Lady Eagles Advance in Region

By: Lee Ramsey
lee@seymourherald.com
The Lady Eagles (19-12) hosted their first ever Region 1-AAA tournament game Friday night and defeated the Sullivan Lady Rebels (21-12) 61-49 in a game which Seymour controlled from start to finish.
“I’m proud of my kids,” said Seymour Coach Brandi Stallings. “I thought they played hard and executed the game plan that we had set out. I thought it was a great team effort.
“We’re peaking at the right time. It was an overall team effort. The kids are growing up a bit. They’re executing and playing on the same page now. That’s a testament to their hard work and effort every day; ready to go and ready to listen. They executed the game plan we had for them.”
The game started slow as both teams seemed a little up tight. The first point wasn’t scored until the 6:24-mark.
With 5:15 to go, Lady Eagle Kasey Norman drained a three and the Blue and Gold never trailed after that point.
Norman continued to dominate the first quarter as the standout sophomore guard hit two three-pointers and a put back shot to finish the quarter with eight points giving the Lady Eagles a 14-9 lead.
“When Kasey (Norman) takes the reins and has the ball in her hands she makes things happen,” said Stallings.
The second quarter Norman had help as Victoria Nelson took over working the boards with several put back shots along with Payton King and Mariah Flynn playing strong underneath.
Norman also added another three along with two two-pointers and the Lady Eagles had a double digit lead 31-21 at the half.
Norman and Nelson combined for 24 points in the first half. The second quarter turned out to be the separation run and the Lady Eagles basically kept that lead for the rest of the game.
Teamwork is usually defined as different players stepping up, and in the third quarter it was Lexi Justus’ turn as she hit three three-pointers for a nine-point quarter. The last try went in from long, long range as the ball rattled and went in at the buzzer.
It was as if Seymour was meant to win from the start. Seymour led 44-32 going into the fourth quarter. Two back-to-back three-pointers by Justus came at a key time as the Lady Rebels were mounting a small run.
The Lady Eagle lead remained constant until the last couple of minutes in the game. With 1:17 to go the Lady Rebels cut the lead to 51-44. Again the Lady Eagles answered the threat with key free throws by Jordan Ballard, Norman, Justus, Nelson, Flynn and Cheyenne King as the Lady Rebels had to foul to have a chance.
It never was meant to be however, as Seymour took a big win 61-49.
Norman led all scorers with 16, followed by Nelson with 15, Justus with 13, King and Flynn with six and C. King had one.