By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- Even though Saturday's 68-61 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas snapped the Seaman girls' 30-game winning streak and ended the Vikings' Class 5A championship reign, coach Matt Tinsley walked out of White Auditorium immensely proud of his team and the 24-1 season it put together.
Seaman senior Anna Becker capped her high school career with 28 points and five assists in Saturday's 68-61 loss to Aquinas in the Class 5A state tournament. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
"I'm just so proud of our girls,'' Tinsley said. "We may not have won this game, but they're champions in my book and in my hearts and their hearts. What we accomplished what was amazing. Obviously, we wanted to win, but I can't say enough about the character of the kids in that locker room. This hurts and it hurts for those kids because they played their hearts out all season.
"We were ranked No. 1 all year and we took everybody's best shot. This 5A tournament was loaded with teams and we had two tough games and we lost to a good team today.''
Seaman trailed Aquinas, which won its eighth title in nine seasons, by just a 12-10 count at the end of the opening quarter and the game was tied 26-all at halftime.
The No. 7-seeded Saints (18-7), who do not have a senior on their roster, opened up a six-point advantage (44-38) at the end of the third and put the Vikings away with a strong start to the fourth quarter, leading by 13 points twice, including a 63-50 advantage with 1:20 left.
Aquinas junior Alex Crouse scored a game-high 26 points, hitting 10 of 11 free throws, while sophomore Sofia Calovich added 18 points and sophomore Laila Boylan 10.
The Saints shot 51.4 percent from the field overall while hitting 4 of 7 3-pointers and connecting on 26 of 36 free throws. Seaman warmed up in the second half to shoot 41.8 percent from the floor (8 of 24 3s) and hit 7 of just 9 free throw opportunities.
The Vikings got into foul trouble early on and had Ava Esser, Kinley Wilhelm and Jaida Stallbaumer all foul out. Esser was the first to foul out at the 6:54 mark, while Wilhelm left the game with 2:07 left and Stallbaumer with 1:42 remaining.
Seaman senior Anna Becker capped her banner four-year career with a game-high 28 points while hitting 4 of 7 3-pointers and dishing out a game-high five assists.
Seaman junior Maddie Gragg scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds in Saturday's 68-61 loss to Aquinas in the Class 5A state tournament final. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Junior Maddie Gragg added 18 points while Wilhelm had 7 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Seaman's girls basketball team poses for a picture after Saturday's second-place finish in the Class 5A state tournament. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Saturday was the final game for Viking senior starters Becker, Esser, Wilhelm and Stallbaumer.
"I'm really going to miss those kids,'' Tinsley said. "They touch our lives just as much as we touch theirs. I couldn't be more proud to be their coach.''
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS GIRLS 68, SEAMAN 61
Seaman 10 16 12 23 -- 61
St. Thomas Aquinas 12 14 18 24 -- 68
Seaman (24-1) -- Stallbaumer 2-5 0-0 4, Becker 11-20 2-3 28, Wilhelm 3-10 1-2 7, Gragg 5-13 4-4 18, Esser 2-4 0-0 4, Miller 0-3 0-0 0, Spencer 0-0 0-0 0, Beaton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-55 7-9 61.
St. Thomas Aquinas (18-7) -- Welsh 1-3 2-2 5, Crouse 7-13 10-11 26, Boylan 2-5 6-8 10, Calovich 6-10 6-9 18, Sabers 0-0 1-4 1, Cook 2-4 1-2 6, Goodenow 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 19-37 26-36 68.
3-point shots -- Seaman 8-24 (Becker 4-7, Gragg 4-10, Wilhelm 0-4, Stallbaumer 0-2, Miller 0-1), St. Thomas Aquinas 4-7 (Crouse 2-3, Welsh 1-2, Cook 1-2). Total fouls -- Seaman 23, St. Thomas Aquinas 12. Fouled out -- Esser, Stallbaumer, Wilhelm. Technical fouls -- none.
CLASS 5A GIRLS STATE BASKETBALL
Saturday's results
Third place -- Andover 74, Spring Hill 55
Championship -- St. Thomas Aquinas 68, Seaman 61
