Seneca East upsets South Central in districts

SHELBY – Seneca East shocked the Girls Division IV District Tournament on Thursday by overcoming large deficits and ending previously-unbeaten South Central's season, 68-66, at Shelby High School.

The Tigers were down by 15 points (32-17) in the second quarter and by eight (64-56) with 4:16 to play in the game, but overcame those deficits to hand the Trojans (24-1) their first defeat of the season.

Seneca East, now 20-5 on the year, moves on to the district finals on Saturday night back at Shelby High School against the winner of Thursday's second game between New Reigel and Tiffin Calvert.

The Tigers ended the second quarter on a 13-0 run and trailed 32-30 at the half. Seina Adachi, a 5-foot-6 junior guard, scored 13 points for Seneca East in the second quarter.

The teams ended the third quarter tied at 52-52, setting the stage for a wild finish. South Central's 6-1 senior post Anna Hintz had ten of her 16 second-half points in the third quarter.

South Central began the fourth quarter by getting the ball inside and its first six-baskets were layups. The Lady Trojans quickly built a 64-56 lead but would only score two more points the rest of the game.

Adachi scored seven-straight points, then Hannah Hahler scored to pull Seneca East to within one point, 66-65, with one minute remaining in the game. South Central slowed the ball down with a one-point lead, but Adachi stole the ball and went in for a layup giving the Tigers a 67-66 lead with 32 seconds left. Kristen Camp made 1 of 3 free throws in the last 13 seconds to make the final 68-66.

"I think overall, that probably was the best we've played all year," Seneca East coach Dave Stallings said. "I'm proud of my seniors. We were down 23 points to South Central earlier in the year at home and came back and only lost by six (81-75). We knew if we could stay close to them in the fourth quarter that we would give ourselves a shot to win."

South Central ended the first quarter on an 11-0 run and built a 19-10 advantage after one quarter of play. The Trojans opened the second quarter on a 13-7 run to build the 15-point lead that Seneca East eventually wiped out.

"You have to give it to Seneca East," South Central coach Becky Hintz said. "They played a great, great game. Obviously, it wasn't our night. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. We were down and our shots weren't falling, it just wasn't our night."

Adachi led all scorers with 32 points, including five 3-point baskets and the breakaway steal and layup that gave Seneca East the last lead.

"Typical Seina (Adachi)," Stallings said. "Seina averages 22 points a game. She's a big-time player."

Hannah Hahler, a 5-10 senior post scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Senior Amber Enders added nine points and senior Kristen Camp chipped in with eight.

The Trojans put three girls in double-figures. Anna Hintz led the team with 18 points. Senior Desiree Kilgore and sophomore Ashlee Tuttle added 13 points each. Sophomore Summer Sweeting scored nine points and junior Asia Huffman scored eight points.

Sweeting injured her knee and was carried off the court with 2:02 left in the game. "I feel bad for Summer (Sweeting) going down like she did," Stallings said. "It was a crucial time of the game, but I guess those are the breaks. We lost a girl earlier in the year the same way. I hope she's alright."

South Central made just 26 of 70 field goal attempts compared to Seneca East's 26 of 55. South Central held a 32-27 advantage on the backboards.

"Every time we would get a lead in the second half, they had an answer for it," coach Hintz said. "(Seneca East) did a great job."