Seaburn sets the pace for Shenango girls

By Corey J. Corbin
New Castle News

Shenango’s Samantha Seaburn nearly had a historic night and no one knew it.

The 5-foot-7 sophomore forward almost set school records with a career-high 34 points and 19 rebounds in Shenango’s 67-57 win over Freedom and followed it up with 23 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks against a strong Wilmington squad. Seaburn opened the week with 10 points in a 57-49 win at Riverside.

The performances earned her Lawrence County Athlete of the Week honors, an award sponsored by Washington Centre Physical Therapy and selected by the New Castle News sports staff.

“To be honest, no one knew what Sam had done until the game was over and we looked at the book,” said Shenango coach Brian Turk, who noted the 34 points and 19 rebounds against Freedom were top-five totals in school annals. “I didn’t expect those numbers and we don’t look for those numbers as a team. She definitely earned her keep this week.

“Good things happen to good people, who work hard, and Sam’s been working hard — the whole team has. Her supporting cast allowed her to get where she was this week. Honestly, it could be somebody different next week.”

Seaburn credits her teammates for the offensive outbursts she had against Freedom and Wilmington.

“Going into (the Freedom) game, I knew I had to be a spark, but I couldn’t have done it without my guards — Angelina Sibeto, Emma Rich, Carolyn (Peterson) and Ashleigh (Presnar),” she said. “They had great set-ups. They were looking inside. They made great plays and I just had to finish. I trust my guards to do what they have to do. If they see a good opportunity for a good outside shot, I want them to take it.

“My warm-ups weren’t that good. I knew that at tipoff everything that happened before that had to leave (her mind). Once my shots started to fall, my confidence went up, but I still had to look around for the best available shot.”

The scary thing for Shenango’s WPIAL Section 2-AA opponents is the Lady Wildcats didn’t force the offense through their talented forward.

“We never ran the offense through her, so that would happen,” Turk said. “Our players know that. Our players have the green light to score at any time. None of us paid any attention to it, because we weren’t trying to feed her points. A lot of things have to happen. You have to have that want and you have to bust your butt.”

Seaburn isn’t worried about putting up big numbers as long as her team wins.

“As long as we’re playing well as a team, it won’t really bother me, because I’ll average my points” she said. “After the Freedom game, I could have cared less if I scored two points as long as we came out of it with a ‘W.’ I don’t really need the points. I just want my team to win.”

Turk believes Seaburn’s best is yet to come.

“I don’t think we’ve seen her true strengths just yet to be honest with you,” he said. “This is her sport, her passion. This is what she wants to do and what she hopes to continue to do moving forward in college. She works year round at it. I hope this is a good growing spurt for her for the rest of the year, because not only will she benefit from but so will the program.

“She’s been forced to play the forward role, because of our size right now. We’re kind of young at the forward position, so she kind of fell into it. We’re playing a lot of four guards and one forward and at times, five guards.”

The Lady Wildcats had their five-game winning streak snapped by Wilmington on Saturday and entered the Christmas break at 5-2 after managing just seven wins last year. Both of Shenango’s losses this year have come against the Lady Greyhounds.

“It’s nice to bring some pride to Shenango and know other teams are scared to play us now,” Seaburn said.

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THE SAMANTHA SEABURN FILE

POSITION: Forward.

TEAM: Shenango.

GRADE: Sophomore.

PARENTS: Chris and Cindy Seaburn.

KNOWN FOR: Scoring 10 points in a 57-49 WPIAL Section 2-AA win over Riverside; posting 34 points and 19 rebounds in a 67-57 victory over Freedom; and recording 23 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in a 65-48 loss to Wilmington.

FAVORITE PRO PLAYER AND WHY: Mason Plumlee. “He busts his butt. He used to play for Duke, but now, plays for the (Brooklyn Nets). I look up to him.”

FAVORITE PRO TEAM AND WHY: Chicago Bulls. “Because of Michael Jordan.”

FUTURE PLANS: “I plan on attending college and playing basketball. I want to do something in criminal justice.”