Two big runs in the second half lifted the Southeast Arkansas College women’s basketball team to a huge win Thursday afternoon.
The Lady Sharks came from behind to knock off Shorter College 65-47 at H.O. Clemmons Arena.
SEARK coach Sam Waniewski said halftime adjustments made the difference.
“Our plan in the second half was to make them shoot from the outside,” Waniewski said. “We gave up way too many layups in the first half. Once we made that adjustment, we started getting stops and being able to score on the other end.”
Shorter College (8-15, 7-4 Region 2) sits in second place in Region 2 and defeated the Lady Sharks 69-53 the first time the teams met in North Little Rock. The Lady Bulldogs led 39-30 midway through the third quarter after leading most of the game to that point.
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SEARK (10-9, 5-6) finished the quarter on an 8-0 run with freshman Amethyst Price contributing two buckets to cut the deficit to 39-38 entering the fourth.
The Lady Bulldogs made an early free throw in the fourth, but SEARK freshman Za’Nyah LeFear hit a go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Lady Sharks their first lead since 3-1. Scores by Price and freshman Mahogany King stretched the run to 16-1 before Shorter made another bucket.
King said the Lady Sharks’ defense gave them the lead.
“They had to split us a lot in the first half,” King said. “We had to just shut down the splits and just run. We had to run them, get some buckets on the other end.”
SEARK led 51-46 when a technical foul was called on Shorter sophomore Isis Woods. King made both free throws, then drew a foul on the ensuing possession and made one of two.
With 2:32 to play, Woods received her second technical after another foul call. King made three of four from the line. She went on to hit another free throw 37 seconds later, and her shots were part of SEARK’s 14-1 run to end the game.
King finished with a game-high 16 points, with LeFear scoring 11. K’Myri Johnson and Tomya Grider scored 10 points apiece.
Waniewski said he was proud of King’s performance.
“She’s somebody that puts in a ton of extra work beyond just our practice time, and the last few games, it’s really been showing,” Waniewski said. “She’s been shooting well. She’s been hitting midrange shots. So, I’m just proud of her, of how much extra work she’s been putting in to then apply it to the games, but she just has been aggressive.”
Woods led Shorter with 13 points, followed by Kayden Riley and Ta’Mya Hughes with 10 each.
MEN: SEARK 84, Shorter College 67
A second half technical foul turned the game around for the SEARK men.
SEARK (17-8, 7-7) trailed 47-43 with 12:59 to play when a dead-ball technical foul was called on Bulldog freshman Elijah Roker. SEARK sophomore Tobias Prall made two free throws, then freshman Torrey Caswell tied the game on the ensuing possession. Soon after, Prall gave SEARK a 49-47 lead, the game’s 10th and final lead change.
Shorter College (2-22, 0-15) tied the game at 49, but a Caswell 3-pointer put SEARK in front for good. Four made free throws later, the Sharks had a 56-49 lead thanks to a 13-2 run. SEARK had a 7-0 run later in the half to put the game away.
The Sharks scored 53 points in the second half after scoring 31 in the first. SEARK coach Chad Kline said the Sharks got downhill more in the second half.
“I didn’t think we were taking bad shots,” Kline said. “We got to the free throw line more, and the shots we were taking were open shots. We talked about it at halftime. Share the ball, try to get downhill, and if you’re open, shoot it. Let it fly.”
Prall, who had 6 points at halftime, finished with a game-high 22 points. Cadell Wallace added 17 points and seven assists, while Derek Magwood scored 15 points.
Roker led Shorter with 19 points, with Tavon Pettway scoring 12 and Brandon Pooler scoring 11.