Oklahoma 4A girls quarterfinals: Glenpool, Lincoln Christian both win, setting up anticipated rematch
OKLAHOMA CITY - Glenpool is one of the youngest teams in the Class 4A state tournament.
With only two seniors on the roster, they do not have some of the experience that other squads vying for the championship have in their lineups.
Despite that, the Lady Warriors have one element their coach, Bobby Belveal, says can’t be duplicated. It’s their tenacity and ability to keep fighting that helped them prevail, 62-55, over Locust Grove Thursday in the 4A quarterfinals.
“Nobody plays any harder than they do,” Belveal said. “If you saw them (Thursday), they were out diving for every loose ball. We're small so it takes just physicality and we have to want it worse than the other team does. And I'd say that's our calling card all year is that nobody out-hustles us.”
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After leading by as much as 16 points, the Lady Pirates trimmed the lead down to seven, 53-46, with 4:15 left in the contest. Olivia Stokes then knocked down a shot to cut the gap down to five points and forced Glenpool to call a time out.
The Lady Warriors responded when Carly Morrison scored and was fouled under the basket. The ensuing free throw put them up, 56-48. However, LG forced a turnover and scored on a layup.
Glenpool came up empty on the next possession and Claire Hooker was fouled shooting a 3-pointer. She made 2-of-3 foul shots to cut the Glenpool lead down to four, 56-52, with 1:20 left.
After another Glenpool turnover, Locust Grove got the ball with an opportunity to cut deeper into the lead. But Stokes was called for an offensive foul under the goal that wiped away a basket.
The Lady Warriors' Yaya Gibson was fouled and knocked down a pair of free throws before Hooker drained a 3-pointer.
Gibson hit two more shots from the charity stripe and Glenpool held a five-point advantage. It was then their defense forced Locust Grove into a long 3-point attempt that was off the mark. A mad scramble for the loose ball at half-court turned into a layup for Tyra McKinnie to put the contest away.
“We're a really young team and I think that kind of showed a little bit down the stretch,” Belveal said. “I think we got a little nervous, weren't sure what we wanted to do with it, but I was really proud of them for the effort and kind of settling themselves down and doing what they needed to do to close the game.”
Hooker had a game-high 20 points and was 4-of-13 from 3-point range. Stokes added 18 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
McKinnie paced the Lady Warriors with 17 points, eight rebounds and three steals. When she had to head to the bench in foul trouble, Glenpool felt her absence.
“I'll tell you what, McKinnie getting in foul trouble really hurt us because she is kind of our stabilizer inside on both ends of the floor,” Belveal said. “We kind of had to just fight through that stretch.
"But I'll tell you what, they've been doing it all year and they rallied around and did what they had to do for the win.”
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The victory sets up a face-off with Lincoln Christian Friday at 10:30 a.m. The two teams have already faced each other twice this season, with each team taking one win.
However, the rubber match will take place on a bigger stage with much more important stakes on the line.
“Lincoln Christian's a great team. We've battled twice and split home and home, and it's going to take the same kind of effort,” Belveal said. “(Lincoln Christian standout) Maddi Stewart's a great player and they surround her with shooters, so it creates a problem on how to stop her and cover shooters.
"But we also feel like we have some advantages as well with our athleticism and our speed, so we're just going to see what we can get done.”
Lincoln Christian 56, Stilwell 38
Maddi Stewart scored 20 points to lead the Lincoln Christian Lady Bulldogs to a convincing victory against Stilwell in the opening round of the state tournament.
The sophomore guard shot 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the arc while also pulling down 11 rebounds. But Stewart gave credit to her team as they held the Lady Indians to 32 percent shooting.
“It's just a team game,” Stewart said. “We were moving the ball, we were making sure that we were taking what the coaches were saying and I think that, really, we were just connected this game and that was a big focus for us and so I'm glad that we could pull out the 'W' (on Thursday).”
The Lady Bulldogs’ Aubrey Hopkins tallied 16 points while Kaci Swindall scored 9 points.
Despite having made it to the 4A championship last year, coach Melody Stewart said her second-seeded Lady Bulldogs are just now figuring out what type of team they are and what they can do.
“I think we're getting the ball moved around a little better than we did early in the season, and it's allowing us to get good rhythm and outside looks instead of ones that are a little bit forced,” Coach Stewart said. “We have some great shooters on this team and when they shoot it in rhythm, they're hard to defend, but when we shoot rush shots, it makes it a little wonky for us offensively.”
-- Michael Kinney | @SBLiveOK
