Lady Saints Lock Down Barton

After a 2-5 start to the season away from the friendly confines of the Greenhouse including a couple of tough losses, Seward County Lady Saints Head Coach Toby Wynn doesn’t much care how his team gets it done on the road in Jayhawk Conference play, just as long as it gets done. Get it done they did Saturday afternoon in Great Bend as the Lady Saints held Barton to just 29% shooting while forcing 19 Cougar turnovers in a 67-52 win to get back into the win column as they ready themselves for a huge Jayhawk Conference week coming up.



The Lady Saints gameplan Saturday afternoon was obvious from the start, get the basketball on the inside against a much smaller and depleted Barton front line. Seward did just that, jumping out to a 10-6 lead with all 10 point coming inside the painted area. Barton tied the game back up at 12, but a final bucket from Joanna Grymek on the block gave the Lady Saints a 14-12 lead after one.



As the second quarter got underway the Lady Saints put the clamps on the Barton offense who got out to a decent start. Seward only allowed two Barton field goals in the quarter and didn’t allow a single field goal inside the arc to the Cougars as they stretched their lead to 27-20 at the half. The Lady Saints didn’t fair great in the second quarter themselves, shooting just 31% from the field, but finished the half at 40% compared to 29% for the Cougars who shot just 13% in the period. Grymek led Seward with 9 first half points while Axelle Bernard and Clitan de Sousa scored 6 a piece in the first 20 minutes of action.



After getting it done on the defensive end in the second quarter, the Lady Saints flexed their muscles on the offensive end of the floor in the third. Seward quickly stretched their lead as the quarter began and found themselves up 18 later on with the score 47-29. At the end of three it was all Lady Saints with Seward leading the Cougars 50-33.



Just when it looked like the Lady Saints were going to walk their way to a second straight blowout win against Barton on their home floor, the Cougars began to claw back. Barton turned up their defensive intensity and the Lady Saints struggled to handle the pressure, turning it over multiple times to allow the Cougars to slowly creep back into the game. Midway through the quarter, Barton had cut the Seward lead to just seven, but a quick 5-0 Lady Saints jaunt had their advantage back to double digits at 62-50 as Barton fought the clock and the gals in green with 2:50 remaining. A couple more stops for the Lady Saints was all they needed to put the win on ice, finishing the Cougars off 67-52 for their 15th win of the 2015-2016 season.



The Lady Saints held the Cougars to just 29% shooing in the win and just 24% shooting after the first quarter. Bernard put together a big game, finishing the night with tied with a game high 14 points while pulling down a season high 17 rebounds. De Sousa ended her night tied for her career high with 14 points while Leslie Speer came off the Seward bench with 8 points, all in the second half.



Seward improves to 15-5 overall on the season and moves to 7-3 in Jayhawk Conference action with 9 games to go. Barton’s struggles continue as they fall to 11-10 overall and 3-7 in league play.



The Lady Saints now embark on a big week of Jayhawk Conference action at home in the Greenhouse. Seward will first host a surprising 9-1 Garden City team on Wednesday at 6:00 followed by Saturday night action against Jayhawk upstarts Dodge City also at 6:00. Tickets for Wednesday’s game can be picked up free at our buyout sponsor Bank of Beaver City on Tucker Road in Liberal.