Lady Saints Hold Off Northwest Tech

LIBERAL, Kan.- Destiny Alston led the No. 12 Lady Saints with 14 points, on 4-7 from the field and pulled in nine rebounds to help secure the victory, 63-55 over Northwest Kansas Technical College. Seward improves to 17-3 on the season and remains on top of the Jayhawk West with a 12-0 conference record.

The Lady Saints jumped up to a 7-0 lead in the first minute and a half of action. Northwest responded with a 12-4 run of their own to gain the lead for the first time in the game at 12-11, after the Mavericks Lauryn Viera scored on an and-1 opportunity. Seward came out of the first quarter with the lead 20-15 with Ayanna Smith‘s free-throws in the final minute.

Second-quarter the Mavericks regained the lead 28-22 with just over six minutes left and held onto the lead for a majority of the quarter. It was a battle for the Lady Saints to regain the lead but pulled ahead with one-minute remaining as Destiny Alston connected on two free throws to give them the lead 31-30. Seward went into the locker rooms with a 31-30 lead over Northwest.

To start the third quarter the Mavericks took a 34-33 lead. Quickly the Lady Saints Vanda Cuamba responded with a lay-up to give them the final lead change of the game with a 35-33 advantage. The Lady Saints ended the third quarter with a 47-40 advantage.

Fourth-quarter the Lady Saints took their largest lead of the game, 58-47 with 2:30 left in the game. Quickly after unforced errors and turnovers, the Mavericks capitalized to cut the lead down to just four points at 59-55. Seward went 4-8 from the free-throw line in the final minute but it was enough to get the victory at home for their 61st straight win in the Greenhouse.

Northwest’s Lauryn Viera led all scorers with 19 points and seven rebounds. Jada Russell scored 17 points with five rebounds in the contest.

Sophomore Vanda Cuamba has 13 points and nine rebounds for the Lady Saints. Karolina Szydlowska went 4-9 from the field for 12 points and six rebounds of her own.

The Lady Saints will be back in the Greenhouse on Saturday to take on Hutchinson Community College with tip-off scheduled for 6 PM.