Seminole girls press Prague to capture semifinal victory
MEEKER – Holli Ladd drained four 3-pointers and finished with 23 points Thursday night as the Seminole Lady Chieftains coasted to a 52-36 decision over the Prague Lady Red Devils in the semifinals of the 66 Conference Tournament.
Seminole (10-4) unleashed an early press which resulted in early 10-0 lead and a 14-6 advantage by quarter's end. The Lady Chieftains forced Prague into 12 first-quarter turnover as the Lady Devils ended up with 28 for the game.
“The first time we played them, we didn't press them because we had three girls out and we were missing our leading scorer. Our game plan this time was to press from the beginning,” said Seminole head coach Charles Kemp. “We just didn't capitalize enough early. They (Prague) are a well-coached team.”
Ladd added seven rebounds and five steals to the stat sheet for the Lady Chieftains.
Seminole also received 12 points from Kennedy Coker and 11 from Annira Sewell. Sewell hit one trey, finished with eight rebounds and recorded three steals. Coker ended up with five boards and a pair of steals.
Kaylyn Cotner had only two points for the Lady Chieftains, but was a force on the defensive end with eight blocked shots and nine rebounds, eight off the defensive glass.
Adrianna O'Daniel tacked on four points to round of the Seminole scoring.
Mattie Rich, who cranked out four treys, led Prague with 14 points and Payton Camren followed with seven, including a 3-of-4 effort from the foul line. Maggie Smith and Delaney Boyd contributed four points each off the bench.
A Brook Martinez 3-pointer and 2-pointer apiece from Ella Simek and Jadyn Hightower wrapped up the Prague scoring.
The Lady Devils cut down on their miscues in the second quarter, but still trailed 28-17 at the break.
An 18-6 scoring spurt by Seminole spelled doom for Prague in the third quarter as the Lady Chieftains doubled up the Lady Devils, 46-23, going into the fourth.
Seminole finished the contest with 17 turnovers, 11 less than Prague.
The Lady Chieftains will battle Okemah in the 66 Conference finals on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Lady Devils will take on Holdenville for third place at 3 p.m.
Meeker 55, Holdenville 53 (Boys' Consolation)
A big block by Treyvon Compton, a putback by Evan Tirey and a runner in the lane with six seconds to go were the big plays that keyed a Bulldog victory Thursday in consolation play.
The Wolverines had a 53-49 lead with 1:50 to go before Meeker rallied late for the win.
Compton, who finished with a game-high 21 points, sank two free throws with 1:02 left to pull the Bulldogs within 53-51. Holdenville then had an apparent break for a layup but seemingly out of nowhere, Compton blocks the shot out of bounds with 57 seconds remaining.
The Wolverines then turned the ball over with 55 seconds left. On the other end, Compton missed a shot, but Tirey snagged the offensive rebound and scored on the putback to tie it up at 53 with 23.7 seconds left.
That set up the game-winner for Meeker as Bussell's runner in the lane made it 55-53. Holdenville had a chance for the win, but Josiah Perryman's 3-pointer beyond the top of the key was off the mark as the buzzer sounded.
“I'm extremely proud of these guys. They've grown up so much since the beginning of the season and fighting through adversity,” said Meeker head coach Randall Ragland. “Compton's block was a game changer. Our lone senior (Tirey) stepped up when it counted. It was one of the biggest plays of the game. Braxton has fought adversity this year and has stayed the course. He's our floor general and I'm really proud of him sticking to it.”
Compton knocked down five of the Bulldogs' eight treys in the game. Bussell followed with 13 points, including a pair of treys, and Kayde Massey notched 12 points. Tirey ended up with seven, including a 3-point make, and Jason Brewer tacked on the other two Meeker points.
Isaiah King led the Wolverines with 17 points, including two treys, and McPerryman tacked on 11 points in a losing effort.
The Bulldogs (5-10) got off to a hot start and had a 19-12 advantage after one quarter. It was 31-21 in favor of Meeker at halftime, but Holdenville went on an 18-11 run through the third to pull within 42-39.
The Wolverines snagged the lead in the fourth before the Bulldogs persevered down the stretch.
Chandler 54, Stroud 45 (Boys' Consolation)
The Lions knocked down eight 3-pointers – two each from Kaden Jones, Brady Butler, Markus Minshall and Gaven Miller – in capturing the consolation bracket win.
Jones tossed in a game-high 16 points for Chandler. Minshall and Brad Beloncik contributed eight points apiece while Butler and Miller finished with six points each off the two treys each. Isiah Holland was next on the Lion scoring chart with five points.
The two teams were tied at 24 at halftime, but Chandler outscored Stroud 14-9 in the third and 16-12 in the fourth.
Kolten Alexander and Cameron Stewart were the high scorers for Stroud with 12 each while Amariyae Morris finished with 11. Stewart connected for two 3-pointers and Morris had one.
This article originally appeared on The Shawnee News-Star: Seminole girls press Prague to capture semifinal victory
