BY BRIAN HAMILTON
SEYMOUR – Seymour entered Tuesday’s contest with Fulton with a district record of 2-1 and looking to stay alive for a top-seed in the district tournament. The Lady Eagles were able to do that thanks to a strong second half, as Seymour outscored the Lady Falcons 35-14 en route to a 69-38 win.
“We just started focusing on our defense,” Seymour head coach Lindsey Koeneman said of the second half surge. “Defense is such a big priority to us and we talk about that a lot in practice, so when we get our defense going, our offense goes.”
Seymour’s Kali Fisher (1) goes up for a basket while Fulton’s Shanary Cobb (24) and Nazareth Taylor (12) defend. Photo by Brian Hamilton
Seymour got on the board early with a pair of free throws by Makenna Sharp, which was followed by a three-pointer and a layup by Kali Fisher, which put the Lady Eagles in front 7-0. Fisher grabbed a steal and scored a layup to make the score 9-0 with 5:49 left in the first quarter.
Fulton finally scored midway through the first period when Shanary Cobb sank a pair of free throws to make the score 9-2. On the next trip down the court, Cobb scored the Lady Falcons’ first field goal to pull Fulton to within 9-4.
Shiloh Taylor scored on a layup to cut Fulton’s deficit to 9-6, as the Lady Falcons answered Seymour’s 9-0 run with an 8-0 run of its own. A three by Mattie Jarvis ended the drought for Seymour, giving the Lady Eagles a 12-8 lead with just over one minute remaining in the first quarter.
The teams would go back and forth throughout the last minute, as a pair of baskets would put Fulton ahead 13-12 with 42 seconds left. Kenzie Warner was fouled and converted an old fashioned three-point play to put Seymour in front 15-13. Taylor answered with a buzzer beater for Fulton to tie the game at 15-15 after one quarter.
Seymour opened the second quarter hot, however, as Jarvis and Fisher hit threes to put the Lady Eagles in front 21-15. Taylor cut the lead to 21-17 with a layup with 5:15 left in the second quarter, but Seymour embarked on a 14-4 run to open the first quarter and took a 29-19 lead on a layup by Fisher.
A long two-point basket by Bailey Tidwell gave Seymour a 32-20 lead with 13 seconds left in the first half, but Englynn Douglass answered with a pair of free throws to send Fulton to the half trailing 34-24. Seymour outscored the Lady Falcons 17-7 in the second period.
Emily Shultz (15) goes up for a shot during Seymour’s district win over Fulton. Photo by Brian Hamilton
Fisher opened the third quarter with a layup to give Seymour a 34-22 lead, but Douglass would answer with a layup to cut the deficit back to 10. A pair of free throws by Tidwell, followed by an Emily Schultz layup would push the Lady Eagles’ lead to 38-24 with just under five minutes left in the third period.
Seymour would once again outscore Fulton in the third quarter to take a 44-28 lead into the final stanza.
Kenzie Warner would open the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to give Seymour a 47-28 lead. The Lady Eagles would extend their lead to 52-30 on a Fisher layup with 4:53 remaining. Warner would nail another triple to give Seymour a 55-31 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Lady Bulldogs would outscore Fulton 25-10 in the final quarter to pick up a 69-38 district win.
“We are 3-1 in the district right now, which is great,” Koeneman said after the win. “It gives us momentum trying to finish out January, if we can avoid the snow. This win was big for us tonight and I know it meant a lot to the girls.”
Kali Fisher finished with a game-high 27 for Seymour, while Kenzie Warner finished with 10 points.
“She’s a big leader for us,” Koeneman said of her senior point guard. “She sees the floor very well and tonight we finally got some shots to fall for her. She took charge tonight, offensively and defensively. When things aren’t going very well, she’s good about gathering the team and talking them through it. One of the great things about Kali is that she wants to get her teammates involved. She’s not just looking for herself to score, but she’s looking to make sure her teammates are also scoring.”
Fulton was led by 13 points from Shiloh Taylor, while Jyree Shepard finished with eight.
Seymour (7-12, 3-1 Class 3A District 3) will host Northview Academy (16-2, 4-1) on Thursday night, while Fulton (6-14, 1-7 District 3) will host Sevier County (13-5) for a non-region contest on Tuesday, January 27.