Aggressive approach pays off for Seymour in rout

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For The Tribune

Seymour’s girls basketball outscored Floyd Central in each quarter to roll to a 65-34 Hoosier Hills Conference win in the Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium on Thursday night.

The Owls made four 3-pointers in the opening quarter, and moved on top early and remained ahead the rest of the night.

“I thought we came out aggressive,” Owls coach Jason Longmeier said. “I thought even more than we were able to score against their zone we were able to get early in transition. We forced them to get back and put them into tough spots. I thought we did a good job of taking advantage of that. Our early shooting was definitely a big key for us.”

The Highlanders were up 5-4 when Maddie Roark hit a 3-pointer, and followed up with a 3-point play at 5:25 to put the Owls on top 8-4.

Roark hit another 3-pointer later in the period and had 13 points in the first quarter, while Megan Ritz and Ashton Chase also made 3-pointers in the opening quarter to spark the Owls to a 24-15 lead.

Roark continued hot in the second period with three more baskets, while Chase added five points, and the Owls held a 37-22 lead at the half.

The Owls shot 14-for-27 from the floor, with Roark shooting 7-for-9 during that time. The Highlanders made 8 of 20 shots from the floor.

After the Highlanders (3-8, 0-4 HHC) scored the first two baskets in the third quarter, Chase made two 3-pointers to put the Owls on top 43-28 at the 5:30 mark.

Makenna Fee made two baskets, and Hiester dropped in a layup to boost the lead to 49-28 with 3:20 remaining.

Seymour held a 53-32 lead after three quarters, and its biggest lead was the final 31-point difference on a free throw by Jenna O’Neal with 1:56 remaining.

The Owls (7-6, 3-1 HHC) were led in scoring with Roark scoring 22 points and Chase added 14.

Seymour shot 24-for-53, and Floyd Central made 13 of 45.

Seymour held a 27-20 advantage in rebounds. Fee topped the Owls with seven and Aidan Hiester had six.

Longmeier said it was a good team effort as 12 players saw playing time and nine of them scored.

“We had to create some depth because right now we are expecting an awful lot out of a small number of kids,” Longmeier said. “When you play the schedule we play and the teams, we definitely have to get those kids out even though it is a minute here or there, that’s a big deal. The couple of minutes we were able to rest Maddie and Ashton I thought it kept them fresher and we were able to stay aggressive the entire time they were in.”

He complimented Roark.

“I thought she was getting to the basket some, getting outside shots and she was hard to defend tonight,” Longmeier said.

The Owls committed only eight turnovers and forced the Highlanders into 15.

Sophia Gianfagna made two 3-pointers and had 8 points to lead the Highlanders in the first half.

She led the Highlanders with 10 points.

Seymour will be idle until playing in the East Central Holiday Tournament on December 28.

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