin Sports Journal

THRALL – Salado’s future opponents in the Class 4A girls’ basketball playoffs that aren’t familiar with Ally Ihler are about to get an introduction.

Ihler, a 6-foot senior post, introduced herself to La Grange Friday in a Region III area playoff with a 30-point barrage to lead the Eagles to a 69-39 win at Thrall High School. The Lubbock Christian University signee scored 18 in the first half alone.

“There’s a reason Ally is going to play at the next level,” said Salado head coach Dianne Konarik. “She shows you on the court, she’s very versatile in what she can do. We can post her up, she can shoot from the outside, she can penetrate to the rim, she’s long, she’s just a fun player to coach.”

Video highlights

Salado (21-14) didn’t pull away until the fourth quarter when the Eagles outscored La Grange 19-2.

The Leopards (24-12) kept things close in the first half and only trailed by three points at halftime, thanks in part to sophomore guard Campbell Cooper’s 17 first-half points. Cooper finished the game with a team-high 24 points.

Salado isolated La Grange leading scorer Kylie Trlicek and held the junior without a field goal the entire first half. Trlicek scored 10 points and only had two field goals, including a three-pointer.

Meanwhile, the Eagles got hot from behind the three-point line and scored 15 from behind the arch in the second half, including two from Ihler.

Managing multiple sports

Ihler is a multi-sport standout at Salado High School and has played a juggling act with swimming and basketball in the winter all four years of her high school career.

Outside from basketball, where she was a McDonald’s All-American nominee, Ihler was a regional finalist in the 50- and 100-yard backstroke, a four-time state qualifier in cross country and a three-time regional qualifier in track and field. In fact, she swam at the District 13-4A championships on Jan. 24 before joining the basketball team at Burnet for a key District 22-4A game.

“I’ve been doing it for the last four years, so it’s just natural at this point,” she said.

Ihler said she didn’t know about the McDonald’s All-American nomination until her classmates were congratulating her.

“A few girls were coming up to me and congratulating me, and I did not know up until that point,” she said. “So, that was really cool to find out.”

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The road ahead

Most coaches would be quick to stop their players from looking ahead, but there’s a potential regional final ahead that piques the interest of Salado players.

Should Jarrell defeat Bridge City in the regional semifinals, and the Eagles defeat Hamshire-Fannett, the two District 22-4A rivals would meet in the state quarterfinals.

While Ihler said she and her Salado teammates are focused on the next opponent, they’re fully aware of the possible rematch with their bitter rivals.

“That would be amazing,” Ihler said. “It would be a great way to cap our season to get that revenge on them.”

Jarrell defeated the Eagles in both district games this season, 51-37 and 66-65.