Highly ranked Bethany girls take advantage of 4A home regional by cruising to semifinal win
By Chase Horsley
Action from the 4A Area I girls regional between Bethany and Elgin
BETHANY - Oklahoma regional girls basketball is here.
One of the top teams in Class 4A, No. 3 ranked Bethany, took advantage of hosting the Class 4A Area I regional tournament with a 78-52 win Thursday night against Elgin in the regional semifinals.
With the win, the Lady Bronchos will advance to the regional title game at 6 p.m. Saturday - also in Bethany - against Bristow.
The Lady Bronchos also won their 14th straight game, almost all of them 20-point wins.
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They were led by Zya Vann, a junior, who had 18 points in the first half, as the Lady Bronchos led the Lady Owls, 41-11. She finished the game with 24 points and five steals.
“She leads our team in steals right now, over 100 steals,” said Bethany coach Eric Sailer. "She plays unbalanced and can hit from deep and put the ball on the floor to go in for a layup.”
Junior Avery Marchino had nine points in the first half to help get the Lady Bronchos to a 30-point lead. By the end of the game, she finished with 18 points.
“Teammates were pushing me in practice by putting up shots,” Marchino said. “Then they were just finding me when I am open.”
The Lady Bronchos could not stop getting rebounds, as sophomore Keziah Lofton had three offensive rebounds in one possession of the ball. She also finished the games with 10 points, and 6-of-10 were back-pointed.
“We were ready,” said Lofton, a University of Oklahoma commit. “We had a good practice (Wednesday), so we were ready (Thursday)."
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Elgin freshman Kelby Carter tried to keep the Lady Owls in the game, finishing up with 12 points. The Lady Owls made the Lady Bronchos turn the ball over seven times, but could not score in transition.
Kayten Donley, a sophomore from Bethany, was a significant threat on defense. She had two steals and a few rebounds.
“I have always been defensive-minded,” Donley said.
Bishop McGuiness and Community Christian started the regional in the consolation bracket, and McGuinness pulled off the win, 56-54. McGuinness will play Oklahoma Christian School at 1:30 p.m. Friday, while Elgin faces Cushing at 6 p.m. Friday, also at Bethany High School.
Boys
Elgin 51, Bethany 49
Elgin pulled off a nine-point comeback in its 4A regional semifinal win Thursday on the Bronchos' home court.
Going into halftime, the Bronchos had an eight-point lead and scoring the ball any chance they could. The Owls then got down by nine in the third quarter with a free throw made by sophomore Wyatt Geissler.
“We made a lot of adjustments, going from a 1-2-2 half court to a 3-2 tight defense,” said Elgin coach Ryan Green. “And it worked.”
The Bronchos lead all game until the fourth. They were driving down the court, but Elgin senior Jaylon Nettles stole it away. Nettles passed the ball to junior Jake Lohman for a wide-open layup that made the game 44-43, Owls.
The Bronchos returned and regained the lead, 46-44, with a 3-pointer from Geissler. Elgin countered with a contested layup from Lohman to tie the score at 46-all.
Then Elgin senior Christain Reed made a basket to take a 48-46 lead. Senior Taylor Heim scored for the Bronchos after an inbound play with 1:30 left.
Action from the Class 4A Area I boys regional between Elgin and Bethany.
With 11.3 seconds left, Bethany senior Woods Harrell was fouled and made 1-of-2 free throws as the Bronchos regained the lead, 49-48. Harrell finished the game with 18 points and two rebounds.
But it was Nettles who had the final say in this game as he made the eventual game-winning basket for the Owls, a well-contested layup guarded by Harrell.
“My teammates helped me keep my composure,” Nettles said.
Nettles finished the game with 19 points and three rebounds. Behind him was Reed with 12 points.
“He took over the game and did everything for us,” Green said.
Elgin moves on into Saturday's regional championship game at 7:30 p.m. in Bethany, as the Owls take on Oklahoma Christian School.
The other boys regional game played Thursday was Bishop McGuinness and Community Christain, where the Irish won, 57-47. The Irish will now play Cushing at 3 p.m. Friday, while Bethany faces Bristow in another elimination game, set for 7:30 p.m. Friday.
