During finals week, basketball isn’t too high of a priority at Seabury Academy. Surviving the tough week of academics is.

So forgive the Seabury girls basketball team for being a little flat and a little winded in its 47-15 loss to McLouth Tuesday. In fact, just put some of the blame on coach Eric Nelson.

It was he who wrote up and passed out a brutal chemistry final to his students, many of whom also are on his team. Heck, chances are, Nelson himself didn’t have a clue what some of the answers were, as tough as that test was.

Come time for basketball Tuesday night, the Seahawks already were pooped.

“We were flat,” Nelson admitted.

The mental exhaustion meant physical exhaustion, too. Right out of the gate, McLouth was up 15-2, behind a height advantage with freshman Taylor Renfro and the hot shooting of Leigh Anna Thompson.

Seabury (0-4) shut the Bulldogs down in the second quarter, but still couldn’t put the ball in the bucket. At halftime, it was 19-6 McLouth.

“I think the turnovers that we make are due to inexperience,” Nelson said. “It’s an experience issue we’re dealing with.”

The Seahawks didn’t get the offense started until the fourth quarter, when they nearly doubled their point total (seven) from the previous three quarters (eight).

Seabury Academy's Elise Stella, left, and McLouth's Leigh Anna Thompson battle for the basketball. Thompson scored 10 points in McLouth's 47-15 high school girls basketball victory Tuesday night at Seabury.

By then, McLouth had complete control of the game’s outcome.

Regardless, Nelson knows baby steps will be taken with a young, inexperienced team.

“As a team,” Nelson said, “we’re starting to see what hanging out in the gym gets us.”

Junior Laura Frizell led the Seahawks with six points. Thompson had 10 for McLouth, now 2-3.

Seabury plays Friday at Maranatha. McLouth is off until January.

McLouth boys 59, Seabury 28

You could say Isaac Gardner pretty much beat the Seahawks single-handedly Tuesday.

Seabury Academy's Adam Davis (15) shoots past McLouth's Travis Steffey. The Seahawks lost, 59-28, Tuesday at Seabury.

His 32 points were enough to give McLouth a 31-point win. They were also enough to outscore the whole Seabury team. All in a day’s work for the senior, who’s put up similar scoring numbers much of the season.

“He has a knack for scoring,” McLouth coach Chad Brown said. “His teammates are great about getting him the ball.”

It ended up smoothly for McLouth (3-2), but the first half was shaky, and the second quarter was pretty much dominated by Seabury. The Seahawks (0-6) outscored the Bulldogs 15-9 in the frame, thanks to pinpoint shooting by Scotty King and smooth ballhandling by Adam Davis. Davis led the Seahawks with 13 points overall.

“That was probably the best we played, and McLouth is probably the best team we played,” Seabury coach Marcus Heckman said. “There are some positives to take from it, and with a young team, you get it in bits and pieces.”

Seabury will travel to Maranatha Friday. McLouth plays K.C. Christian Jan. 6.