By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
In the locker room following their victory this past Friday night at Shawnee Heights, Seaman girls coach Matt Tinsley wrote 20-0 on the dry erase board. He then quickly erased it and wrote 0-0.
Senior Anna Becker scored 27 points in Tuesday's 59-42 Seaman sub-state win over Topeka West. [File photo/TSN]
That was the mindset the Vikings had as they began this ‘new’ season against cross-town opponent Topeka West Tuesday night in the semifinal round of the Class 5A sub-state playoffs.
The Seaman Lady Vikings continued their undefeated season with a 59-42 victory over the Topeka West Chargers. There were moments where Seaman’s offense was sluggish, but other moments where they had excellent execution.
"We are better when the ball moves to the side, back to the top and to the opposite side. The best thing to do against any defense is to always move and be hard to guard,” Tinsley commented after the game.
For the first five-plus minutes of the contest, the teams traded baskets and the Lady Vikings and Chargers were tied at 11 with 2:20 left in the quarter. Topeka West took their first and only lead of the game,13-11, following two free throws by junior Imani McGlory with 1:37 remaining in the quarter.
Seaman outscored Topeka West 6-0 to end the first quarter, taking a 17-13 lead to the second stanza.
The Lady Vikes extended their run to 15-0 over the first four minutes of the second quarter to double-up the Chargers, 26-13. With a little over four minutes left in the first half, hit a 3-pointer to finally stop the run. The defensive pressure applied by Seaman was the difference as the Vikings held Topeka West to only two field goals in the quarter and led 30-18 at halftime.
“Their zone had us standing and we need to get better ball movement and player movement. We were just settling, one pass and a shot, and when you’re not hitting, it doesn’t look very good,” Tinsley said about the first half.
The Lady Vikes came out of the locker room and executed better on offense. They hit four 3-pointers -- one by junior Maddie Gragg, one by senior Kinley Wilhelm and two by senior Anna Becker plus a free throw from senior Ava Esser -- outscoring the Chargers 13-4 over the first four minutes of the third quarter. The Vikings took a commanding 53-30 lead into the final quarter.
Tinsley commented about their aggressiveness coming out of the locker room after the halftime break, “Our third quarter offense was good against their man and zone defenses. But credit Topeka West, they played hard and hit some shots.”
The Chargers continued to battle throughout the fourth quarter outscoring the Lady Vikes 12-6. Seaman was able to empty their bench and advance to the sub-state final by a 17-point margin.
In preparation for Friday night’s game, Tinsley said, “We need to work on our movement on offense over the next couple of days.”
The Lady Vikes were led by senior Becker, the only player in double figures, with 27 points. Seaman was led in rebounding by junior Maddie Gragg’s 11 and senior Ava Esser’s 7 boards.
The Chargers were led by juniors McGlory and Addaline Hall, with both scoring 14 points each. Sophomore Sydney VanDyke led the team with 8 rebounds.
Topeka West ends their season with a 6-15 record, but will return their entire sub-state roster next season.
Seaman advances to host the sub-state championship on Friday night at 6 p.m., where the Vikings will host the Kapaun-Mt. Carmel Crusaders, who defeated Valley Center 62-38.
Seaman Girls 59, Topeka West 42
Topeka West 13 5 12 12 -- 42
Seaman 17 13 23 6 -- 59
Topeka West (6-15) -- Allen 1-3 0-0 2, Traylor 0-0 0-0 0, I. McGlory 5-20 2-2 14, VanDyke 1-6 3-9 5, Keeling 2-4 0-0 4, Hall 6-12 0-0 14, Gonzales 1-4 0-0 3, A. McGlory 0-1 0-0 0, Kutina 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-50 5-11 42.
Seaman (21-0) -- Frickey 0-0 0-0 0, Ketron 0-0 0-0 0, Stallbaumer 2-10 2-2 6, Miller 2-6 1-1 5, Spencer 0-0 0-0 0, Puvogel 0-0 0-0 0, Beaton 0-1 0-0 0, Becker 10-18 3-3 27, Wilhelm 3-6 1-2 8, Gragg 3-13 0-0 7, Esser 2-6 2-4 6, Dreher 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-60 9-12 59.
3 point goals -- Topeka West 5 (I. McGlory 2, Hall 2, Gonzales); Seaman 6 (Becker 4, Wilhelm, Gragg). Total Fouls -- Topeka West 13; Seaman 9. Fouled out -- none. Technicals -- none.
