Seward Collects Win #20 For the 25th Straight Season
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Seward County Community College (20-1 (16-1)) | 25 | 21 | 18 | 19 | 83 |
|
Barton Community College (11-10 (8-9)) | 24 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 64 |
In the midst of another historical season, it was just a matter of time before the #7 Seward County Lady Saints reached the 20 win mark in 2016-2017. That mark came Saturday night on the road in Great Bend as Seward knocked off Barton 83-64 behind 30 points from Mollie Mounsey to clinch their 25th straight season with 20 wins or more.
Both teams came out firing in the first as Barton quickly jumped out to a 6-0 lead before Seward roared back to take their first lead of the night at 9-7 at the 5:51 mark of the quarter. The Lady Saints stepped out to the three point line for the next three minutes, getting three triples from Mollie Mounsey and two more from Brennyn Seagler and Neidy Ocuane to open up their biggest lead to that point in the game at 25-14. But just when it looked like the Lady Saints were rolling, it was Barton's turn to catch fire, scoring the final 10 points of the quarter to finish off an entertaining first with Seward leading the Cougars 25-24.
Seward dug in on the defensive end to begin the second and scored the first five points to take a 30-24 lead. Barton didn't get their first points of the quarter until the 6:35 mark and the teams traded points to the 4:00 mark with Seward clinging to a 33-30 lead. Four different players scored for Seward in the final two minutes of the half, turning a four point lead into a nine point lead at 46-37 as the teams went to the locker rooms at half.
Seagler and Ocuane connected from downtown for Seward to begin the third quarter, quickly pushing the Lady Saints lead back to double digits at 52-39. Seward scored the next five to take an 18 point lead, but a 9-0 Cougar run brought Barton back to within striking distance with 4:30 left in the quarter. Eventually Barton would trim the Seward lead to just seven before Erin Richardson rained in a three to push the Lady Saints lead back to double digits and Ocuane got a bucket after a steal to make it a 12 point game after three with Seward leading it 64-52.
The Lady Saints continued to have trouble putting the Cougars away early in the fourth as Barton remained down just 10 at 66-56 with 8:28 still left to go. That's when Seward stepped on the gas, getting another Mounsey three to make it a 13 point game before Richardson and Joanna Grymek scored to extend the Lady Saints advantage to 73-56 with 5:35 remaining. Mounsey's seventh three of the night just about extinguished any hopes for a Barton comeback and a triple from Ocuane put the final nail in the Cougars coffin as the Lady Saints finished Barton off 83-64 for their 20th win of the year.
The Lady Saints shot a smooth 53% on the night in the win and connected on 16 of 32 three point attempts. Mounsey led Seward with a career high 30 while going 10 for 18 overall and 7 for 12 from three in the affair. Ocuane had her second straight big game with 17 and also dished out a career best 8 assists for the Lady Saints. Seagler put together another complete effort for Seward with 15 points and 8 rebounds while Manuela Fungate paced the Lady Saints bench with 6 points and 6 boards.
Seward improves to 20-1 on the year and 16-1 in Jayhawk Conference play to remain in the top spot in the league standings with nine games to go. The win for the Lady Saints marks the 25th straight season with 20 wins for the Seward program. Barton drops to 11-10 overall and under .500 in Jayhawk Conference action at 8-9 with the loss.
The Lady Saints return home on Wednesday on Hispanic Heritage Night in the Greenhouse where they will take on the Pratt Beavers in a 6:00 tip. Free tickets are available courtesy of our buyout sponsor First National Bank at their Liberal locations as well as at Braums and Loves in Liberal.