Seward Loses Tough Battle to No. 20 Hutchinson

LIBERAL, Kan. – A strong start was not enough for the Seward County Lady Saints as they fell 66-60 to No. 20-ranked Hutchinson on Saturday afternoon at The Greenhouse.

Seward (14-8, 9-7 KJCCC) has lost three consecutive games while Hutchinson (17-5, 12-4) won its fifth out of the last six. The Lady Saints return to The Greenhouse on Wednesday, hosting Pratt at 6 p.m. with free admission.

The Lady Saints jumped out to a 14-2 lead with 3:02 to play in the first quarter and led 18-10 after one. They held Hutchinson to 4-18 shooting and 0-9 from three in the quarter.

The middle quarters proved to be troublesome for Seward as they were outscored 17-9 in the second quarter and 19-10 in the third quarter. Seward shot 2-10 in the second quarter and 3-14 in the third.

Hutchinson took its first lead at the 2:24 mark of the second quarter as a Kamyra Barber three made it 26-24. A Grace Posch three gave Seward the lead back but Barber went 1-2 from the free throw line to tie it up 27-27 before the half. Trinitee Holmes had 10 first-half points to lead the way for the Lady Saints.

The Lady Saints fell behind 46-35 with 1:47 to go in the third quarter, Hutchinson's biggest lead. Avery Marchino put in a layup with 35 seconds in the quarter and Seward trailed 46-37 after three.

The fourth quarter was the highest scoring of the game as the teams combined for 43 points with Seward outscoring Hutch 23-20. A'Neya Chambers was a spark off the bench for Seward, scoring nine points in the quarter. She scored the first two buckets of the quarter to trim the deficit to five. A Marchino layup cut the deficit to two, 59-57, with 2:54 to play. Holmes made it a one-point game, 61-60, with 1:33 to play, but Seward did not score again in regulation. They turned the ball over twice in the final minute.

Seward shot 22-55 (40%) from the field, 2-13 (15.4%) from three and 14-21 (66.7%) from the free throw line. They outrebounded Hutchinson 38-32.

Holmes led Seward with 13 points and seven rebounds. Marchino finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Au'Rayona Seals had seven points, six rebounds, and three assists. Chambers chipped in 11 points.

Hutchinson shot 24-55 (43.6%) from the field, 6-19 (31.6%) from three and 12-18 (66.7%) from the free throw line.

Barber led all scorers with 20 points to go with six rebounds. Kaia Smith had 12 points off the bench.