Jay Daubenberger
Liberal, Kansas – Saturday night saw the Region VI Tournament kick off with Seward County taking on the Pratt Beavers where a historic night for Allie Myers helped lead the way for the Lady Saints to grab a first-round victory 56-50 over Pratt to advance to round two next week to keep their dreams of a National Tournament appearance alive.
The first quarter was ten minutes both sides wished they could redo as a triple from Xoe Rosalez and a corner three by Jamia Carter were the only points SCCC could score as Pratt did not fare much better but led 13-6 entering the second quarter inside of the Green House.
Biyyanah Ellis entered into the game for the first time and quickly nailed another long range shot for Seward County to lift the lid off the rim for the Lady Saints and a ten-foot floater from Rosalez closed the gap to two at 13-11 less than two minutes into the second. Ari Gordon snatched away a steal and drove down the court for two that gave the Lady Saints the lead and an offensive putback from Kezia Grant-Bobb extended it to three 19-16 over Pratt. Rosalez drove her way downt he lane for another two points before the Beavers answered back with a large run to go back in front entering the halftime break up 32-25 over Seward County.
A seven-point lead for the Beavers was trimmed down to one in the opening minutes of the second half as Carter again knocks in a three from the corner while a steal by Kayla Peoples led to a pair at the line to cut Pratt’s lead down to 34-33. Myers dominated the offensive boards to put the ball back where it belongs inside of their basket to stay within reach while another strong score from the freshman forward helped lock the score up at 39-39 entering the fourth.
Myers continued her dominance with another strong power move in the paint to score another layup for Seward County and give them a one-point lead 41-40 three minutes in. Pratt retook the lead for a short period of time while a floater by Rosalez brought it within one and a big time three-pointer from Peoples locked the score back up at 50-50 with under a minute to go. Another huge rebound for Myers in the final minute handed her the single season record for rebounds in Seward County history which led to another two points to seal the game for the Lady Saints who finished the night with a 56-50 win over the Beavers.
Myers ended the game with another huge double-double of 13 points and 22 rebounds with 9 offensive boards for SCCC. Carter added on 10 points with 9 rebounds while Rosalez chipped another 12 points of her own.
Seward County improves to 17-14 overall on the 2023-24 seeason and will now advance into the second round of the Region VI Tournament where they will face the Butler Grizzlies next Tuesday at 5:30 with Saints Shoot-around at 5:15 on B107.5.
