By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman girls basketball put together a strong comeback Friday night after falling behind by 11 points in the first half.
But for the second straight game, it wasn't enough, with the Vikings dropping their second United Kansas Conference decision in three days, a 52-46 home loss to Leavenworth.
Seaman senior Maddie Gragg (32) scored 16 points in Friday's 52-46 UKC loss to Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman, which lost 52-38 to De Soto on Wednesday at home, spotted the Pioneers a 27-16 halftime advantage before rallying to get as close as two points with 1:07 remaining, but the Pioneers outscored the Vikings 5-1 down the stretch to hold on for the win.
The Vikings, now 6-4 overall and 6-3 in the UKC, have dropped back-to-back games for the first time since the 2020-2021 season.
"We came out flat and all three games this week we've come out flat,'' said Seaman coach Matt Tinsley, whose Vikings opened the week with a 49-26 conference road win at Topeka West on Tuesday. "You can't dig yourself a hole and then that's just too much energy to come back.
"They'd get a rebound that we have a chance to get and they'd hit a 3 or we'd have a turnover in a critical moment. We're still learning that every possession is so important, especially in a tight game like that. We had no energy in the first half at all. We showed what we can do in the second half, but unfortunately the game is two halves.''
Senior Maddie Gragg led the Vikings with 16 points, 11 in the second half, while junior Cara Beaton added 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Leavenworth, which improved to 5-4 overall and 3-4 in the UKC, got a game-high 18 points from sophomore Mya Huewitt, who hit four 3-pointers, while sophomore Layla Brown added 14 points.
Seaman will try to get back on track next Friday when the Vikings host Washburn Rural in a non-league game.
LEAVENWORTH GIRLS 52, SEAMAN 46
Leavenworth 15 12 10 15 -- 52
Seaman 12 4 14 16 -- 46
Leavenworth (5-4, 3-4) – Walker 2-3 0-0 6, Huewitt 6-12 2-2 18, Brown 5-11 3-6 14, Allen 3-7 0-0 6, M. McIntyre 2-5 2-6 6, Graham 0-1 0-0 0, McCann 0-0 0-0 0, P. McIntyre 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 19-40 7-14 52.
Seaman (6-4, 6-3) – Dreher 0-1 2-4 4, Spencer 3-9 1-2 7, Beaton 5-11 2-4 14, Ayres 2-7 0-0 4, Gragg 4-12 7-10 16, Frickey 1-3 0-0 3, Puvogel 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 15-45 12-20 46.
3-point goals – Leavenworth 7 (Huewitt 4, Walker 2, Brown), Seaman 4 (Beaton 2, Gragg, Frickey). Total fouls – Leavenworth 17, Seaman 12. Fouled out – Huewitt. Technical fouls -- none.
