SCOTTSBURG

The Seymour girls and boys basketball teams got off to quick starts at Scottsburg on Saturday.

The girls held a 22-13 lead at the end of the first period and remained ahead the rest of the way for a 68-53 win.

The Seymour boys held a 21-11 lead after the first period and remained ahead until the fourth quarter when the Warriors rallied for a 54-46 victory.

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Girls post 12th win

Coach Jason Longmeier said the win was one of the Owls’ best performances of the season.

“I thought our girls came out with a lot of energy and played with tempo, and early on, we made shots,” he said. “There wasn’t a shot that went up today that I didn’t expect to go in. Even early on when we missed some shots, I thought our kids did a great job attacking the offensive glass and getting us some second-chance opportunities.”

Grace Meyer converted a three-point play, Aidan Hiester scored on a layup and Makenna Fee made a 3-pointer and followed that up with a layup, and the Owls were on top 10-5 after three minutes.

Ashton Chase hit a pair of 3-pointers later in the period to put the visitors on top 22-13.

Meyer and Alyssa Perry both scored five points in the second period, while Chase and Fee hit 3-pointers, and the Owls were ahead 37-32 at the break behind 50 percent shooting (13 of 26) from the floor.

Chase added another 3-pointer in the third period, while Fee took control of the game inside with 4-for-4 shooting, plus a free throw, and she pulled down four rebounds as the Owls increased their lead to 57-40 going into the fourth period.

The Warriors made only 4 of 28 shots from the floor in the second half.

Longmeier said he was pleased with the way the Owls moved the ball and defensive pressure his team applied in the second half.

“We decided we’re going to try to speed the game up,” he said. “We’re not as good as what we need to be in the half-court offensively and defensively, so we’ve got to get the speed of the game picked up.

“Where we really got hurt doing that tonight was with the post. We didn’t do a very good job of defending the post, so if we’re going to press a lot and be as aggressive as we were, we’re going to have to get a little more in front of that and force them to make some longer passes.”

Chase made five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points. Fee shot 7-for-9 from the floor and was 5-for-5 at the line for 21 points, and Meyer scored 16.

“That’s good balance, and it’s hard to guard, and Aidan has been shooting the ball really well, and you have to honor her out there, and I thought Alyssa came in and hit some early baskets. The key today, we took a lot of really good shots,” Longmeier said.

Scottsburg shot 22-for-24 at the free-throw line.

“The fouls are going to happen if we’re going to play this way,” Longmeier said. “We got to avoid our key players picking up two in the first half.”

Fee had 10 rebounds and Meyer pulled down nine.

Zoe Zellers topped the Warriors (17-5) with 21 points.

The Owls (12-9) will host New Albany on Thursday night.

Warriors boys rally past Owls

The Owls got off to one of their best starts of the season, as Eric McCoy made his first three 3-point shots of the game and Payton Reasoner hit both of his 3-point attempts to spark the Owls to a 21-11 lead at the end of the first period.

Montana Suits made a short jumper and shot 4-for-4 at the line in the second to help the Owls maintain a 31-27 lead at the half.

The Owls were on top 29-16 before Scottsburg rallied.

The hosts moved on top 32-31 briefly in the third period before Aiden Goen scored off an offensive rebound, Suits and Jayden Brown dropped in layups and Owen Marshall hit a 3-pointer to keep Seymour on top 40-34 after three periods.

Brown scored on a move to the basket to open the scoring in the fourth period, but then the Owls committed what coach Tyler Phillips said were too many reaching fouls.

The Warriors took advantage and shot 8-for-8 at the line and went on a 13-0 run to lead 47-42 with 3:50 remaining.

Brown scored three points for the Owls to make it 47-45, but Scottsburg finished the game on a 7-1 run.

“We’ve got to defend without fouling,” Phillips said. “They scored 54 points, and they scored 24 of them from the line, and we can’t defend the foul line. The game was well-officiated. We’ve got to quit playing with our hands.

“I told them all year they have to play without fouling. That’s what cost us tonight. They go 24-for-34, and we go 8-for-16, and that was the difference.”

The Warriors were 13-for-16 from the line in the fourth period. Treyton Owens had 10 points in the fourth period and 22 for the game.

“The second half, we didn’t go away from what we were doing,” Phillips said. “We didn’t change anything, we stopped attacking, and we stopped being aggressive offensively.

“We had that stretch there where we gave them six points because we wanted to foul. We get a technical, and then we foul, and instead of being up six we’re tied up, and they’ve got the ball.”

McCoy topped the Owls (3-11) with nine points, and Suits scored eight.

The Owls will host Floyd Central on Friday night.