Seward falls short at Region VI championships

PARK CITY, Kan. — The second-ranked Seward County Community College women's basketball team lost to Butler Community College 62-54 in the Region VI championship on Wednesday. The Lady Saints dropped to 30-3 on the season.

Lexi Hernandez had 19 points, Karolina Szydlowska scored 14 and Carla Covane added 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Lady Saints, who had their winning streak snapped at 24 games. The last team to beat them was the Grizzlies, who were also the only conference team to beat them.

Seward struggled on the boards, getting out rebounded 51-30, which led to 17 second-chance points for Butler. The Lady Saints only had four second-chance points.

Seward found itself in a hole early as Butler jumped out to a 17-2 lead and held a 20-6 advantage after one quarter. The Lady Saints stormed back in the second quarter behind Hernandez's nine points, all on three pointers, as they held the Grizzlies to just four points to only trail 24-21 at the half.

The Lady Saints started the second half strong, leading by as many as six before the Grizzlies rallied and the game was tied at 40 after three quarters.

The teams battled back and forth in the fourth quarter. Butler opened a three-point lead, but Seward closed to within 55-54 with1:41 remaining. The Lady Saints would not score again as the Grizzlies ended the game with a 7-0 run.

Kyla Callins had 18 points and 14 rebounds and Jalisco Smallwood added 12 points and nine rebounds for Butler, which improved to 28-4 on the season.

The Grizzlies received an automatic bid to the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament while the Lady Saints will have to wait until Monday to see if they will receive an at-large bid.