Lady Saints Torch the Nets Against Frank Phillips

The Frank Phillips Lady Plainsmen came into the Greenhouse and ran into a buzz saw Tuesday night in Liberal as the #20 Seward County Lady Saints shot 55% from the field and cashed in 25 points from the line to blow the Plainsmen out 105-59 in their final non-conference tuneup before a big date with #9 Hutchinson on Saturday night.

The opening minutes of the game Tuesday night were a prequel of what was going to happen the rest of the night as the Lady Saints burst out of the starting blocks by scoring the first 15 points of the game to take a 15-0 lead four minutes into the contest. Frank Phillips finally got on the board with 4:30 remaining in the first quarter, but after one it was all Lady Saints as they led the Lady Plainsmen by a count of 33-9.

It was more of the same in the second as Seward continued to pour on the points, stretching their lead to 44-15 three minutes into the quarter. As the Lady Saints moved the ball around in their offensive set like a pinball, Neidy Ocuane found Joanna Grymek for an easy two in the paint, widening the Seward gap to 58-19 with two minutes remaining in the first half. Seward scored eight more in the final two minutes of the period taking a commanding 63-21 lead into the break at half.

The Lady Saints shot 57% in the first half while holding Frank Phillips to just 19% from the floor. Four of the five Lady Saint starters scored in double figures in the half including Mollie Mounsey and Grymek who each had 16 first half points.

Frank Phillips came out firing in the second half and had some success from beyond the arc to keep Seward from building much more onto their already gigantic lead. It was a 75-34 with three minutes remaining in the third and after three complete the Lady Saints bumped their lead up to 44 at 84-40.

All that was left to question was when Seward would hit the century mark in the fourth and that came as Valerie Caro picked off a Plainsmen pass and went the other way for two with 2:30 left in the contest and the Lady Saints tacked on five more late for good measure to finish off a dominating 105-59 win to pick up their second wins in as many tries on the year.

Seward shot an even 50% in the second half to finish the game at 55% overall. The Lady Saints held Frank Phillips to just 33% in the second half, but the Lady Plainsmen hit on nine three pointers to keep the game from getting any more out of hand. Grymek led Seward with 24 points and eight rebounds in the win while Mounsey ended the night with 22 points and seven boards. Ocuane had the best game of her Seward career, scoring a career best 15 and also dishing out a career high eight assists in the victory.

The Lady Saints improve to 2-0 on the early season with the win while Frank Phillips drops back to 1-1.

Seward will now turn their sights to a grueling Jayhawk Conference schedule beginning on Saturday night in the Greenhouse when they host the rival Hutchinson Blue Dragons in a 6:00 tip. Fans can pick up free tickets courtesy of our buyout sponsors Billy’s/AYR Lanes and Days Inn at their Liberal locations.

#20 SEWARD COUNTY/FRANK PHILLIPS BOX SCORE<http://www.sewardsaints.com/sports/wbkb/2016-17/boxscores/20161108_i4qg.xml>

Roy Allen