INDEPENDENCE, Kan. - Following a whirlwind of events this season, the Independence Lady Pirates returned home to host the #11 Seward County Saints. Plenty of opportunities presented themselves, but countless turnovers proved to be a factor as the Lady Pirates dropped the contest 69-58.
In the first quarter, the Saints scored first with a three-pointer from Kalen Green and went up three more after a long-range shot by Silvia Veloso to lead 6-0. Independence broke on to the board after an outside shot by Fatarah Kinnard cut the score i8n half, but a free throw from Green and layup by Veloso had the score at 9-3 at the 6:40 mark.
Seward pushed the lead to eight after a shot from Green, but a three-pointer from Macie Price had the score at 11-6. The Lady Pirates inched closer with a bucket frim Kierra Crockett, but three-pointers by Green and Karolina Szydlowska pushed the lead to nine.
A three from Jessica Goodluck had the score at 17-11 and a foul sent Crockett to the line cutting the lead down to five after making one of two shots. The remainder of the quarter was scoreless for the most part, but a layup from Veloso made the score 19-12.
The second quarter began with several misses from each team, but Veloso again found the basket pushing the lead to nine. Another score from Veloso pushed the score to 23-12 and another made it a 13-point lead before a layup by Goodluck.
Veloso continued to score making it 27-14 just before a foul sent Crockett to the line to make both shots. Another layup by Veloso pushed the lead out to 13 points and then 14 after a free throw from Green.
A layup by Price cut the score to 30-18 and a bank shot by Sadie Jordan had the lead down to 10 with 1:45 remaining in the half. A three from Szydlowska and a layup by Aquila Mucubaquire made the score 35-20, but a three-point play from Jordan had Independence with 12 points going into the break.
In the third quarter, a layup by Veloso pushed the score to 37-23 and a score from Carla Covane pushed the lead to 16 before a free throw from Green. A bucket by Brittany Reeves made the score 40-25 and Bernadete Vonda-Cuamba made it a 17 point lead before a score by Crockett.
A 5-0 run from Crockett had Independence within 10 points and a three-pointer from Price made the score 42-35 at the 4:03 mark. A long shot from the outside by Veloso pushed the lead back to 10, but a layup by Goodluck had the score at 45-37. A bucket from Covane pushed the lead back to 10, before a free throw by Crockett and the score had the Lady Pirates trailing 47-38 heading into the final minutes of play.
The fourth quarter began with a layup by Vonda-Cuamba to push the lead to 11 followed by a free throw from Mucubaquire to make it 50-38 and a score by Veloso had the lead out to 14 with 6:55 remaining.
A three-pointer by Kinnard brought Independence within 11, but Covane added two points back with a quick layup. Free throws by Veloso pushed the lead to 15, but a three-pointer by Goodluck made the score 56-44 with 5:00 remaining.
A 7-4 Independence run after a three-pointer by Price made it a nine-point Seward advantage, but free throws from Lexi Hernandez pushed it to 62-51 with 3:16 remaining. The game ended with an even run of 7-7 and another tough night for the Lady Pirates.
Independence (6-8, 1-6) is back in action Saturday January 12 traveling to face the Colby Trojans with tipoff set for 3 pm.