#19 Seward Knocks Off Pair of Region II Favorites Opening Weekend

The Seward County Lady Saints opened 2013-2014 this weekend in the Greenhouse in a Pepsi Classic which could have easily been named the Region VI/Region II Shootout as the Lady Saints paired with Garden City to take on two teams from the Sooner State in Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and Murray State.  The Lady Saints first contest, against NEO, was a dandy.  The game was a back and forth battle with neither team leading by double digits the entire game.  While they trailed with just over a minute remaining, Seward got a key late basket from Shanise Brooks and a steal by Fabiana Monte on the ensuing possession to seal a 75-72 win over the Lady Norse.  It was another good game Saturday night as Seward took on a Murray State team that blew Garden City out of the water the day before.  After a slow start, Seward picked up their play and carried a six point lead into the locker rooms at half and kept the lead the whole second half, coming out on top of a 71-54 decision to start the season 2-0. 

                In a rematch of the 2002 NJCAA National Championship Game, the Lady Saints took on NEO in their opener Friday night.  The Lady Norse scored the first four points of the game but Seward answered with four of their own to tie the game at 4 two minutes in.  The teams remained tied at 10 and then traded baskets to 12-12 midway through the half.  Seward found themselves down by one 17-14 moments later, but an 8-0 run spurred by four straight points from Shanise Brooks put the Lady Saints back up 22-17 with 7:52 to go in the half.  Seward went cold and NEO took advantage, erasing the Lady Saints lead and taking a 30-28 lead of their own with 3:19 left in the period.  Following a Seward timeout, the Lady Saints got things going once again, finishing the half on a 10-4 run to storm into the locker rooms up 38-34. 

                It was a sloppy half handling the ball for both sides as Seward and NEO each turned it over 13 times in the period.  The Lady Saints shot 40% in the half while NEO struggled to just 34% shooting, but hoisted up 13 more field goals than Seward to stay close in the contest. 

                The Lady Norse scored the first four points out of the break and quickly tied the game up at 38.  The score remained deadlocked at 40 with 17:14 left in the game until the Lady Saints turned it up a notch on the defensive end, allowing NEO to just one field goal in a span of 5:02 to take a two point lead 47-45 with 12:20 left.  A big three by Jennifer Williams gave NEO the lead back, but a shorthanded Lady Saints squad continued to fight, getting a three of their own from Brianna Scott to tie the game once again, this time at 52 with 10:14 remaining.  Seward found themselves in trouble in the next in the next five minutes, falling behind by as many as five and facing a three point deficit with under five minutes remaining after another Williams bucket off of an offensive rebound.  Three Seward free throws tied the game back up and a drive and score from Scott gave the Lady Saints the lead back at 67-65.  NEO quickly answered with a three to take a one point lead of their own but back to back Seward hoops put them up three 71-68 with 1:26 remaining.  Yet another Lady Norse longball tied the game up for the ninth time in the game and a free throw put NEO up one, 72-71 with 1:03 to go.  Two possessions later, Fabiana Monte slashed through the defense and dished to Brooks for an easy score to give Seward the lead back and Monte came up big once again on NEO's next trip down the floor, getting a steal at half court and passing to Alana Simon for an uncontested layup to put Seward in front 75-72 with 12 seconds remaining.  NEO got a good look from downtown to try and tie the game up with time winding down, but luckily for Seward it didn't find its mark and the Lady Saints survived 75-72 to come away winners. 

                The Lady Saints finished the game shooting 41% from the field and were a touch better at 43% from three point land in the victory.  NEO shot just 32% in the game and thankfully for Seward as the Lady Norse took 78 shots compared to their 59 in the game thanks in large part to 24 NEO offensive rebounds.  Brooks led Seward with 18 points and 9 rebounds in the win while Monte scored 16 and had a team high 5 assists.  Kyndal Davis and Scott both cracked double figures in their first game for the Lady Saints, Davis with 11 and Scott with 10. 

#19 SEWARD COUNTY/NORTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA A&M BOX SCORE

                Seward faced another stiff task on day two of the classic as they went toe to toe with a Murray State squad who beat up on fellow Jayhawk West rival Garden City by 28 points on Friday afternoon.  It took Seward a while to get going in this one as the Lady Saints fell behind 6-0 and were scoreless until nearly the five minute mark of the half before a three from Davis put them on the board with 15:20 to go in the period.  The Lady Saints continued to trail until Simon found Korina Chapman on the wing for a three pointer to give Seward their first lead of the game with 13:05 left in the half at 12-10.  Seward scored again on their next possession to make it a four point game and stretched their lead to five on a finish on the inside by Shanise Brooks later on to make it 16-11.  Seward remained up four with 9:20 to go in the half when an 11-0 burst by Murray State in the next three minutes erased the Lady Saints lead and put them in their biggest hole of the game at 24-17 with 6:18 to go in the half.  Still down three with just over two minutes to go in the half, the Lady Saints decided they were going to make their run.  Seward closed the half scoring nine straight points, including seven from Scott to storm into the break with a 34-28 lead. 

                Seward held Murray State to just 28% shooting in the half and were not much better themselves, shooting only 31%, but the Lady Saints managed 10 more field goal attempts than the Lady Aggies thanks in large part to 12 first half offensive rebounds. 

                The Lady Saints wasted no time in building on their lead as the second half began.  Seward got back to back threes from sophomore Payton Fleming and a pair of free throws from Davis to open up their first double digit lead of the season at 42-32 with 15:40 to go.  The lead seemed to have broken the Lady Aggies spirits as Murray State never got closer than seven points for the duration of the game.  Seward opened their lead to as many as  19 on a 15-3 run from the 10:51 to 6:16 mark of the second half and continued to hold the sizable advantage through the three minute mark of the half.  Murray State scored twice in the final minute, but it was far too little too late as Seward came away with the 71-54 blowout win to finish their opening weekend 2-0. 

                Seward continued to stymie the Murray State offense in the second half as the Lady Aggies managed just 7 field goals and a 21% shooting percentage in the period, finishing the game at just 24%.  Seward heated up to 46% shooting in the second half and finished the game at 37% overall from the field.  Scott led Seward with 17 points and 7 rebounds in the win while Davis had her second straight double digit output with 13 and Chapman had 11.  Brooks led Seward with 11 rebounds in the victory and had her second straight big game on the defensive end of the floor with 4 blocks. 

#19 SEWARD COUNTY/MURRAY STATE BOX SCORE

                The Lady Saints 2-0 start marks the 18^th consecutive year that Seward has begun the regular season with a 2-0 mark.  Seward will enjoy a light schedule over the next two weeks, traveling to Shawnee, Oklahoma for their next contest November 11^th against Oklahoma Baptist's JV before returning to the Greenhouse November 15^th and 16^th to battle South Plains and Fort Carson.