Not So Sweet 16 For Seward In Salina

The Seward County Lady Saints reached the NJCAA National Tournament Sweet 16 on Tuesday night in Salina, Kansas but the party quickly turned to heartbreak as the gals in green fell 53-47 to Walters State in a game that was dominated by defense on both sides. 

To say that the game was a struggle for the two offenses early on would be an understatement. The game was scoreless through the first 3:53 until a Seward free throw gave the Lady Saints a 1-0 lead.  The Lady Saints picked up the game's first field goal at the 15:36 mark and continued to baffle Walters State's offense, holding them off the board as they led 7-0 as the clock ticked under 13:00 left in the half.  The struggle continued for both sides over the next few minutes as the Lady Saints packed in zone provided Walters State without any driving lanes to showcase their athleticism, however, Seward couldn't find any room themselves against the Senators and it remained a 7-0 game through the midway point of the half.  Walters State finally got their first points of the game at the 9:52 mark, 10:08 into the game and the Senators went on a 9-0 run over the next 2:00 to take their first lead of the game at 9-7.  Rebekah Hatchard drove and scored for Seward to quickly tie the game up at 9 and Brooklyn Artis connected on a pullup with 6:41 left in the half to give the Lady Saints a 13-9 advantage.  After Wallace cut it back to a two point game, the Lady Saints went on a 7-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 20-11 with 3:14 left in the half.  Seward did not find the basket from the field for the remainder of the half while Walters connected twice and to the locker room the two teams went scratching their heads with the Lady Saints in front 21-16. 

Seward held a 30 win Walters State team to just 21% shooting in the half while the Lady Saints didn't manage much better at just 29%.  Rebounding was dead even at 21 each in the first 20 minutes while Walters had 10 turnovers and Seward 9.  Daniela Galindo led all scorers with a whopping 6 points at the half. 

Walters continued playing right into the Lady Saints game plan of letting the Senators have the outside shot as the second half began, but unlike the first half, Walters had some success, quickly hitting a pair of triples to tie the score at 21.  Just as quick as the game was tied up, the Lady Saints jumped back in front as Kyndal Davis picked up an offensive rebound and put it back in while Hatchard connected from deep to give the gals in green a 26-21 lead. Seward remained in front by a pair at the under 14:00 media timeout in the second half, but a quick 5-0 burst by the Senators gave Walters State a 32-29 lead with 11:50 to go.  The Lady Saints continued to have problems cracking the code that was the high pressure Walters State defense.  Seward managed just one field goal from the 15:57 to the 9:06 mark of the second half and Walters stretched their lead to six points, 37-31 in the meantime. Four straight points from Brooklyn Artis got Seward to within a pair and a quick trigger three from Hatchard gave them the lead back, 40-39, with 6:09 to go. Walters answered just eight seconds later to take the lead back and the Lady Saints never led again.  Seward went another 3:26 without a field goal and saw their deficit reach six again with just 3:36 to go and a key turnover all but sealed the Lady Saints fate.  Seward never got back to closer than four and a pair of Walters State free throws with time just about expired put the finishing touches on a 53-47 Senators win. 

Seward finished the game shooting just 27.6% from the field, the programs worst shooting percentage in a game in the past five seasons.  The Lady Saints who were a good shooting team all season finished just 3 for 17 (18%) from the three point line and a day after their best game at the free throw line all season, shot just 60% from the line in their loss Tuesday.  Davis was the only Lady Saint in double figures in the defeat, finishing with a 10 point, 11 rebound double-double to put a bow on her Seward County career.  Axelle Bernard came off the bench to score 7 points and haul in 11 rebounds for the Lady Saints while Galindo and Hatchard each had 9. 

The Lady Saints tournament run comes to a halt in the Sweet 16 as Seward finishes their 2015 season 28-6. Walters State marches on where they will take on New Mexico in the Elite 8 on Thursday as they improve to 31-2 on the year. 

#9 SEWARD COUNTY/#6 WALTERS STATE BOX SCORE