By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Hayden's girls basketball played host to Seaman on Friday night, with the Vikings coming in ranked No. 8 in Class 5A and fourth in the Centennial League, just one spot above the Wildcats.
Seaman would stay on top, using a balanced scoring attack and attacking offense to post a 50-38 win over the Wildcats.
“The girls were great, they came out with a great attitude from the get-go,” Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. “We just had to battle tonight. The game honors toughness and we were really tough tonight.”
The game moved Seaman to 11-5 on the year while Hayden fell to 8-7.
Anna Becker
Taylin Stallbaumer
After scoring only 20 points earlier in the week Seaman’s offense started strong, with 16 points in the first quarter.
Strong defense led to easy opportunities for the Vikings and limited Hayden’s opportunities to make it a 16-7 game after one.
Four early points in the second quarter from Seaman sophomore Taylin Stallbaumer pushed the lead to double digits.
“I thought offensively we shot the shots that we talked about wanting to shoot before the game. And defensively had we not fouled them early I thought we did a pretty good job of guarding them,” Tinsley said.
For the Wildcats, senior Macy Smith kept them in the game with aggressive drives to the basket, converting two old-fashioned three-point plays and scoring eight points in the half.
The Vikings' offense kept humming, with a second 3-pointer from Stallbaumer extending the lead to 13 points just before the two-minute mark. They would take a 30-16 lead into the break.
“They put us in kind of what felt like a panic mode, where we were shooting really quick shots and not the best shots and that hurt us,” said Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson.
Both sides had trouble with turnovers in the third quarter, leading to a low-scoring eight minutes. Four early points in the frame from Hayden senior Carly Stuke helped cut the lead down to 12 points heading into the fourth quarter.
Offense picked up again in the fourth quarter, first for the Wildcats. Freshman Brylee Meier knocked down her second 3-pointer of the game, cutting the lead to nine points early on.
On the other end, sophomore Brooklyn Gormley continued to work out of the post for Seaman, scoring four quick points to put her in double figures for the game.
The lead stayed at or above eight points into the final four minutes as the Vikings began to run down the clock. Two offensive rebounds from Seaman freshman Anna Becker helped drain more than two minutes of clock in one possession.
Hayden would not get any closer down the stretch as the Vikings made free throws late to give them the 12-point win.
“The biggest factor was rebounding, we didn't rebound very well,” Reynoldson said. “I think we got it to seven … then we had to foul them and they made their free throws so it was a frustrating night.”
Becker led Seaman with 13 points, after going 5-6 at the line down the stretch. Stallbaumer had 12 with two 3-pointers and Gormley had 11 on 5-8 shooting.
“We are better when everyone is involved and we are getting people with their heads up at the right time. Hayden had a good game plan and we just came out and executed,” Tinsley said.
The Wildcats were led by Smith and Stuke with 12 points each, including two triples from Stuke.
The game moved the Vikings to 9-4 in league play while Hayden dropped to 6-6 in the Centennial.
Both teams will stay home for the next game with Seaman taking on No. 2 ranked Topeka High on Tuesday and the Wildcats hosting Tonganoxie Monday.
SEAMAN GIRLS 50, HAYDEN 38
Seaman: 16 14 7 13 -- 50
Hayden: 7 9 9 13 -- 38
Seaman (11-5, 9-4) – Anderson 1-6 0-0 3, Schumann 2-4 0-0 4, Stallbaumer 4-8 2-5 12, Becker 4-12 5-6 13, Gormley 5-8 1-2 11, Mills 0-1 0-0 0, Esser 1-4 5-6 7. Totals 17-43, 13-19 50.
Hayden (8-7, 6-6) – Grunert 0-1 0-0 0, Lenherr 1-2 0-0 2, Sandstrom 0-4 1-2 1, Smith 5-17 2-2 12, Stuke 5-11 0-0 12, Schmidtlein 0-0 0-0 0, Meier 2-5 0-0 6, Greco 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 13-41 4-6 38.
3-point goals – Seaman 3 (Stallbaumer 2, Anderson 1). Hayden 4 (Stuke 2, Meier 2). Total fouls – Seaman 12, Hayden 14. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
