Jay Daubenberger
Liberal, Kansas – After a tough loss on the road this past weekend, the Seward County Lady Saints women’s basketball team returned to Liberal, Kansas for a 6:00 PM matchup with Jayhawk conference foe Northwest Kansas Tech where despite trailing through the first three quarters, the Lady Saints were able to complete the comeback and beat the Mavericks 89-73.
Momentum was a key factor throughout the contest and Northwest Kansas Tech quickly grabbed hold it to start the game with a banked in three from the top of the arc that grew out to a 13-4 lead over Seward County through the first three minutes of action. The Lady Saints did not back down however, creating a run of their own thanks in part to Jamia Carter who slashed her way down the lane for an easy two points that cut the Mavericks lead down to six 17-11. Both sides battled it out in the first quarter with Allie Myers cleaning up the glass on both ends with nine rebounds through the first ten minutes of action to help Seward County remain within reach 25-18 heading into the second quarter.
Northwest Kansas Tech kept their foot on the gas to open the second quarter and pushed their lead out into double figures with the advantage becoming as large as fourteen, but once again the Lady Saints were able to respond as Xoe Rosalez intercepted the Mavericks pass and created an and-one opportunity that cut the deficit down to 33-22. A few moments later Rosalez struck again on a fastbreak layup off of Myers’ 14th rebound of the first half that brought the difference back down to single digits 38-29. After a slow start to her sophomore season Naomi Aragonez finally began to heat up inside of the Green House with a big three from the elbow to keep SCCC in distance at 45-34 before heading into halftime only trailing by eight points at 46-38 thanks to a corner three from Kayla Peoples.
The Lady Saints were able to create some rhythm heading into halftime and capitalized on it after the break, cutting the deficit down further to five thanks to a pair of free throws from Myers and a few points later Aragonez once again stepped up for an offensive putback to cut Northwest Kansas Tech’s lead to one 55-54 halfway through the third. For the next five minutes it was an exchange of baskets with the quarter ending on a no look pass from Carter to Ari Gordon for a layup that put the score at 64-63 Mavericks going to the final quarter of action.
One of the best rebounders in the NJCAA continued to dominate on the boards with her 18th rebound of the afternoon to start the fourth quarter and scored another two points for Seward County to help push them in front 67-64. The lead continued to grow when Aragonez knocked down a timely three to increase it to seven with four minutes remaining and SCCC ahead 74-67 before Carter became a one-man parade at the free throw line, sinking five straight points to all but secure the victory before the buzzer sounded and Seward County claimed an 89-73 win over Northwest Kansas Tech.
Myers recorded her second double-double of the season with 18 points and 19 rebounds while Carter led the Lady Saints in scoring with 22 points while Aragonez and Rosalez each added another 13 points on the night.
Seward County now improves to 5-2 on the 2023-2024 season with an even record in conference action at 2-2 against KJCCC opponents. They will take the next week off and return to action next Wednesday when they travel to Coffeyville in a 5:30 PM tip-off.
