By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Ranked atop Class 5A, the Seaman girls are doing everything they can to stay sharp despite the long holiday, snow and ice, and an up-and-down schedule.
Senior Ava Esser led a balanced Seaman attack with 15 points in Tuesday's 71-29 UKC win over Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Tuesday night the Vikings put their foot on the gas in the second half to run away from Topeka West 71-29 at Seaman.
The Chargers were within 16 points early in the second half. But Seaman turned it on and ran its record to 7-0, with all seven wins coming in the United Kansas Conference.
The defending state champs know what it takes to reach the pinnacle, and coach Matt Tinsley isn’t letting the team take its focus off the ultimate goal.
“We don’t talk about the number one ranking or anything like that, because really that doesn’t matter,” Tinsley said. “We’ve only got 20 practices before sub-state. We’ve got to make those 20 practices where we’re getting better. We can’t afford to take two steps forward and two steps back.”
The Christmas vacation, compounded by snow days, threatened to throw the plan off schedule.
“We haven’t had a lot of conditioning,” the coach said. “Just over Christmas break when I thought we were getting in shape, we had to take five days off.”
The Vikings shook off some of the rust Tuesday, getting balanced scoring up and down the lineup. Nine Vikings scored, with five players contributing nine or more points.
Leading the way with 15 points was senior post Ava Esser, who helped lead Seaman to 5A state runners-up in volleyball in the fall.
“She’s a weapon inside, who we’ve got to throw the ball to,” Tinsley said. “She showed us what she can do when she gets it down there.”
“I’m pleased by how I’ve developed, and I definitely give credit to my coaches for all that they’ve done for me and for pushing me to be the player I can be,” said Esser, who will play volleyball at Johnson County Community College upon graduation. “I try to be there for when my teammates need me. I’m more (focused) on rebounds and helping my teammates get their shots. We’re more of a guard-team, so I just try to do my part.”
Esser is part of a group that has done a lot of winning at Seaman the past few years.
“It’s crazy to go from state volleyball right into basketball every year,” Esser said. “I think we know what it takes to win. We just progress as the years goes on. We’re looking at how we can get better as a team and how to push forward.”
Tinsley certainly knows what it takes to reach the top, but he doesn’t claim to have a blueprint for success.
“You can’t compare one team to another,” Tinsley said. “I told the girls at the start of the season, 'This is the most important season you’re going to play in, and this is the most important season I’m going to coach.’ That’s got to be the mindset.
“Obviously, you can’t be happy with where you’re at. You can always get better. We have a group that got a taste of it, and we have some seniors who want to finish their career out right.”
Maddie Gragg (32) scored 11 points for Seaman in Tuesday's 71-29 UKC romp past Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN
Tuesday night, the Vikings hit 29 of 56 attempts, including 10 3-pointers. They got 12 points from Jaida Stallbaumer and 11 points from Maddie Gragg to support Esser.
SEAMAN GIRLS 71, TOPEKA WEST 29
Topeka West 12 6 6 5 -- 29
Seaman 24 12 20 15 -- 71
Topeka West (0-6, 0-6) – I. McGlory 1-8 0-0 3, VanDyke 2-5 2-5 6, Keeling 2-4 0-0 4, Hall 2-8 0-2 5, Gonzales 2-9 0-0 6, Allen 1-1 0-1 2, A. McGlory 0-0 0-0 0, Kutina 1-2 1-2 3. Totals: 11-37 3-10 29.
Seaman (7-0, 7-0) – Stallbaumer 5-9 0-0 12, Becker 4-13 1-2 9, Wilhelm 2-3 0-2 6, Gragg 5-11 0-0 11, Esser 7-8 1-3 15, Miller 3-5 1-2 9, Beaton 1-4 0-0 3, Spencer 0-0 0-0 0, Ketron 1-1 0-0 3, Frickey 1-2 0-0 3. Totals: 29-56 3-9 71.
3-point goals – Topeka West 4 (Gonzales 2, I. McGlory 1, Hall 1), Seaman 10 (Stallbaumer 2, Wilhelm 2, Miller 2, Gragg 1, Beaton 1, Ketron 1, Frickey 1). Total fouls – Topeka West 6, Seaman 6. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
