By KYLE MANTHE
Special to TopSports.news
In early December Seaman and Topeka West's girls squared off the second game of the season in a game that ended 60-26 in favor of the Vikings on their home floor. It was a nearly identical outcome in the second part of the home-and-home as Class 5A No. 1 Seaman (15-1 overall, 11-1 in the United Kansas Conference) won 60-28 over the Chargers (5-12, 4-9).
Junior Taylin Stallbaumer scored a game-high 23 points with four 3-pointers in Seaman's 60-28 UKC win at Topeka West. [Photo by Trevor Falcon/Special to TSN]
Seaman junior Anna Becker, who had 12 points, drives to the hoop in Friday's 60-28 UKC win over Topeka West. [Photo by Trevor Falcon/TSN]
“I thought the third quarter was big because we got back to being patient. That was one thing that we stressed,” said Seaman coach Matt Tinsley. “I just felt like we were calm, cool and collected, the game wasn’t sped up for us, and we were taking shots that we wanted to shoot.”
The top-ranked Vikings showed why they have that distinction with an 18-0 run to end the third quarter and put the game out of reach.
Many of those points, including buzzer-beating 3-pointers at the end of the first and second quarters, were from junior Taylin Stallbaumer, who had 23 points on the night.
“This team is very unselfish. Taylin, Anna (Becker), Maddie (Gragg), any one of those three can get us 20 any night and they recognize that. Tonight was Taylin’s night, and they fed her the ball and that’s what’s special about this team is that they play unselfishly,” Tinsley said.
Topeka West will be at home next week, taking on De Soto on Tuesday, while Seaman will be on the road against Leavenworth as the Vikings look for a 10-game winning streak in the final weeks of the regular season.
“We are on a good run here and we just have to continue to build on it and understand that we aren’t where we want to be yet and obviously we can still get better,” Tinsley said.
The Vikings got out to a quick 14-2 start and led 17-5 at the end of the first quarter with five points each from Stallbaumer, Becker and Gragg.
The fast pace of the first quarter went away in the second, with both teams forcing turnovers and getting to the free throw line. A layup by West freshman Teairra Gonzales off a turnover made it a single-digit game in the back half of the second quarter. Seaman had a swift response, ending the half on a 8-0 run to lead 30-14.
“We played hard, we battled the whole game. The tough thing about matching up with them is they can beat you in so many ways,” Topeka West coach Jeff Skar said.
To start the third quarter Topeka West scored two of the first three baskets, but the last 18 points all came from the visiting Vikings. Five players scored in Seaman’s run, and it was defense and ball movement translating into offensive production.
“We talked about that ball reversals and paint touches increase your points per possession and I thought in the third quarter we were fantastic,” Tinsley said.
The Chargers outscored Seaman 10-9 in the fourth quarter, getting six points from freshman Imani McGlory, but the Vikings came out on top 60-28 and swept the season series between the two.
“Imani McGlory is only playing two quarters right now and I need to find a way to get her some more quarters in, but she comes in and makes plays and takes good shots,” Skar said.
Nine players entered the scoring column for Seaman, led by Stallbaumer’s 23 and four 4-pointers. Becker had an efficient 12 points and Gragg had 10. As a team, the Vikings shot over 50 percent from the floor in the game.
Topeka West had eight players score and was led by Imani McGlory with six points while Azaryah Duncan had five.
SEAMAN GIRLS 60, TOPEKA WEST 28
Seaman 17 13 21 9 -- 60
Topeka West 5 9 4 10 -- 28
Seaman (15-1, 11-1) – Anderson 1-1 0-0 2, Schumann 2-2 0-0 4, J. Stallbaumer 0-1 0-0 0, E. Stallbaumer 1-1 0-0 3, T. Stallbaumer 8-15 3-3 23, Becker 5-6 1-2 12, Wilhelm 1-3 0-0 2, Gragg 4-7 1-2 10, Moulden 1-1 0-0 2, Gormley 0-3 2-2 2. Totals: 23-40 7-9 60.
Topeka West (5-12, 4-9) – Gonzales 1-2 1-2 3, Brooks 2-8 0-0 4, McGlory 2-5 2-2 6, Alexander 0-3 2-4 2, Duncan 2-7 0-0 5, Hall 0-1 0-0 0, Clark 1-4 1-2 3, Ford 1-5 0-0 2, Bearman 0-1 3-4 3. Totals: 9-36 9-14 28.
3-point goals – Seaman – 7 (T. Stallbaumer 4, Becker 1, Gragg 1, E. Stallbaumer 1), Topeka West 1 (Duncan). Total fouls – Seaman 11, Topeka West 12. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
