Lady Saints and Coffeyville to battle in quarterfinal matchup

LIBERAL, Kan. – Will the third time be a charm for the Lady Saints basketball team? They will find out when they play at Coffeyville Community College at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the Region VI playoffs.

Seward and Coffeyville played twice this season with the Red Ravens coming out on top both times, 75-63 at the Greenhouse on Jan.11 and 57-47 on the road on Feb. 26.

In the first contest at the Greenhouse, it was a game of quarters in the first half. Seward held an 18-10 lead after one while Coffeyville, on the strength of a 27-10 quarter, took a 37-28 lead at the half.

Seward battled back and whittled the lead down to one in the third quarter, but Coffeyville hit a three at the end of the quarter and opened a 53-47 heading into the fourth.

The Lady Saints hung tough and whittled the margin down to 63-61 with 3:07 left, but the Red Ravens went on a 9-2 run to salt the game away.

In the second game at Coffeyville, the Lady Saints were without starter Allie Myers. As a result, Seward was dominated on the boards, getting outrebounded, 48-27.

The Lady Saints played close before a second quarter drought put them behind 32-18 at the half. Seward stayed within range and narrowed the gap in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough.

In its opening round matchup against Pratt on Saturday, Seward found its shooting touch and the defense took over in an 81-49 rout at the Greenhouse. The Lady Saints led from start to finish and put the game away in the second quarter using a 12-0 run and building a 38-22 lead at the half.

Seward improved to 20-11 overall and snapped a three-game losing streak.

The Lady Saints are led by sophomores Kylee Hunt (12.0 points), Ari Gordon (10.6 points and 3.1 steals) and Allie Myers (7.6 points and 8.1 rebounds). The team has also received contributions from freshman Avery Marchino (10.3 points) and sophomore Kezia Grant-Bobb (5.8 points and 4.4 rebounds).

Coffeyville has won three of its last four games, including an 89-55 win over Barton in its regular season finale. The Red Ravens finished third in the conference at 19-5, earning a first-round bye, and 24-5 overall. Coffeyville is 14-2 at home.

The Red Ravens have balanced scoring in Norika Welch (13.4 points), Karys Washington (10.9 points) and Karliey Parker (9.7 points) Coffeyville gets to the boards, averaging 40.3 rebounds, with Washington leading the way with 7.6 rebounds. Aubrey Hishaw (4.5 rebounds), Parker (4.3 rebounds) and Welch (4.2 rebounds) round out the Coffeyville rebounders.