Caddo edges Class 4A Tuttle with late Robinson basket

Dec. 31—Caddo the giant killers did it again.

Emily Robinson drove down the lane and put a shot up over Tuttle's 6-3 standout Landry Allen with 11 seconds left in the game to give the Lady Bruins a dramatic 56-54 win over Class 4A powerhouse and defending champion Tuttle Thursday night in the semifinals of the 2022 Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic.

Caddo, ranked No. 2 in Class A, improved to 10-0 on the year, while the Lady Tigers — No. 3 in 4A, dropped to 7-2. The Lady Bruins defeated Class 5A No. 2 Carl Albert 57-46 in a first-round matchup on Wednesday.

Caddo played Bethel in the championship game Friday night while Tuttle met Ada in the third-place contest.

With the game knotted at 54-all, Robinson drove down the left side of the paint and muscled up a shot over Allen that put Caddo ahead by two.

Tuttle's Allie Rehl put up a shot on the baseline as time was running out that fell off the rim and Jaycie Nichols secured the rebound for Caddo as the buzzer sounded.

The Lady Tigers led by as many as nine in the second quarter before settling for a 27-24 halftime lead.

Tuttle extended its lead to 34-27 after Rehl hit a pair of free shots at the 6:03 mark of the third period. However, the Lady Tigers never could pull away in the quarter thanks to a trio of 3-point baskets by Caddo's Harlee Mullens.

Still, the Lady Tigers led 43-38 heading into the fourth frame.

Robinson scored two quick baskets to start the fourth quarter for Caddo — the last on a steal and layup — to cut the CHS deficit to 43-42.

Tuttle still led 52-49 after a fast-break bucket by Rehl with just under three minutes to play.

Robison scored on a putback on Caddo's next trip down the floor. Her rebound was the third of the possession for the Lady Bruins.

Paityn Lowry hit a huge 3-pointer for Caddo with 1:10 showing that put the CHS team ahead 54-52.

A Rehl jumper tied the score and set up the end-of-the-game heroics by Robinson. The Caddo senior ended up with a game-high 24 points to go with nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. Robinson finished 9-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

Mullens scored all 12 of her points on 4-of-7 shooting from long range. Kadey McKay also reached double figures for the Lady Bruins with 11 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.

Rehl paced the Tuttle offense with 20 points. Allen was next for the Lady Tigers with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Tuttle's Ava Battle made a pair of 3-pointers for six points.

Caddo made 9-of-20 3-point field goals compared to a 3-of-11 showing by Tuttle.