Vinita knocks off Kelley in first round
BY MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer
Friday, January 11, 2013
1/11/13 at 5:43 AM
SKIATOOK - With fewer than 600 students, Vinita is the smallest school in the girls bracket of the Skiatook Invitational.
That doesn't bother the 4A No. 12 Hornets, who raced to a 47-31 win over 5A No. 6 Bishop Kelley in Thursday's first round.
"We've had quite a bit of success over the past few years, so we're used to coming in and competing against these teams," coach Scott Reed said.
The Hornets' confidence stems from winning the 2009 4A state title and advancing at least as far as the semifinals of the state tournament five years in a row.
They won't even mind facing the state's largest school in Friday's semifinals. Broken Arrow, with nearly 4,600 students, rallied from an 11-point deficit to upend NOAH 53-47. The 6A No. 12 Tigers and Hornets play at 4 p.m. Friday.
In other Thursday action, 6A No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe held Sand Springs scoreless for more than a quarter and rolled 65-30, advancing to play Owasso at 7 p.m. Friday. The Rams dominated Skiatook 58-35.
Kelley faces NOAH at 10 a.m. and Skiatook plays Sand Springs at 1 p.m. in consolation games.
Vinita 47, Kelley 31: The Hornets (7-3) lost four starters and a key reserve from a state-semifinal team, but Reed feels they have the tools to reload. Thursday's game was a good start. The Hornets raced to a 25-3 before Kelley scored the final four points of the first half, looking "as focused as we've been all year," Reed said.
Carsyn Spurgeon, a freshman, scored 21 points to pace the Hornets (7-3). Seana Stoia led the Comets (8-4) with eight points.
Broken Arrow 53, NOAH 47: The Tigers (6-3) shot just 34 percent (17-for-50) but applied relentless pressure to the Jaguars (3-9), who finally tired after leading for most of the first three quarters.
"An ugly win is better than an ugly loss all day long," BA coach Mike Hughes said.
Alexis Gaulden and Toree Thompson scored 13 each for the Tigers, and Alyx Erdmann scored eight off the bench, all in the fourth quarter.
Kendall Reynolds had 13 to pace four Jaguars in double figures.
Edmond Santa Fe 65, Sand Springs 30: The Wolves (10-1) showed why they are two-time defending Class 6A state champs by outscoring the Sandites 18-0 in the first quarter and never allowing them to get untracked.
Cameerah Graves and Alexis Cooper scored 11 each to pace the Wolves. Morgan Pennington had three treys and totaled 12 for the Sandites (0-8).
Owasso 58, Skiatook 35: The Rams (5-5) used 17 players, led by Taylor O'Dell, Taylor Koelsch and Jackie Ball with 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively, and Kylie Penning with eight points, six rebounds and four assists.
Senior guard Eden Henderson scored 22 for the Bulldogs (2-6), who also started a freshman, junior and two sophomores for first-year coach Tatum Beer.
VINITA 47, BISHOP KELLEY 31
| Vinita |
16 |
9 |
18 |
4 |
- |
47 |
| Bishop Kelley |
3 |
4 |
12 |
12 |
- |
31 |
Vinita: Spurgeon 21, Liggett 6, Mendell 6, Leake 4, Woodward 4, Chamberlain 2, Hopgood 2, Steinhoff 2.
Kelley: Stoia 8, Schulz 6, Collins 6, McCorkle 4, Ngo 3, Colon 2, Caruso 1, McKenzie 1.
OWASSO 58, SKIATOOK 35
| Owasso |
12 |
17 |
15 |
14 |
- |
58 |
| Skiatook |
10 |
5 |
4 |
16 |
- |
35 |
Owasso: O'Dell 12, Koelsch 11, Ball 10, Penning 8, Waters 4, Clark 4, Taylor 3, Bevan 2, Willis 2, Petcoff 2.
Skiatook: Henderson 22, Shulanberger 5, Lincicome 4, Westover 4.
EDMOND SANTA FE 65, Sand Springs 30
| Santa Fe |
18 |
17 |
16 |
14 |
- |
65 |
| Sand Springs |
0 |
12 |
11 |
7 |
- |
30 |
SF: Alexis Cooper 11, Graves 11, Heath 9, Lee 8, Alaina Cooper 7, Jackson 6, Shadid 6, Davis 3, Jones 2, Williams 2.
SS: Pennington 12, Rogers 7, Foster 3, Scott 3, Rankin 1, Zimmerman 1.
BROKEN ARROW 53, NOAH 47
| Broken Arrow |
7 |
8 |
14 |
24 |
- |
53 |
| NOAH |
8 |
15 |
9 |
15 |
- |
47 |
BA: Gaulden 13, Thompson 13, Teague 8, Erdmann 8, Jackson 4, Taylor Jones 4, Tierra Jones 3.
NOAH: Reynolds 13, Dunlap 10, Frizzell 10, Stewart 10, Moody 2, Smith 2.
Mike Brown 918-581-8390
mike.brown@tulsaworld.com
