Lady Spartans, Tuxedo co-champions of Division V

Florida - The Seward Lady Spartans entered the game against Tuxedo last Wednesday at home as underdogs. They emerged from that 61-48 win at top-dogs. Or at least co-dogs as both teams finish Division V play with identical 7-1 records. Overall Tuxedo is 15-5 and Florida is 15-4 (one non-league game left.) On Monday Florida traveled to Fallsburg where they won handily against the overmatched Comets, 72-39. The game gave Lady Spartan coach Joe DiMattina ample time to experiment with a few recent call-ups from the Jayvees. Sophomore Brooke Burnside and freshman Vivien Greiser seemed to work in nicely with some quality minutes. Senior Kylie Burnside hit from outside to notch 19 points and lead the Spartan scoring. Underneath, sophomore Kathleen Folkl made her presence felt with 11. At home on Wednesday the Lady Spartans faced a Tornado team that needed a win to clinch the division title. They left without that win as Florida jumped out in front 17-11 at the end of the first quarter and basically stayed there. The Florida win helped to erase the memory of their 38-37 loss to this same Tuxedo team in the first round. Folk and Selin Tekin were tough underneath against Tuxedo’s formidable height, with Folkl scoring six and Tekin four in that opening spurt. And Angela Flores also added four in that initial stanza. Folkl added seven more in the second quarter and freshman Greiser, showing a lot of poise, notched four and played well on defense. The Lady Spartans held a 34-21 advantage at half-time and still led 43-35 after three quarters. That youth movement was steady again in both the third and fourth quarters. At one point coach DiMattina had senior Melissa Oliphant out there with sophomores Courtney Howell, Brooke Burnside, Folkl and freshman Greiser. Senior Tekin fought for ten points in that last furious fourth, four coming on nifty feeds from Greiser. Folkl added seven in the final and Greiser had four. Folkl ended with a game-high 19 points and 15 rebounds. Tekin was right behind with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Greiser finished with eight, Oliphant notched six and Flores had four. It was a sweet win for the Lady Spartans and coach DiMattina whose constant substituting kept everyone fresh and eager to go. More of the same in the Sectionals would cap an already solid season.