Coach of the Eagles for 23 years, Ziegler has four state titles to his credit, two of which capped undefeated back-to-back seasons in 1983 and 1984.

The Silver Lake girls team also won titles in 1988 and 2002. Ziegler recently surpassed the 400-win milestone and is 408-124 during his long tenure at SLHS.

This season, it’s business as usual for Ziegler’s bunch.

The Eagles are 7-2 after Monday’s Tonganoxie Invitational opener against Metro Academy. Silver Lake will meet Lansing at 3 p.m. Friday in the tournament quarterfinals.

This season again could end with a state title. Last year’s team that finished 14-8 with a loss to Rossville in a substate semifinal game had no seniors on the roster. Top players returning for the Eagles are junior point guard Steph Bryant, senior post Ronnie Anderson, senior guard Jess Yates and junior forward Jenny Fritz.

The Silver Lake girls basketball team is ranked in the top 15 in Class 3A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Assoc-iation.