Sewardsaints.com
INDEPENDENCE – Seward County women's basketball opened the new year by delivering a strong defensive performance, pulling away early for a 76-37 victory over Independence on Saturday afternoon at First Oak Bank & Oakes Family Fieldhouse.
The Saints (11-4, 6-3 KJCCC) held Independence (4-10, 1-7) to 19.4 percent shooting and kept the Pirates in single digits during each of the final three quarters. Seward County gained control with a 16-10 edge in the second quarter and put the game out of reach by allowing Independence only five points in the third quarter.
Avery Marchino led Seward County with 21 points and 12 rebounds, good for a double-double on 8-of-16 shooting. Trinitee Holmes added 13 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Au'Rayona Seals and Kimora Fagan scored 12 points each. Destiny Alexander pitched in with nine points and seven rebounds.
Seward secured a 54-41 advantage in rebounds and made 11 threes, shooting 44.0 percent from beyond the arc. The Saints also forced 22 turnovers.
After taking an 18-13 lead in the first quarter, the Lady Saints widened the gap to 34-23 at halftime before starting the second half with a strong run. The Saints outscored Independence 19-5 in the third quarter, limiting the Pirates to 1-of-13 shooting in that period.
Independence was led by Danaiya Stillwell-Smith, who scored nine points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Nyah Chandler and Cinahya Ekwuruke each added eight points. The Pirates struggled on offense, shooting 21.4 percent from three-point range and 55.6 percent from the free-throw line.
Seward County finished the game with a 23-point fourth quarter, sealing the wire-to-wire conference victory. The final score margin of 39 was Seward's biggest of the game.
The Lady Saints are off on Wednesday before hosting the Barton Cougars at The Greenhouse on Saturday, Jan. 10th, at 2 p.m.
