Ty Harrell Special to The Sun
SAPULPA — The Deer Creek Lady Antlers gave it all they had, but in the end, it was momentum that ended up deciding the game.
Big Mo swung back and forth throughout the entire 32 minute contest but wound up on the Washington bench as the Lady Hornets sank nine of 12 free throws to secure a first round Class 5A State Tournament win and send the Lady Antlers home Thursday night.
“Basketball is a game of momentum and in the end, it was not with us,” said Deer Creek coach Totsy Manning. “These girls played hard and gave it everything they had but we just came up short in the end.”
The Lady Antlers came out strong in the first quarter, racing to a quick 8-2 lead, but Washington went on an 11-1 run in the final three minutes to take a 13-9 advantage at the end of the first stanza.
The Lady Hornets continued to roll in the second quarter as the Lady Antlers struggled, taking just five shots from the field and hitting only two while going three-of-14 from the charity stripe, the difference in the game, according to Manning.
“We really struggled from the line and that just killed us,” she said. “If we would have been able to hit a few more of those, it would have been a completely different game and we would be playing with a lead in the third instead of trying to play catchup.”
At the break, Washington held what appeared to be a comfortable 24-14 advantage.
The Lady Antlers did not seem to mind having to play from behind, however, as they came out and lit up Washington, scoring 10 unanswered points, capped by a big 3-pointer from Kelsey Glover to knot the score at 45 with 2:28 to play in the third period.
“These girls came out and played hard in the third quarter, they showed a lot of heart,” Manning said. “I was so proud of the way they were able to battle back and just keep fighting.”
At the end of the third, Deer Creek held a 29-28 advantage, but it would be an advantage they would not be able to hold onto as Washington played ball control and forced the Lady Antlers to foul. Washington capitalized on the opportunities as they nailed nine of 11 while the Lady Antlers could only get three shots off the entire final eight minutes, hitting just one, a 3-pointer by Courtney Weaver with 53 seconds left in the game.
Ashley Gibson paced the Lady Antler offense, scoring 10 points on the night, while Glover racked up six points. Jasey Jackson pitched in five points while A.J. Miller contributed four points and Weaver three.
The Lady Antlers close their season with a record of 20-5.
Class 5A girls: Tulsa Washington shuts down Deer Creek
BY MIKE KOEHLER, Special Correspondent | Oklahoman
Published: March 11, 2010
Read more: http://newsok.com/article/3445886#ixzz0i0LnNdTo
SAPULPA — Two droughts were too many for Deer Creek, as the Antlers tried to shake off ice-cold shooting but eventually couldn’t in a 41-33 first-round loss to Tulsa Washington in the Class 5A State Tournament.
Advertisement
Deer Creek went 10 minutes without a basket between the first and second quarters and then seven more minutes in the fourth quarter without a score, snuffing what looked to be a great comeback.
After scoring only five points in the second quarter and trailing at halftime by 10, 24-14, Deer Creek rallied with a pair of clutch 3-pointers by Kelsey Glover to head into the final period up by one, 29-28.
But Tulsa Washington’s defense clamped down again, and Deer Creek could only muster one basket the rest of the way.
For Tulsa Washington coach Annette Kennedy it was a testament to the high-risk, high-reward style of her Hornet defenders.
"We play an up-tempo style that can sometimes put us in foul trouble," said Kennedy, whose team is looking to defense back-to-back state titles. "But as long as the other team is not hitting their free throws, it works to our advantage."
Oh, yes, free throws.
Deer Creek had its chances at the line, especially in that frigid second quarter, when the Antlers went 3-for-15 from the free throw line.
Deer Creek also had to deal with the loss of their top scorer, freshman Ashley Gordon, who went down with a possible broken bone in her leg with three minutes to go in the game and did not return.
Late in the game, Deer Creek was forced to foul and Washington padded its lead. Kami Bunch led the Hornets with 10 points, seven coming from the free throw line.
Tulsa Washington moves on to play Tulsa East Central at 1:30 Friday at the Mabee Center. McAlester and Tulsa Memorial meet in the other semifinal.
Deer Creek vs. Tulsa Washington
8:30, Sapulpa High School
DEER CREEK ANTLERS
→Coach: Totsy Manning
→Record: 20-5; Rank: No. 8
No. Player Ht. Cl. Pts.
33 Jasey Jackson 5-8 Sr. 4.9
10 Courtney Weaver 5-4 Sr. 4.5
22 AJ Miller 5-8 Sr. 9.3
45 Jalyn Jackson 5-9 So. 8.5
32 Ashley Gibson 5-10 Fr. 11.6
→Tournament history: State champions in 1966, 1973, 2006.
→This season: In second year under Totsy Manning, Antlers appear to be back as a perennial power. Manning has taken Deer Creek to state in each of her first two seasons and has young nucleus (three of top four scorers are sophomores or freshmen) to be regulars at the Big House.
TULSA WASHINGTON HORNETS
→Coach: Annette Kennedy
→Record: 19-7; Rank: No. 4
No. Player Ht. Cl. Pts.
23 Mariah Gilliam 5-6 Sr. 11.0
33 Amari Jones 5-5 So. 8.2
25 Devaughn Gray 5-8 Sr. 7.8
35 Kamri Anderson 5-6 Sr. 6.2
12 Kaylan Mayberry 6-1 Sr. 7.1
→Tournament history: State champions in 2008, 2009.
→This season: Despite losing four starters from back-to-back title teams, Hornets didn’t need a season to re-load and stayed among the state’s elite. After a 4-3 start, BTW won 11 of 12 games and heads into the state tourney with wins over 5A top-five squads Tulsa Memorial, East Central and Tulsa Edison.
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Other contenders
A.J. Miller, Deer Creek, Basketball: Totsy Manning’s girls are headed back to state and if you forced me to pick a go-to girl, it’s Miller. Antlers vs. two-time champs, Booker T., at 8:30 at Sapulpa.
Class 5A Girls OSSAA State Tournament (March 11th - 13th, 2010)
First Round (Thursday)
- #1 Carl Albert vs #7 McAlester @ Sapulpa 2:00pm
- #3 East Central vs #13 Macarthur @ Sapulpa 3:30pm
- #2 Memorial vs #12 Western Heights @ Sapulpa 7:00pm
- #8 Deer Creek vs #4 Booker T Washington @ Sapulpa 8:30pm
Semi-Finals (Friday)
- Memorial/Western Heights Winner vs Carl Albert/McAlester Winner @ Mabee Center @ 10:30am
- East Central/Macarthur Winner vs Deer Creek/Booker T Washington Winner @ Mabee Center @ 1:30pm
State Championship (Saturday)
- State Championship @ Mabee Center @ 7:00pm