By CHARLES SPURLOCK
TopSports.news
The Seaman Lady Vikings hosted the Basehor-Linwood Bobcats in their third matchup of the season in Saturday's Class 5A sub-state championship game.
Seaman's girls basketball team poses for a picture after Saturday's 68-33 win over Basehor-Linwood in a Class 5A sub-state final. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Both regular season contests were won handily by the Lady Vikes, 64-42 in early January and 61-30 in mid-February and the outcome of Saturday's contest was very similar to the previous two games, with Seaman winning the game, 68-33, to punch their ticket to the 5A state tournament beginning Thursday at White Auditorium in Emporia.
The Lady Vikes began the game very focused and jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the first four minutes, causing the Bobcats to spend a timeout. The Vikings extended their lead to 25-10 by the end of the first quarter. Seaman was a blistering 5-7 from behind the 3-point line in the quarter.
During the first couple of minutes of the second quarter, the Bobcats found an offensive rhythm and the Lady Vikes were only able to add one point to their lead going into halftime, 38-22.
“This was our best offensive showing of the year as far as running our half court offense,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "The girls moved the ball and found a rhythm offensively.”
During the third quarter Seaman shot 7-11 from the field and extended its lead to 57-31 heading into the final quarter. In the first 80 seconds of the fourth quarter the lead grew to above 30 points, causing a running clock for the remainder of the game, which ended with Seaman winning by 35 points.
“There is a lot of talk this time of year about March Madness and ‘survive and advance,’ '' Tinsley said. "I challenged the girls to have a different mindset of ‘thrive and advance’ instead. If you are not aggressive and back on your heels, you are playing not to lose. I want them to play to win and be confident in our goal. This is a special group of kids and there is nothing that compares to the excitement of the state basketball tournament. The girls have earned it and I want them to be loose and enjoy the moment. I’m so happy for them!”
Sophomore Maddie Gragg led Seaman with 16 points in Saturday's 68-33 sub-state win over Basehor-Linwood. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman senior Taylin Stallbaumer scored 15 points with three 3-pointers in Saturday's 68-33 sub-state victory over Basehor-Linwood. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Lady Vikes were led by three players in double figures -- sophomore Maddie Gragg with 16, senior Taylin Stallbaumer with 15 and junior Jaida Stallbaumer with 11 points.
Junior Kinley Wilhelm grabbed six rebounds and senior Ava Esser had five boards. Junior Anna Becker dished out four assists and Taylin Stallbaumer had three. Becker also had three steals.
Basehor-Linwood was led by sophomore Sarah McKnight with 14 points, followed by fellow sophomore Kinley Christopher with seven.
For the fifth time in seven years, Seaman (20-2) is headed to the state tournament and will play on Thursday at White Auditorium in Emporia.
SEAMAN GIRLS 68, BASEHOR-LINWOOD 33
Basehor-Linwood 10 12 9 2 -- 33
Seaman 25 13 19 11 -- 68
Basehor-Linwood (13-9) -- Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Spellman 0-0 0-0 0, Greer 1-10 0-0 3, Schwisow 1-4 0-0 3, McKnight 6-8 2-2 14, Baker 1-6 4-6 6, Clegg 0-1 0-0 0, Christopher 3-9 0-2 7, Murphy 0-0 0-0 0, Small 0-0 0-0 0, Deters 0-1 0-0 0, Rogers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-39 6-10 33.
Seaman (20-2) -- J. Stallbaumer 3-6 4-4 11, McLaughlin 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 1-1 0-0 2, E. Stallbaumer 1-1 0-0 3, Steiner 0-0 0-0 0, Beaton 0-0 0-0 0, T. Stallbaumer 6-11 0-0 15, Becker 3-7 1-2 7, Wilhelm 2-5 0-0 5, Gragg 6-7 2-2 16, Moulden 1-1 1-1 3, Esser 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 26-45 8-9 68.
3 point goals -- Basehor-Linwood 3 (Greer, Schwisow, Christopher), Seaman 8 (T. Stallbaumer 3, Gragg 2, J. Stallbaumer, E. Stallbaumer, Wilhelm). Total Fouls -- Basehor-Linwood 12, Seaman 11. Fouled out - none.
