Jaidyn Nichols, right, drives into the lane during the home game against Charlestown Tuesday evening.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Kendall Sterling, right, gets a shot off during the home game against Charlestown Tuesday evening.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
After pulling down the rebound Journee Brown, center, looks to get a shot off during the home game against Charlestown Tuesday evening.
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
The Lady Owls hosted senior night on Tuesday with the incoming Pirates of Charlestown facing off in basketball.
The 15-6 Pirates were riding a seven-game winning streak coming into the matchup. Seymour was looking to turn it around after losing three straight games. They did just that, defeating the Pirates 44-40.
Head coach Jason Longmeier spoke about the outcome with Charlestown.
“That’s a good win for us right now with some of the struggles we’ve had recently,” he said. “We had some opportunities and played the game physically. Charlestown really hung around with us, but we made enough plays to get the job done. They had a solid defensive game plan on us, and we adjusted and made enough shots to get a victory.”
The game kicked off with a bang as Sterling went right to the hoop for the Seymour layup to make it 2-0. Journee Brown then scored on a post move to extend the lead to four.
All four seniors got the start for the Owls with Sterling scoring the next bucket on a turnaround jumper to make it a 6-0 game with 5 minutes left in the first period.
Seymour came to play defensively, forcing tough shots for the Pirates. They were still holding Charlestown scoreless with 4 minutes left in the first until Maddie Nipper finally hit a shot for the Pirates with 3:52 left.
Charlestown battled back to make it 8-5 with the score being 8-7 after one quarter of play.
The second quarter began with a huge 3 from Kenzie Gagner to make it an 11-7 contest, and Charlestown rallied to tie it at 11, but Sterling came right back with another basket to take the lead. Gagner the hit another 3-pointer to take a 16-13 lead.
The game was tied at 16 before Sophie Skidmore connected from deep. But the Pirates tied it again at 19 the following possession.
The teams then met each other again at the score of 21 before Gagner hit her third three of the first half to take a 24-21 advantage, which was the score at halftime.
The second half started with a Claire Marshall basket with the senior hitting a mid-range jumper to extend the Seymour lead to five. The Pirates made it a 26-23 game with 5:50 left in the third quarter. Emmy Munson then hit a three-pointer in the corner after a pass from Marshall to make it a 29-25 ballgame.
Sterling then picked up a steal before finding Brown for an easy basket to make it a 31-25 advantage. The Pirates responded with their own basket, making it 31-27 at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth battle between both teams with Seymour holding a 36-30 lead with 6 minutes left in the game. Charlestown scored a basket to make it 36-32 before Brown scored for the Owls.
After a three from the Pirates, Brown answered with another basket. She continued to dominate, scoring on the next possession to make it 42-35 with 3:55 left in the game.
Brown took over the fourth quarter, adding another critical basket with 53.4 seconds remaining. The Owls held a six-point lead with 45 seconds left in the game and secured their 10th win of the season.
Brown led the girls with 19 points, while Gagner added nine. Sterling scored eight, while Skidmore added three.
Seymour took control of the game early against the JV Pirates, seizing a 25-3 lead with 3:30 left in the second quarter. The Lady Owls poured it on as the clock dwindled down in the first half with a 31-3 lead.
The second half began with the Owls in possession before Abby Otte scored an easy layup to extend the lead to 30. Otte then caught a nice pass from Kennedy Burnette and hit a three-pointer to make it 36-3.
Avah Kriete then hit a basket to force the running clock with a 38-3 Seymour lead with 3:50 left in the third quarter. Seymour held a 46-5 with 30 seconds left in the third period. With the Pirates scoring a late basket, the game was 46-7 in favor of Seymour at the end of the third.
Addi Reece scored twice in the third period.before opening the fourth with a basket for the Owls, making it a 48-9 ballgame. Claire Skaggs hit a huge three to extend the lead to 53-9 before Charlestown hit a 3 to make it a 41-point game. The Owls would hold on for the dominating 35-point win at 53-18.
The Lady Owls will now focus on traveling to New Albany to face the Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The team will then compete in the Floyd Central Sectional against Jennings County on Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Seymour 44, Charlestown 40
Charlestown (15-7);7;14;6;13;—;40
Seymour (10-11);8;16;7;13;—;44
Seymour: Journee Brown 8 3-5 19, Kenzie Gagner 3 0-0 9, Kendall Sterling 4 0-0 8, Sophie Skidmore 1 0-2 3, Emmy Munson 1 0-0 3, Claire Marshall 1 0-0 2, Jaidyn Nichols 0 0-0 0, Totals: 18 3-7 44.
3-point goals: Seymour 5 (Gagner 3, Skidmore, Munson), Charlestown 4
Fouls: Seymour 9, Charlestown 7
JV
Seymour 53, Charlestown 18