Big Fourth Quarter Saves #8 Lady Saints Again
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Gillette College (2-1) | 15 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 57 |
|
Seward County Community College (3-0) | 12 | 15 | 16 | 26 | 69 |
Playing in what was expected to be an up and down affair in their first home game of 2015-2016 in the Greenhouse against visiting Gillette, the Seward County Lady Saints found themselves in a much different game Friday night against the Pronghorns, a low scoring affair that was tied at 27 at the half and a one point game after three quarters of action, before finally Seward pulled away with a 26 point fourth quarter to win 69-57 and remain unbeaten, while knocking the Pronghorns from the unbeaten ranks.
It was a slow start for both teams Friday night, surprisingly since Gillette came into the contest averaging 106 points per game and 8th ranked Seward County entered averaging 81 per outing. A runout and score by Daniela Galindo gave the Lady Saints a 6-3 lead four minutes into play but Gillette came back to tie things up and take a 10-18 lead of their own by the 3:00 mark of the first quarter. Back to back Lady Saint finishes by countrymen Neidy Ocuane and Manuela Fungate gave Seward a 12-10 advantage with time winding down in the period, but the Lady Saints went cold over the final two minutes of the first, watching the Pronghorns sprint to a 5-0 run to take a 15-12 lead at the quarter break. The two teams combined for 17 turnovers in the first 10 minutes of action while both shot right at the 40% mark in the quarter.
Seward fell behind by five early in the second 19-14, but slowly crept back in, tying the score at 23 after taking advantage of a Gillette turnover and turning it into two points with 3:24 left in the half. The Pronghorns scored the next four to open their lead back to four, but a big three from the corner from Ocuane made it a one point game and Axelle Bernard converted on one of two from the line after she was fouled with just two seconds remaining in the half to tie the score up at 27 going to the break. It was a rather dreary stat sheet for both sides at the half as Seward shot just 38% while Gillette was just a tick better at 39%. The Pronghorns turned the ball over 16 times in the half while Seward gave it away a dozen times. Gillette dominated the glass in the half, outrebounding Seward 26 to 14, including 10 first half offensive rebounds. Ocuane led Seward with eight first half points off the bench to provide a much needed spark as the Lady Saints did not have a starter score over four points in the first 20 minutes of play.
It continued to be a back and forth affair as the third quarter got underway. Seward and Gillette were tied after three minutes of play in the quarter and remained that way five minutes later at 38-38 with two minutes to go in the period. Tied at 41 moments later, a pair of free throws from Bernard gave Seward a 43-41 lead with 1:21 to go and the Lady Saints kept Gillette without a field goal for the duration of the period to head to the fourth quarter clinging to a one point lead 43-42.
Gillette scored a quick two to start the action in the fourth quarter to take a one point lead, but it was all Lady Saints after that. Seward went on a 13-0 run over the next 4:20, getting six points from Bernard and four from Tiani White during the stretch to open up their biggest lead of the night at 56-44. White's sixth steal of the night and a score on the other end made it a 14 point game with 1:53 to go and the Lady Saints cruised from there, draining the clock with long possessions until finally the final horn sounded in a 69-57 Seward County victory.
Both teams finished the game shooting 40% from the field, but the difference came in the turnover category where the Lady Saints forced 33 Gillette turnovers, turning them into 29 points to come away with the double digit win. Bernard stepped up her game in the second half for Seward, scoring 14 points and pulling down 10 rebounds for her third straight double-double as she finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Galindo also had a big second half for Seward, scoring 12 of her 16 points in the half while ripping off six second half steals to finish the game with a career high seven. White had her second straight big game for Seward, scoring 15 points and collecting six steals on the defensive end in the victory.
The 8th ranked Lady Saints survive the scare from the Pronghorns to improve to 3-0 on the early season. Gillette loses their first game after a pair of blowout wins opening weekend as they fall to 2-1. Seward will continue action in the Pizza Hut Classic on Saturday when they take on University of the Southwest JV, who lost to Garden City in Friday's early game, at 6:00 Saturday night.