Oklahoma 6A girls basketball quarterfinals: Contenders Bixby, Edmond North cruise to semifinals

Neither team was challenged Thursday.

Author:
Buck Ringgold, SBLive Sports
Publish date:
Mar 11, 2022 12:27 AM EST

By Buck Ringgold I Photos by Carlos Flores

MIDWEST CITY - When Bixby's inside-out game is working like it was in Thursday's state tournament opener, the Lady Spartans may very well strike gold.

Four Lady Spartans were in double figures - junior guards Gentry Baldwin and Gracy Wernli as well as junior interior players Meredith Mayes and Alyssa Nielsen - as Bixby pulled away in the second half for a 49-29 win against Edmond Memorial in the 6A quarterfinals at Carl Albert High School.

"Our inside-out game has been strong all year, especially with (Mayes and her) rebounding and us being able to take shots, so our inside-out game has just been at our very best this year," said Nielsen, a 6-foot junior.

At one point in its season, Bixby stood 3-2 following a home loss to Tulsa Union. Even at that low point, the Lady Spartans still believed they had a chance to be on the doorstep of a trip to the championship game.

"Honestly, yes," Nielsen said. "We've had the same mindset all season that we're going to play our game and our game is enough, so all year we've had the confidence that we were going to be here."

Since that loss to Union, Bixby (23-3) has won 20 of its last 21 ballgames. That includes a current streak of 15 straight wins.

And on Friday, the Lady Spartans can return to the 6A title game, when they finished as runner-up last season. Bixby will play at 9 a.m. at the Lloyd Noble Center on the University of Oklahoma campus in the 6A semifinals.

"I think it's going to definitely take all five of us; we're going to have to have really good games from all five starters and our sixth man, too, so everybody's got to play a good game for us," Nielsen said.

Nielsen helped give Bixby an early boost by scoring her team's first two baskets. She added another after receiving a pass down low from Baldwin to put the Lady Spartans up 13-7 late in the opening quarter.

Edmond Memorial got within three, 18-15, midway through the second quarter.

But Bixby ended the half on a 7-0 run, with Wernli hitting a 3 and then driving the lane to get a shot to bounce through as time ran out, making it 25-15 at the break.

The Lady Bulldogs continued to hang around, getting within seven, 30-23, on a 3 from freshman guard Avery Hjelmstad. But Bixby put together a 12-2 run from there.

Nielsen was instrumental in that spurt, feeding Mayes inside for a basket, with Mayes being fouled and completing a three-point play. Then, Nielsen completed a layup off the fast break as well as a put-back shot to cap the run, putting Bixby in control, leading 42-25 with more than six minutes to go.

"She's made for big nights," Bixby coach Tina Thomas said of Nielsen, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds. "That's just in her fabric of who she is, and she made some key shots and did a good job defensively, also rebounds and put-backs at pivotal moments."

Baldwin put the finishing touches on the win by knocking down a 3 in the waning minutes for the final 20-point margin.

"We played tight the first half, we missed uncharacteristic shots," Thomas said. "But I knew they would settle down into their groove. ... The girls just started making some shots, and that really helps your game when you put the ball through the orange thing, so we started making some shots."

Mayes, a 6-3 junior, had a big afternoon on the boards, grabbing 15 rebounds.

"Boards is definitely something I can fall back on when I'm having a rough game," Mayes said. "But just keeping my head up and having Alyssa as the most encouraging person the whole time, that was definitely big and finally figured it out."

Baldwin and Wernli each scored 13 points, and both made three 3's apiece.

"They're consistent, they're just consistent, and that's exactly what we need out of those players," Thomas said. "And (Mayes) had a rough start; she was a little tight, but then the second half, she played a lot better. She settled in and gave us what we needed from her."

But the important thing for Thomas and her players is that the Lady Spartans are still in the hunt for the gold ball. Definitely a long way from that tough night in December, the home loss to Union.

"(Thursday) was not the prettiest game we played all year, but the only thing that matters is you get to take another breath," Thomas said.

Hjelmstad led Edmond Memorial (18-9) with 16 points, making four 3-pointers. Also in double figures for the Lady Bulldogs was junior point guard Baylor Franz, who had 10 points.

Edmond North 72, Stillwater 37

It was a milestone win for Edmond North coach Pete Papahronis as the Lady Huskies had minimal trouble in Thursday's 6A quarterfinal.

The win was the 300th in Papahronis' career, which also included a stint as a boys coach in Guthrie. A nice, round, even number.

Papahronis, though, would prefer to really celebrate a crooked number to his total, with his Lady Huskies two wins away from a gold ball.

"I think I would be a little bit more happy if I get 302," he said. "If I get 302 this season, then I'll celebrate."

The Lady Huskies (26-1) got off to a hot start, particularly the outside shooting of sophomore guard Allison Heathcock.

Heathcock knocked down three 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Lady Huskies built a 23-8 advantage. She had another 3 in the second quarter, as North's lead grew to 23 at the break, 42-19.

"I came out and I was really focusing on the defensive end, and then our stops and our transition to the offense," said Heathcock, who finished with 16 points. "I was able to knock down those shots when my teammates found me on the perimeter."

North continued to roll in the second half, going up 60-24 late in the third quarter after senior Ataya Casaus knocked down a trey of her own.

Since the Lady Huskies' lone loss, to 4A contender Classen SAS on Feb. 17, North has been on a roll. The Lady Huskies have won five straight since, with an average victory margin of 43.6 points.

"It taught us that we are very beatable, we're not invincible and we have to finish out the games just as strong as we start them," Heathcock said of the loss to Classen SAS.

Standout junior forward Laci Steele led all scorers with 20 points in the Lady Huskies' latest win. Junior Elle Papahronis had 12 points as well.

Thursday's win was another milestone for the Papahronis family. In addition to Pete Papahronis recording his 300th career win, his daughter, senior Tori Papahronis, scored her 1,000th career point.

The Lady Huskies advance to the 6A semifinals, and will play at noon Friday in Norman.

Stillwater (14-14) had two players in double figures. Freshman point guard Janiyah Williams had 14 points, while senior guard Chrissen Harland added 10.