Hartshorne girls, Pocola boys qualify for Class 2A state tournament
By George Mitchell
WILBURTON - Hartshorne rallied from a first-quarter deficit and held off Okemah to win the Class 2A Area IV consolation finals on Saturday.
Pocola, which made the 2A state tournament a season ago, returns to the state tournament with a solid first half against Rejoice Christian.
Girls
Hartshorne 74, Okemah 69
Hartshorne is aggressive.
Sometimes it gets them into foul trouble and other times, it allows the team to create opportunities. When trailing by 10 points after the first quarter, the Lady Miners’ aggressive style allowed the team to dig out of their hole, take the lead, and advance to the state tournament.
“We are very aggressive,” said Hartshorne coach Shane Hackler. “We got into foul trouble [Friday] night, and I felt like we backed off some [Saturday] night. We got a great bench that gave us some good minutes when needed, and they were big for us in this win.”
Hartshorne had 19 fouls the night before, but three players fouled out. Against Okemah, the squad had 23 fouls, but only one player fouled out.
The bench provided five points and seven of the team’s 30 rebounds.
Alana Williams scored a tournament-high 41 points with six rebounds. Williams scored in every capacity - inside the paint, short and long range jumpers (six 3-pointers), and was 5-of-6 at the free-throw line.
Brooky Surginer had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds for Hartshorne (18-8).
“We came out kind of rough in the preseason, and most people didn’t expect us to make it here, but for us, the fighting never stops,” Surginer said. “We have kids who have the most grit in the world but also have a lot of heart. I was the new kid, and they welcomed me with open arms; I haven’t met a team quite like that.
“We know what our roles are. We know who can score when we need them, and everybody knows when to play defense, but the biggest thing about this team is that everyone knows what to do at the right time.”
Okemah (24-5) had a 10-0 run to build a 21-9 lead in the first quarter. Hartshorne’s Abby Budzinsky came off the bench and sparked what would turn into a 12-2 run that lasted until the 5:15 mark in the second quarter, and the Lady Miners trailed, 23-21.
The teams would trade shots until Hartshorne came up with a turnover, and Williams got a second-chance shot with a three-pointer and put the Lady Miners up, 31-30, at the 2:15 mark. Williams later grabbed an offensive rebound, put the ball back up, score, and extend the lead to 33-30.
Hartshorne scored seven points off of the three turnovers during that run.
However, Okemah found some life in the final 51 seconds of the half and retook the lead, 36-35, with a buzzer shot by Raven Deer.
Hartshorne’s Jayda Moore gave her squad the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 5:59 left in the third quarter for the Lady Miners' 41-38 lead, and one that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.
“If you believe in yourself and your team, and you can get [to the state tournament], you can get there,” said Surginer.
The teams resorted to the free-throw line to settle the game in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Panthers shot 22-of-36 from the line for the game, while Hartshorne was 14-of-25.
For Okemah, sophomore Elaine Berryhill led her squad with 28 points. Classmates Deer had 11, and Merada Switch added 15.
Boys
Pocola 47, Rejoice Christian 33
The Pocola squad can bounce back. The team struggled against Spiro in the semifinals of the LeFlore County Tournament but came back the next night and stormed past Wister for the title.
Pocola fell to Preston in the area finals on Friday but returned to Wilburton with the same energy but played a sharper game to build a 27-6 halftime lead.
“That’s how it has been for us, unfortunately, and fortunately,” said Pocola coach Derek Barlow. “I got a bunch of young guys out there, and three of them have never played at the high school level. We got down, but these guys were determined.
"In the Preston game, we felt like most of our wounds were self-inflicted, and we weren’t happy with that. But I’m proud of them for returning and how they played [Saturday] night.”
Rejoice Christian’s Solo Morton led the game with 17 points by hitting five 3-pointers in the second half. Morton played most of the half with three and four fouls on his ledger.
The Eagles got within 10 points (33-23) with 5:15 remaining in the game after a 3 by Jaron Foote.
It presented a new situation for Pocola and one the coach hopes his young team learns: Maintaining the lead.
“We haven’t been in a position a lot this year where we have a 20-point lead, and there’s a guy out there knocking down 3's as he did,” Barlow said. “I was impressed with him and asked for an autograph.
"Our guys haven’t been in a situation where they have a 20-point lead, and the fans for the other team are loud. That took some of the momentum away from us. So, this was a good experience for them.”
Pocola’s Dakotah Terrell led his squad with 16 points and eight rebounds, and Garrett Scott added 14 points and three rebounds.
The team out-rebounded Rejoice Christian, 28-23. Zac Jones had seven boards, and Austin Hardwick pulled down five. Brayden Hardwick had seven points and five rebounds.
“We didn’t rebound well [Friday] night,” said Scott. “The coach got on to us about that, so we made sure we went out and got those rebounds.
"We’re a hard-working team, and Coach Barlow pushes us daily in practice to make us a better team, get the rebounds, and do everything we can to win.”
Pocola forced five of Rejoice Christian’s 11 turnovers. The Eagles had seven turnovers in the first 12 minutes of the game.
“If you’re going to have a bad game, it’s good to see them come back strong from it,” said Barlow. “It’s a sign that these guys want to win and that there’s some maturity creeping in there. I’m proud of that.
"We’d love to get to the level where we don’t have a bad game like that, but we’re not there yet, and this was a big step towards getting there.”
