For The Tribune
BROWNSTOWN
The Seymour girls basketball team outscored Brownstown Central 18-5 during the final 5:02 of Thursday night’s rivalry game and came home with a 64-49 win on Cancer Awareness night.
The Braves wore pink uniforms trimmed in black, and the Owls wore white uniforms with pink.
A silent auction was conducted, with the proceeds going to the Myers Cancer Center at Schneck Medical Center.
Brownstown’s Grace Jaynes made two free throws with 5:22 remaining in the game to pull her team within four points at 48-44.
Lauren James hit a 3-pointer on Seymour’s next trip down the floor, and following a BC turnover, Maci Lubker drove to the basket for a 53-44 lead, and Braves Coach Karla Rieckers called a timeout to try and get her team to settle down.
The Braves’ Brooklyn Snodgrass answered with a runner in the lane to close the difference to 53-46 before Lubker drove for three layups, and Morgan Ritz dropped in four free throws to help the Owls increase their lead and their record to 8-1.
“I think our experience played something into it, but I told Karla that her team is a lot better right now than I thought they were going to be at this point when the season started,” Owls coach Jason Longmeier said.
“I think she’s gotten an awful lot out of those kids, and she’s got them playing really hard. Come tournament time they’re going to be a tough out in 3A. I thought it was our ability to knock down shots. Maci hit some big shots for us at crucial parts. I thought Morgan hit a couple big shots. I think when we went small that really put them in some tough situations, so I think that was a big key.”
The Owls finished with 21 for 52 to 17 for 57 for Brownstown Central.
Seymour made seven 3-pointers to none for the home team.
“We played a little bit of zone on-and-off, and tried to disguise it a little bit with what we were trying to do,” Longmeier said. “I thought our kids did a pretty good job of that.”
The Owls, sparked by seven points from Lauren James, held a 16-13 lead after one period.
Mikayla Fee scored six, and Lubker and Sarah Benefiel added 3-pointers as the Owls outscored the Braves 15-8 in the second to help their team to a 31-21 lead at the break.
“In the first half I thought we played a little tentative,” Rieckers said. “I challenged them at halftime. We weren’t getting the loose balls, we weren’t getting on the floor like we needed to.
“I thought we responded in the second half. We had a spurt where we gave up a couple easy layups. Some of that comes from our youth, but we have to play every minute of the game. We’re still learning as we go. We’re young (starting one freshman and three sophomores). Hopefully we’ll learn from this and move on.”
The Braves (5-3) made 8 for 29 from the field in the first half.
“I didn’t think we attacked the basket like I’d like to see us attack the basket,” Rieckers said. ‘We were a little hesitant and we stood around the three-point line a little bit.
“I got on Payton Farmer pretty hard at halftime. She got a shot blocked and then she went away from posting and I said, ‘You can’t let that happen.’ I was really pleased with how she responded in the second half. I thought she did a nice job attacking the basket.”
Farmer, a freshman, scored six points in the first half and 13 in the second half to lead the Brownstown Central scoring. The 19 total points is a career-high for her.
Grace Jaynes added 14 for the Braves, and Kristen Stuckwisch and Morgan Wehmiller led in rebound with six each.
The Owls held a 32-26 advantage in rebounds. Fee was high with nine to go along with her 14 points.
Lubker topped the Owls with a season-high 20 points, and James finished with 11.