Seward Drops Battle of Top 10 Titans
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Seward County Community College | 31 | 20 | 51 |
|
Hutchinson Community College | 41 | 32 | 73 |
For the second time this season the Seward County Lady Saints and Hutchinson Lady Blue Dragons hooked up on the hardwood both ranked inside the NJCAA's top 10 and for the second time this season it was the undefeated Lady Dragons getting the best of Seward, this time a 73-51 in Hutchinson's Sports Arena.
The Lady Saints jumped out to an early lead on the Lady Dragons, but that was short lived as Hutch took their first lead of the game 2:55 in and didn't relinquish it again all night. The Lady Dragons pushed their lead to 19-7 at the 7:30 mark of the half before Seward fought back to cut it to a five point ballgame at 23-18 with 8:18 to go in the half when Kyndal Davis connected on a midrange jumper. The Lady Saints hung around, but just could never get over the hump against Hutch and the Lady Dragons took a 41-31 lead into he break at half.
Seward trailed by just 10 at the half despite Hutchinson shooting 56% from the field and themselves shooting just 36%. The Lady Saints did limit the Lady Dragons second chance opportunities to just 4 points on 4 chances while Seward actually outscored them in second chance points with 5 in the half.
Hutchinson came out of the locker rooms at half and immediately took it to the Lady Saints however. Seward managed just six points in the first 12:25 of the second half and the Lady Dragons took advantage, pushing a 10 point cushion to a 31 point advantage, blowing the game wide open to 68-37. Kyndal Davis and Brooklyn Artis scored eight straight for Seward to cut into the Dragons lead, but it was far too little too late for the Lady Saints as Hutchinson cruised to a 73-51 victory at the final horn.
The Lady Saints actually slowed down the Dragons potent attack in the second half, holding them to just 9 field goals and 32% shooting, but Seward could get nothing going on their offensive end of the floor, managing just 5 second half field goals and shooting 19% to finish the game at 28% overall. Hutch dominated the glass against the Lady Saints, outrebounding them 45-31 in the game including 14 offensive boards. Davis was the lone Lady Saint to reach double figures, scoring 20 and collecting 7 rebounds in the losing cause.
Hutch has now won 12 straight against Seward to even the all-time series between the two at 38 apiece. The Lady Saints drop their second straight to fall to 25-4 overall and finish Jayhawk West play at 13-3, good for 2nd place to the Dragons. Hutch wraps up another undefeated regular season at 30-0 and sweeps through Jayhawk West play perfect at 16-0.
Seward will now turn their attention to the second season as they get set for the playoffs which begin Saturday. The Lady Saints won a postgame coin flip with Butler and will be the #2 seed from the West for the tournament and will host Neosho County for the second straight year in the first round in the Greenhouse on Saturday at 6:00. Free tickets for the game are available courtesy of our buyout sponsor McDonald's at their Liberal locations.