Lady Saints Mount Furious Comeback in Season Opening Overtime Win at Otero

LA JUNTA, Colo. – Trailing by 16 points midway through the third quarter, the prospects looked bleak for the Seward County Community College Lady Saints basketball squad in its 2025-26 season opener at Otero Junior College.

From that point forward, Seward (1-0) outscored Otero (0-1) 58-36 as they battled back and earned a 91-85 win in overtime at the McDivitt Center.

It was a tough offensive first half for Seward as they tallied just six first quarter points and went to the locker room behind 29-23.

The Rattlers continued to push the pace in the third quarter, opening a double-digit lead with 7:42 to play on a triple to make it 40-30. That lead extended to 16 with 5:15 to go in the third quarter as a layup from Itxasne Fernandez Arguello made it 49-33. Fernandez Arguello was tough to contain all evening, finishing with 44 points and eight rebounds, shooting 18-26 from the field.

"Otero is relentless," said Lady Saints head coach Will Marchino. "They push the ball nonstop and that's not what we see very much in the Jayhawk."

Despite the rowdy crowd and all the momentum on the side of the Rattlers, Seward ripped off a 20-4 run in the final five minutes of the quarter, tying the game at 53-all entering the fourth.

The two teams traded leads in the fourth quarter with freshman A'Neya Chambers giving the Lady Saints a 64-60 lead with 6:17 to play off a driving baseline layup. Freshman Kimora Fagan put in a coast-to-coast layup to put Seward back ahead by four at 66-62 with 4:30 to play, but five straight points from Fernandez Arguello saw Otero reclaim the lead, 67-66.

Seward did not lead again in regulation. Otero took a seven-point lead, 75-68, with 1:20 to play, forcing a timeout from Marchino.

Sophomore Trinitee Holmes buried a corner three off an assist from sophomore Destiny Alexander out of the timeout, cutting into Otero's lead. Otero missed a layup and on the next possession, Holmes found Fagan for a triple at the top of the key. Just like that, the Lady Saints were within one at 75-74 with 21.7 to play. Seward fouled Otero following a timeout. The Otero player missed the first free throw and made the second, giving the ball back to Seward facing a two-point deficit. Sophomore Avery Marchino drove to the rim and put in a layup with nine seconds to play, tying the game. The Rattlers then took the ball down the court and re-took the lead on a layup with exactly one second on the clock after the officials adjusted the time following a quick Seward timeout.

The timeout advanced the ball down the floor and Holmes inbounded the ball to Alexander in the paint. As she put up a floater, an Otero player hit her wrist fouling her in the process.

With 0.3 seconds to play and the Otero student section yelling and stomping their feet, Alexander drilled both free throws and sent the game to overtime.

"We actually texted back and forth last night about her (Alexander's) growth from year to year," said Marchino. "She was huge for us tonight at both ends of the floor. Came up with some big rebounds and of course those clutch free throws."

Seward scored the first five points of overtime and eventually outscored Otero 13-7 in the bonus period to escape with the road win in the season opener.

"Being able to claw and fight our way back, our ladies just stayed composed in a true road environment against a much-improved Otero squad from last year," Marchino said. "We got some pretty special second half performances. For us, we had to adjust and settle into the game. We were playing a lot of young kids and they had to get the nerves out."

Fagan led Seward with 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Alexander finished with 16 points and five rebounds and Holmes pitched in 12 points and six rebounds on 3-6 shooting from deep.

"Trinitee Holmes played really well for us," Marchino said. "Shot the ball the best she has shot it."

Freshman Grace Posch posted nine points and five assists while Marchino had 13 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Sophomore RaMya Kennedy chipped in eight points and five rebounds off the bench.

The Lady Saints outrebounded Otero 50-42 while forcing 25 turnovers.

It marked Seward's first overtime game since Feb. 28th, 2024, in a 73-67 loss at Colby and the first overtime win since Nov. 13th, 2023, in a 93-86 road win over Cisco.