By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Rumor has it, jaws are still dropped in Seaman’s gymnasium after the Class 5A No. 8-ranked Seaman girls delivered Class 6A No. 2-ranked Topeka High its first loss of the year, with the Vikings taking a 50-42 win over the Trojans Tuesday night.
“This is exactly what we have worked for,” Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. “We have a tremendous amount of respect for Topeka High. Solid defense, two tremendous guards, and a great team
“A few years ago, we emphasized the word ‘beastmode.’ Yesterday, we conditioned extremely hard at practice. We needed to get into beastmode. Typically, we don’t condition a day before a game. The girls worked their tails off at practice. Mentally, we needed to get ready for this game. They truly believed that they could do it. That’s beastmode right there.”
Seaman celebrates at the end of Tuesday's 50-42 win over previously-unbeaten Topeka High. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Topeka High had a lead over Seaman for 31:41 in the game, but the Lady Vikes began to build confidence when the Trojans hit the double bonus in fouls with 6:12 in the fourth quarter.
Seaman capitalized on the Lady Trojans' fouls, hitting 13 of 16 free throws, which would be the key to the big victory.
Freshman Anna Becker and sophomore Taylin Stallbaumer would hit 11 out of their 12 free throws from the charity stripe.
“I banked in the first free throw, but after that, I felt more confident,” said Stallbaumer. “The game came down to free throws and we were able to make them. Tonight was a huge win for us and that’s what we’ve been working for.”
Although Topeka High had a lead for a large majority of the game, Seaman kept the game close, riding an outstanding defensive effort.
Topeka High’s Kiki Smith had the hot hand early. When the Trojans struggled to score in the first quarter, Smith was there, scoring 10 first-quarter points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Stallbaumer locked up with High’s Smith in the second quarter and held the junior guard scoreless while Seaman’s other contributors also turned in a solid effort in preventing the Trojans from lighting up the scoreboard.
Seaman, as well as High, had shooting woes of their own, with Stallbaumer and Ava Esser providing 17 out of the team’s 19 points going into the locker room.
“I reassured our girls that we could do this,” said Tinsley. “At halftime, we talked about the different ways (Topeka High) was guarding us. We just needed to come back out, play our style of basketball and be confident in us.”
The Lady Vikings held Topeka High to back-to-back single-digit quarters from the second to the third.
The Lady Vikes were able to draw fouls at a fast pace. Topeka High fell into the bonus in fouls before the 3:00 period in the third quarter.
Seaman, who hit 21 of 29 free throws in the game, took over once the Lady Trojans hit the bonus.
The game would end up being dictated on Topeka High’s fouls and Seaman’s success from the free throw line.
“Once the clock hit 40 seconds, it felt real,” said Stallbaumer. “We took advantage of the opportunities given to us.”
Seaman would outscore Topeka High 31-20 in the second half.
Smith led Topeka High (16-1, 13-1) with 20 points while senior Tae Thomas added 13.
Stallbaumer had 19 points and Becker 13 for Seaman (12-5, 10-4).
Seaman will host a tough (14-2) Lansing team on Friday while Topeka High will travel to Hayden..
SEAMAN GIRLS 50, TOPEKA HIGH 42
Topeka High 13 9 9 11 – 42
Seaman 6 13 13 18 – 50
Topeka High (16-1, 13-1) – Caryl 3 1-2 7, Thomas 4 4-6 13, Shields 0 0-0 0, Smith 7 3-3 20, Wiley 0 0-0 0, Leesman 1 0-0 2.
Seaman (12-5, 10-4) – Schumann 1 1-2 3, Stallbaumer 5 6-8 19, Becker 2 9-9 13, Gormley 1 4-7 6, Esser 4 1-3 9.
3-point goals – Seaman 3 (Stallbaumer 3), Topeka High 4 (Smith 3, Thomas). Total fouls – Topeka 15, Seaman 17. Fouled out -- non. Technical fouls – none.
