by Bob Allegrucci, Salina Journal
Southeast Community College upset the Brown Mackie women last Saturday in Beatrice, Nebraska, with a miraculous 4-point play at the buzzer.
The Lions made sure Wednesday’s rematch at Banes Gymnasium was over by halftime.
A refocused Brown Mackie unit scored 30 of the game’s first 36 points and forced 23 turnovers in a 54-35 walloping, and the Lions kept the Storm from storming back this time with a plus-14 rebounding advantage.
The Lions conclude the regular season 22-6, and they will host Highland in the first round of NCAA Region VI play Feb. 28.
“We had about nine of our 10 players really ready to go tonight,” Brown Mackie coach Keith Ferguson said. “We took it personally getting beat by a team we should have never let beat us last Saturday. We didn’t shoot the ball well at all tonight (33 percent as a team), but we defended really well, and we boxed out and rebounded a lot better than we did down there (Beatrice).”
Southeast’s Brianna Stewart opened the game with a 3-pointer from the right wing, but the Storm scored just six points the rest of the first half as Brown Mackie answered with a 30-3
storm of its own.
Whitney Holmes scored 11 of her game-high 13 in the first 20 minutes while Southeast committed 18 turnovers and went over 10 minutes without a field goal.
The Storm missed some open layups and jumpers along the way, but their three-player weave offense from the 1950s managed just 15 field goal attempts the entire first half.
“We guarded everything in the first half, and I was really pleased with that,” Ferguson said. “Getting off to a good start was big for us after the way we were embarrassed Saturday, and
when the other team makes three shots in the first half and scores nine points, and has one offensive rebound, that means you’re playing some defense.”
Southeast scored as many points in the first three minutes of the second half as it did the entire first half, but Jara Shoemaker and LaChelle Hyatt scored four points apiece as Brown Mackie kept its lead around 20.
Five straight Jasmine Archie points pulled Southeast as close as 49-33 with 2:41 remaining, but it was way too little and much too late this time around for the storm.
Kenyetta Brown downed a pair of 3-pointers and turned a 3-point play late in the second half, and she tied Holmes for the game high with 13 points.
Lions wrap up regular season with 22-6 record