Sapulpa girls advance to semifinals after win over Mustang
BY KELLY HINES World Sports Writer
Friday, March 09, 2012
3/09/12 at 6:52 AM
Considering Sapulpa's players hadn't been to state before, they played with exceptional poise Thursday night.
Scoring five seconds in and never letting up, the fifth-ranked Chieftains routed No. 11 Mustang 65-36 in the Class 6A quarterfinals at the Mabee Center.
"I thought if we could start strong, it would get rid of some of the jitters early," coach Darlean Calip said. "Sometimes as a coach you can tell when some of them are nervous, but I haven't been able to tell that with this group.
"I guess they're just comfortable with each other and what they're doing and go out and have fun."
Sapulpa (20-7) will face No. 4 Edmond Memorial at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The Chieftains raced to a 28-9 advantage midway through the second quarter on a jumper from Abby Hoover. They repeatedly used a quickness advantage to attack the Broncos and produce inside the paint.
"We felt like if we put pressure on their guards it would ... create some problems for them," Calip said.
The lead was 35-17 at halftime and never trimmed to fewer than 16 points in the second half. A putback from Kiki Boyer made the score 46-22 at the end of the third quarter.
From there, center Jalisa Benjamin took over, pouring in nine of her 19 points in the final period.
"I thought Jalisa was absolutely amazing, especially on offense," her coach said. "She finished tonight around the rim.
"Her defense is always solid, but it was nice to see her do some things offensively that I've felt like she's had the potential to do but just hasn't done."
Hoover finished with 15 points and point guard Madison Mercado had 11.
"Like we talked about as a team before the game, I think it's difficult to scout us because the same person is not scoring all the time; it's somebody different," Calip said. "Today was just a prime example of sharing the ball with each other and just wanting to win."
Edmond Memorial 70, Jenks 54: Edmond Memorial star Alie Decker was too hot to handle in the first half.
Decker, who has signed with Wichita State, torched No. 3 Jenks for 20 points in the first 16 minutes. Fellow 6-footer Alison Roy had 11 first-half points as the fourth-ranked Bulldogs built a 38-23 halftime cushion.
Jenks (20-8) tried to battle back behind back-to-back 3-pointers to get within 45-32 midway through the third period, but the advantage was never cut to single digits.
Toree Thompson had 16 points for the Trojans and Jessica Washington added 14.
Edmond Memorial, which had four players score in double digits, increased its win streak to nine straight games.
Midwest City 50, Muskogee 34: In the closing minutes, No. 8 Muskogee simply ran out of steam.
The Roughers fell 50-34 to second-ranked Midwest City, which escaped a furious rally by ending on a 12-0 run to advance to Friday's semifinals against No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe.
After trailing by as many as 15, Muskogee didn't allow a field goal for nearly seven minutes while producing on offense to get within 38-34 on a 3-pointer from Toree Walker with 3:28 left before being shut down for the remainder.
Chelsie Keys finished with 16 points for Muskogee, which snapped an 11-game win streak and ended the season at 20-7.
Ashley Clark had 16 points for the Bombers (27-1) and Jasauen Beard scored all 10 of her points after halftime. Carolee Dillard was dominant on the boards, with 13 rebounds.
Edmond Santa Fe 57, Union 28: Top-ranked and undefeated Edmond Santa Fe took a while to get its motor running, but when it did, the rout was on.
In a 57-28 victory against No. 10 Union, the Wolves used a 29-8 run in a 10-minute span over the second and third quarters to build an insurmountable lead.
The Redskins had kept the game within reach behind stellar defense for most of the first half, and the deficit was trimmed to 18-16 on a steal, beautiful spin move and layup from I'mani Davis with two minutes left in the second.
But Edmond Santa Fe's speed eventually wore Union down, particularly in a 22-7 one-sided third quarter. Star guard Courtney Walker led the charge, stretching the advantage to 43-23 on back-to-back baskets late in the third.
Four second-half field goals weren't enough for the Redskins, who concluded the season with a 16-12 record. Aubrey Hall scored 11 points, all in the first half, and Davis finished with 10.
Walker, a Texas A&M signee who earlier Thursday was named Gatorade's state player of the year, had 14 points and nine rebounds.
The victory was the 36th in a row for the defending champion Wolves (26-0).
No. 1 vs. No. 2
Conventional wisdom would say the two top-ranked teams would meet each other in the championship game. But with Oklahoma's double-elimination brackets in the pre-state tournaments, that is not always the case.
Thursday's winners provide us with three No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups in this year's semifinals.
In 6A girls, top-ranked Edmond Santa Fe faces No. 2 Midwest City at noon at the Mabee Center.
In 2A boys, top-ranked Oklahoma City Northeast faces No. 2 Preston at 9 a.m. at State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City.
In 2A girls, top-ranked Snyder faces No. 2 Oklahoma City Northeast at 6 p.m. at State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City.
Last season, the semifinals produced only one 1-2 matchup. In the Class 4A boys semifinals, top-ranked Douglass faced No. 2 Vinita, with Douglass winning 87-57.
In 2010, the 1-2 punch happened twice, with No. 1 Pawnee beating Watonga, 71-61, in 2A boys play, and No. 2 Chattanooga beating Calumet, 60-50, in Class A girls play.
The 1-2 happened twice in 2009 as well. But those were the first since 2005, when it happened twice.
Class 6A girls semifinals
Friday At Mabee Center
| Midwest City vs. Edmond Santa Fe |
Noon |
| Sapulpa vs. Edmond Memorial |
7:30 p.m. |
6A Girls
Thursday's Quarterfinals
AT ORU'S MABEE CENTER
Edmond Santa Fe 57, Union 28
Midwest City 50, Muskogee 34
Sapulpa 65, Mustang 36
Edmond Memorial 70, Jenks 54
Friday's Semifinals
AT ORU'S MABEE CENTER
No. 2 Midwest City (27-1) vs. No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe (26-0), noon
No. 5 Sapulpa (20-7) vs. No. 4 Edmond Memorial (21-5), 7:30 p.m.
Saturday's Final
AT ORU'S MABEE CENTER
Championship, 1:45 p.m.
Summaries
Midwest City 50, Muskogee 34
| Muskogee |
8 |
4 |
14 |
8 |
- |
34 |
| Midwest City |
10 |
14 |
11 |
15 |
- |
50 |
Muskogee (20-7): Keys 16, T. Walker 7, Epps 3, McClure 3, Wilson 3, M. Walker 2.
Midwest City (27-1): Clark 16, Beard 10, White 7, Widener 7, Dillard 4, Gaddis 4, Walker 2.
Edmond Santa Fe 57, Union 28
| Union |
7 |
10 |
7 |
4 |
- |
28 |
| Edmond Santa Fe |
11 |
13 |
22 |
10 |
- |
57 |
Union (16-12): Hall 11, Davis 10, Hill 6, Griffis 1.
Edmond Santa Fe (26-0): Walker 14, Hinton 12, Ar. Cooper 10, Gonzaque 7, Graves 4, Lee 2, Al. Cooper 1.
Sapulpa 65, Mustang 36
| Mustang |
6 |
11 |
8 |
11 |
- |
36 |
| Sapulpa |
17 |
18 |
11 |
19 |
- |
65 |
Mustang (17-11): Holasek 11, M. Brothers 7, Dunn 5, Flynn 4, K. Brothers 4, Shockley 4, Joyner 1.
Sapulpa (20-7): Benjamin 19, Hoover 15, Mercado 11, Boyer 8, Streater 5, Lowe 3, Glisson 2, Dobrinski 2.
Edmond Memorial 70, Jenks 54
| Jenks |
13 |
10 |
11 |
20 |
- |
54 |
| Ed. Memorial |
22 |
16 |
12 |
20 |
- |
70 |
Jenks (21-7): Thompson 16, Washington 14, Hurd 11, Mayfield 7, Dennis 2, Greeson 2, Tamez 2.
Edmond Memorial (21-5): Al. Decker 20, Hand 12, A. Roy 11, J. Roy 10, Hill 9, An. Decker 3, Glover 3, Dillard 2.
Original Print Headline: Sapulpa pushes ahead
Kelly Hines 918-581-8452
kelly.hines@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Sapulpa's Jalisa Benjamin passes the ball while guarded by Mustang's Kendall Brothers during Thursday's 6A quarterfinal game. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World
Jenks' Jessica Washington is guarded by Edmond Memorial's Alie Decker (left) and Jenny Roy during Thursday's 6A state quarterfinal game. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World
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