By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
The top-ranked Seaman Lady Vikings hosted the ninth-ranked De Soto Wildcats to wrap up their schedule before the holiday break, with Seaman holding off the Wildcats for a 53-50 United Kansas Conference win.
The first four minutes of the first quarter was back and forth, but over the last four minutes, Seaman stretched out its lead to 16-9.
Senior Anna Becker led the way with 18 points as Seaman held off De Soto 53-50 Friday night, improving to 5-0. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman extended the lead to 22-11 over the first two minutes of the second quarter, leading to a De Soto timeout. The Lady Vikes held the Wildcats scoreless for over three minutes in the middle of the quarter and their lead grew to 27-11.
However, the Wildcats battled back with a pair of old fashioned 3-point plays by senior Makenzie Farmer and cut the Lady Vikes lead to 30-18 at halftime.
“We had a great first half moving the ball against their zone. I thought we were being hard to guard,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said.
De Soto continued to cut into Seaman’s lead and trailed 34-25 with 3:33 remaining in the third quarter, causing Seaman to call a timeout.
Senior Jaida Stallbaumer hit four straight free throws to close out the quarter and Seaman led 43-33 going to the fourth quarter.
The teams matched baskets for the first five minutes of the final quarter and Seaman called a timeout leading 51-43.
Over the next two minutes, De Soto scored seven straight points to trail only 51-50 with 1:07 remaining.
Senior Ava Esser scored to give Seaman a 3-point lead with just under a minute remaining. De Soto failed to score on their next possession and had to commit three fouls in the final 30 seconds to send Seaman to the line to shoot free throws.
After two misses by Esser, De Soto called a timeout with six seconds remaining and missed a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, sending Seaman to the winter break with the 53-50 victory.
“In the second half we looked stagnant and were sometimes careless with the ball,'' Tinsley said. "I thought our mental toughness was tested and we bent in the second half, but didn’t break. I was proud of the girls for finding a way to win.
“De Soto is a well-coached team and we knew we would have a game against an elite guard in Makenzie Farmer. A win going into the break was a goal and we’re looking forward to practices coming up after the break where we can really teach and get better.”
The Lady Vikes were led by junior Anna Becker with 18 points, followed by Esser with 11. Senior Kinley Wilhelm grabbed eight rebounds and Esser had seven boards. Becker led the team with four assists.
The Lady Wildcats were led by Farmer with 23 points and Quinn Carpenter scored 11.
The Lady Vikes will return to action on Wednesday, January 8, when they will host St. James Academy.
SEAMAN GIRLS 53, DE SOTO 50
De Soto 9 9 15 17 50
Seaman 16 14 18 15 53
De Soto (4-1, 1-1) -- Leis 2-4 2-2 7, Carpenter 4-10 2-2 11, Farmer 10-17 2-3 23, O’Brien 1-3 0-0 3, Cinotto 0-2 0-0 0, Gulley 0-4 2-2 2, Chappel 1-5 2-4 4. Totals 18-45 10-13 50.
Seaman (5-0, 5-0) -- Stallbaumer 1-9 4-4 6, Miller 0-1 0-0 0, Beaton 2-6 0-0 5, Becker 7-13 0-0 18, Wilhelm 2-5 0-0 5, Gragg 3-10 2-2 8, Esser 5-11 1-3 11. Totals 20-55 7-9 53.
3 point goals -- De Soto 4 (Leis, Carpenter, Farmer, O’Brien), Seaman 6 (Beaton, Becker 4, Wilhelm). Total Fouls -- De Soto 12, Seaman 15. Fouled out -- Gragg.
