By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Overall, Friday wasn't a stellar night on the offensive end for the undefeated Seaman girls basketball team, which shot just 32.5 from the field and managed just one 3-pointer after hitting 10 treys in its previous game.
But the Vikings were good enough on the defensive end that their offensive struggles were little more than an annoyance as Seaman, No. 2-ranked in Class 5A, never trailed on the way to a 47-36 United Kansas Conference win over No. 6 De Soto at Seaman.
Junior Brooklyn Gormley, splitting two De Soto defenders, led Seaman with 12 points in the Vikings' 47-36 UKC win Friday night at Seaman. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Cove
"We played our tails off defensively,'' said Seaman coach Matt Tinsley, whose Vikings improved to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the UKC. "De Soto's a good team and we knew it was going to be a battle. We knew we were going to have to play hard defensively and I told the girls in practice yesterday, 'I'm going to ask you in the second half, when was the last time they ran their offense?'
"That was our emphasis. They can shoot and we had to guard the 3 line and we did that tonight. It was a tough defensive effort. I told the girls that we wanted to keep them from doing what they practice every day and I thought we did that.''
The Vikings did get an offensive spark from 6-foot-1 junior Brooklyn Gormley, who scored Seaman's first six points on the way to a team-high 12 points (5 of 7 from the field, 2 of 2 from the free throw line).
"She was terrific and we need it,'' Tinsley said of Gormley. "We have multiple people that can score and it was her night tonight.''
And although Seaman did have trouble hitting shots from the field, the Vikings were solid from the free throw line, connecting on 20 of 25 attempts on the night, including 14 of 16 over the final 4:18.
Gormley staked Seaman to a 6-0 lead at the 3:40 mark of the first quarter, but De Soto (4-2, 2-1) cut its deficit to 8-6 at the end of the quarter and the Wildcats tied the game at 12 and 15 before sophomore Kinley Wilhelm hit a 3-pointer to put the Vikings up 18-15 at the half.
Seaman scored the final three points of the third quarter to go up 27-23 at the start of the fourth quarter and the Vikings stretched their lead to 12 twice in the late going.
Freshman Maddie Gragg, going up for a shot, scored 10 points and hit six of six free throws in Seaman's 47-36 UKC win over De Soto Friday night. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
Freshman Maddie Gragg joined Gormley in double figures with 10 points (six of six at the free throw line) while sophomore Anna Becker added nine points and Taylin Stallbaumer eight (six of eight free throws).
Sophomore Makenzie Farmer led De Soto with a game-high 16 points, including four 3-pointers.
SEAMAN GIRLS 47, DE SOTO 36
De Soto 6 9 8 13 -- 36
Seaman 8 10 9 20 -- 47
De Soto (4-2, 2-1) -- Addison Tower1-5 1-2 3, Tuttle 0-1 1-2 1, Farmer 5-9 2-2 16, Conley 2-5 3-4 7, O'Brien 1-2 2-2 4, Amanda Tower 2-3 0-0 5, Carpenter 0-2 0-0 0, Carson 0-3 0-0 0, Waite 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-30 9-12 36.
Seaman (5-0, 4-0) -- Schumann 1-2 2-2 4, Stallbaumer 1-7 6-8 8, Becker 3-11 3-5 9, Gragg 2-10 6-6 10, Gormley 5-7 2-2 12, Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Wilhelm 1-2 1-2 4. Totals 13-40 20-25 47.
3-point goals -- De Soto 5 (Farmer 4, Amanda Tower), Seaman 5 (Wilhelm). Total fouls -- De Soto 19, Seaman 12. Fouled out – none. Technical foul -- De Soto (illegal substitution).
