SAINTS AND LADY SAINTS BASKETBALL SUCCESS
SAINTS BASKETBALL PREVIEW: DAY 4
If it is true that history repeats itself, then it will once again be true that the Seward County Community College men’s and women’s basketball teams will be in contention for a Jayhawk West Conference Championship as well as a Region VI Tournament title by the end of the 2005-2006 basketball season.
It is no secret that the SCCC men’s and women’s basketball programs are successful. In the past nine years, the Saints have either won or finished in second place in the Jayhawk West seven times. Dave Brown has led SCCC to Conference Championships in 1998 and in 2002 while finishing runner up in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005. The Lady Saints have raised the bar in the Jayhawk West Conference the past 12 years with nine Jayhawk West titles (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 & 2005) and three runner-up finishes (1995, 1999 & 2003).
The Saints and Lady Saints don’t disappoint their fans very often in their home gym, as both teams combined have posted an amazing 304-19 (.941) overall record at the Green House in the past 12 years. The Lady Saints are currently 189-2 at home since 1992, with the incredible national record of 135 consecutive home wins in a row (1995-2004).
The national stage has also been a familiar place for
Seward
County
basketball players as in the past 10 years the Saints and Lady Saints have combined had 15 players named to the NJCAA All-American team and 23 players named NJCAA All-Region VI.
Seward
County
has been a hot bed for producing talented players in both men’s and women’s basketball. In 1995, the Saints top player, Martin Lewis, was selected in the first round of the 1995 NBA Lottery Draft by the Toronto Raptors. Lewis averaged 22.6 points per game in his only season at
Seward
County
before signing a professional contract to the NBA.
In 2002, the Lady Saints finished with a perfect 38-0 overall record by winning the NJCAA National Championship. Lady Saints current assistant coach and former two-time Region VI Player of the Year, Kim Ortega, was named NJCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player and is currently the only athlete in Seward County C.C. history to be a two-time First Team NJCAA All-American. Ortega is also the first SCCC women’s player to play professionally as she signed a professional contract for one season with the Birmingham Power of the National Women’s Basketball League (NWBL).
The Saints and Lady Saints will open their seasons at home on Nov. 3-5 hosting the Pepsi Classic, at the Green House on the campus of Seward County C.C. The Saints will play on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at
8:00 p.m.
while the Lady Saints will play at
6:00 p.m.
on Friday and Saturday night.
In just two days the Saints and Lady Saints teams will both be revealed on Saturday night as they host the Saints Basketball Benefit Night at 6:00 p.m. Admission is FREE and there will be contests where all participants will receive a FREE Saints Basketball T-Shirts provided by the Saints Bookstore.
