Bixby girls hold off Owasso to record their seventh straight win

By Mike Moguin 

Photo of Bixby's Gentry Baldwin (with ball) by Carlos Flores 

BIXBY - Bixby overcame a struggling second half and a hungry Owasso squad to win, 39-37, in girls basketball action Friday night at Whitey Ford Gym.

Senior Gentry Baldwin led the Lady Spartans (15-6) with 13 points. The Lady Rams (12-8) were led by sophomore Jayelle Austin’s 12 points and junior Amarian Tease’s 10.

After Bixby had the upper hand in the first half, Owasso dominated the third quarter, taking advantage of sluggish shooting by Bixby, outscoring them 11-2, en route to tying the game, 32-all.

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Then, a light switch turned on within Bixby, who would find a way to victory.

As play began in the fourth quarter with the Lady Rams having possession, Baldwin jumped in, stole the ball from an Owasso dribbler, and drove to her frontcourt. She would get fouled by Lady Ram junior Alex McGarrah, getting a trip to the line.

Baldwin sank both free throws to put Bixby back on top by two.

“They’re just competitors,” Bixby coach Tina Thomas said of her team. “They are very driven, hard-working young ladies and they just find a way.

"Offensively, we just couldn’t generate anything. We were just really off and kind of hurried. We never wavered."

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The Lady Spartans had to deal with a season-ending injury to one of their key senior starters, Meredith Mayes, during a game in December. Bixby struggled in the early going, starting the season 8-6.

But the Lady Spartans have started to hit their stride, and with Friday's win, they now have reeled off seven consecutive wins.

“A lot of times, it takes a special play from one of our players,” Thomas said. “It’s Gentry a lot of nights, it could be (Gracy or Kate) Wernli, it could be Alyssa (Nielsen), it could be any of those kids.

"They make the spark play, and I definitely thought that was a spark play that Gentry made.”

Not long after Baldwin’s play and free throws, senior Gracy Wernli made an impressive 3-pointer directly in front of the top of the key zone, and it was 37-32, Lady Spartans.

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“She is an ace shooter. She didn’t shoot well (Friday), but that’s very atypical,” Thomas said of Gracy Wernli. “Night in, night out, that girl just reins them in and gets her shot off really quick; makes good selections that’s typical of her play. I would say that shot is what she does.”

Owasso would not stop. After a pair of free throws made by junior Makenna Yokley and another from McGarrah, the Lady Rams got within two points again.

With under two minutes left, junior Addy Pruitt hit a layup to tie the game at 37. But with 1:26 to go, Gracy Wernli broke the tie with two free shots after she was fouled by Tease.

Bixby was awarded possession with 24.1 seconds left. The Lady Spartans drove downcourt, passing the ball until Nielsen - another senior - got the ball in the last seconds to hang on for the final buzzer.

The game opened as a tight contest, but a Bixby time out late in the first period seemed to change the pace.

After an exchange of baskets capped by an Owasso field goal from the right corner from Austin, Thomas called a time out with 1:08 left in the first.

From there, Bixby quickly opened up with a 7-0 run to break the tie. Freshman Kate Wernli hit a trey off a steal to break the tie; then came a layup from Baldwin on the next possession.

Nielsen then drilled a 3, and it was 22-15, Bixby.

“We changed a little bit defensively on how we were going to play them at that point,” Thomas said. “They sensed that sense of urgency and I just called time out just to settle them down and re-focused on what we do well and how we want to execute on both ends of the court.”

Owasso got a bucket from Austin before the opening period ended.

The second quarter appeared as if the Lady Spartans were in the early stages of a runaway as Gracy Wernli hooked a layup with 3:12 left in the first half, making it 30-19.

McGarrah added a basket for the Lady Rams before halftime.