Lady Pirates end Enid with late run
Jan. 20—PURCELL — The Byng Lady Pirates didn't get much separation against Enid during much of their first-round matchup Thursday afternoon at the 2023 Heart of Oklahoma Tournament in Purcell.
However, coach Luke Clark watched his team score the final eight points of the game and shut out the Lady Plainsmen over the final 3:45 of a 59-47 triumph.
The Lady Pirates improved to 11-5 on the year, while Class 6A Enid dropped to 5-9. Byng is scheduled to meet Anadarko — ranked No. 7 in Class 4A — at 4 p.m. today in a semifinal clash.
Enid's Mary Angel Jibbwa hit a 3-pointer with 3:45 to get Enid within 51-47. The Lady Plainsmen wouldn't score again.
Cadence Carlos hit four straight free throws for Byng and backcourt mate Alona Cooper-Rochovitz scored in the lane after a series of BHS offensive boards to give the Lady Pirates a 57-47 cushion with just over a minute to play.
Cooper's two free throws with 49.3 ticks left ended the scoring and also ended a big day for the Byng junior. She erupted for a career-high 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field. Cooper sank 4-of-6 from 3-point range and also has six rebounds.
Byng led 17-12 late in the first quarter before the Lady Plainsmen got a pair of free throws by Kirya Mack and a putback from 5-11 freshman Taylor Woods to trim the Byng advantage to 17-16.
Enid tied the game at 23-23 after a fast-break bucket from Jibbwa at the 5:22 mark of the second period. The Lady Pirates ended the frame on a 9-2 run and led 32-25 at halftime. Cooper had a 3-pointer during that BHS surge, Lani Meyers hit three consecutive free throws and Carlos scored on a nice drive to the basket.
Enid got within 35-32 early in the third period but Cooper scored on a putback and Adyson Caton hit a pair of free throws to push the BHS cushion to 43-34 heading into the final eight minutes.
Carlos also had a nice stat line for the Lady Pirates. She scored a career-best 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting and made 5-of-5 free-throw attempts. She also had five rebounds and five steals. Carlos and Cooper combined for 51 of Byng's 59 points.
Laney Waters had six rebounds despite battling through early foul trouble.
Jibbwa scored 17 points to lead the Enid offense. Kyra Criss scored eight points and secure a game-high nine rebounds for the Lady Plainsmen. Mack also scored eight points to go with five rebounds and three steals. Woods scored just five points but added six rebounds and four steals for Enid.
Byng sank 13-of-15 free throws compared to an 8-of-12 showing for Enid.
