SEYMOUR
Seymour coach Jason Longmeier says there is nothing like playing in the Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium.
The Owls played their first home game of the season Saturday afternoon and held off a fourth-quarter rally by Greenwood for a 63-55 win.
“I think a team, for as young as we are, the biggest thing was just the opportunity to come back home and play in front of our home crowd and the comfort of our own court,” he said. “Our kids were a lot more aggressive today than they were game one and game two.”
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The Owls held a 41-36 lead entering the fourth period before the visitors pulled even at 44 all with 4:52 remaining.
Grace Meyer made four free throws over the next 46 seconds, and the Owls were in front to stay.
“We needed that and I thought every time we needed shot today it seemed like Grace [Schrader] hit a big 3 for us,” Longmeier said. “I think she hit one and we hit our free throws.”
The Owls were 11 of 14 at the line in the fourth period and 18 of 22 for the game. In the fourth period, Meyer was 7-for-7 at the line to go along with five baskets for 13 points.
She finished with 17.
Seymour was without Meyer for much of the first half after she picked up her second foul early in the first quarter. Longmeier hadn’t planned to bring Meyer back into the game until the start of the second half, but felt comfortable bringing her back in when the Owls got their offense moving.
“My intentions were not to set her the entire second quarter but as we got into the flow of the game and everybody was doing their part it just didn’t make any sense to bring her back in,” Longmeier said.
Schrader topped the all players with 21 points, including three 3-pointers, to go along with 11 rebounds.
The Owls fell behind 5-0 and trailed 9-5 at the end of the first period before opening the second period on an 11-2 run to take a 16-11 lead. Schrader started the rally with a rebound basket and Cali Cummings scored on a move to the basket for the 16-11 lead, and the Owls closed the half on a 3-pointer by Schrader for a 25-19 lead.
Longmeier noted the slow start was due to their game against Silver Creek the night before. The Owls struggled against the Dragons, coughing the ball up 34 times and didn’t get back home until late in the evening.
Turnovers had been a thorn in the Owls’ side in their first two games against Salem and Silver Creek — both ranked in the top-15 in Class 3A. In each game, they turned it over more than 30 times; against Greenwood, they only turned it over 18 times.
“We’ve got to continue to build on that,” Longmeier said. “That is something we’ve got to practice every day.”
The Owls (1-2) will host Batesville Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
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Seymour 63, Greenwood 55
Seymour;5;20;16;22;-63
Greenwood;9;8;17;19;-55
SHS (1-2): Jamya Miller 2 1-3 6, Alyssa Perry 3 1-2 9, Aidan Hiester 0 3-4 3, Grace Schrader 9 6-6 21, Grace Meyer 5 7-7 17, Brooke Trinkle 2 0-0 5, Cali Cummings 1 0-0 2, totals 19 18-22 63
3-point goals: SHS 6
Rebounds: SHS 26
Turnovers: SHS 18
Junior varsity
Seymour 30, Greenwood 28
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