Seward County falls short to No. 6 Trinity Valley 70-62

LIBERAL, Kan. - Seward County Community College fell short to No. 6 Trinity Valley Community College 70-62 in the Greenhouse for the final day of the Seward County Basketball Christmas Classic. The Lady Saints led 60-59 with five minutes left, but the Cardinals finished the contestant on a 13-2 run to claim the victory. Seward County is now 8-4 on the year and will be back in action on New Years' eve against Temple College at 2:30 p.m. CT. 

Halima Salat and Kylee Hunt had 15 points in the contest to lead the Lady Saints. D'Arrah Allen and De'Shawnti Thomas had 13 points, and Tiana Winn provided four and nine rebounds. 

The Lady Saints connected on three threes to start the first quarter and had a 9-4 lead over the Cardinals. Thomas made a layup with four minutes left in the quarter to give Seward County a 13-6 lead over Trinity Valley. The Cardinals responded with a 10-0 run and took their first contest lead, 16-13, over the Lady Saints in the final minute. Seward County ended the first quarter down 18-15 to Trinity Valley.

After a Cardinal free throw, the Lady Saints found themselves down 21-15 with 6:36 left in the second quarter. With four minutes left, Halima Salat went two for two from the free throw line to tie the game at 21-21 and closed out a 6-0 run by the Lady Saints. Trinity Valley responded with a 5-0 run of their own to take a 26-21 lead over Seward County, and the Lady Saints stormed back and, with a three by Salat tied the game at 27-27.

With ten seconds left, Hunt slowed it down, tied at 31-31, and connected on a floater in the lane as the second quarter came to a close to give Seward County a 33-31 halftime advantage. 

Both teams traded off baskets to start the third quarter, and neither had a more considerable lead than two points to start the second half. Trinity Valley went on a 6-0 run with 3:22 left in the quarter to lead 43-37 over Seward County after a layup. Seward County responded with a 12-2 run and had a 49-45 lead over Trinity Valley with thirty seconds left. After a pair of free throws by the cardinals in the final second, the Lady Saints went into the fourth quarter with a 49-47 lead.

In the final quarter, Allen connected on a runner in the lane to put the Lady Saints up 56-52 with under eight minutes left. Trinity Valley made it a one-point game, 58-57, and Seward County extended their lead again to three after a Hunt mid-range jumper, 60-57. In the final five minutes, the Lady Saints connected on only one field goal as the Cardinals went on a 13-2 to close out the contest. Seward County could not storm back in the final minute as Trinity Valley won 70-62.  

Seward County will travel on December 31st to Lake Charles, Louisiana, to take on Temple College at 2:30 p.m. CT. On New Years' day, the Lady Saints will face Tyler Junior College at 10 a.m. in their final non-conference contest. Seward County will return home on January 4th, 2023, for conference play against Barton Community College at 6 p.m. CT.