Cushing girls win, finish perfect in conference
BY MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer
Saturday, February 09, 2013
2/09/13 at 5:37 AM
The Cushing girls already had a piece of the Tulsa Seven Conference title to themselves. Friday's trip to Berryhill was about making it all their own.
The Tigers flexed their inside muscle and put on a clinic in foul shooting, going 30-for-35 from the line in a 66-54 win over the second-place Maidens in C.C. Ogilvie Gymnasium.
"Our philosophy is to make more foul shots than the other team attempts. If we can do that, we're usually going to be all right," head coach Brad Crace said.
The Tigers' plan is to get the ball to their talented inside players and let Che'Ron Lewis, Taylor Jones and Mariah Burris do the rest.
The 6-foot Lewis went 14-for-17 from the line in scoring a game-high 20 points and Jones and Burris combined to go 12-for-14 in scoring 15 and 13.
The trio also combined for 32 rebounds and the taller Tigers crushed the Maidens on the boards, owning a 35-18 edge.
The 4A No. 4 Tigers improved to 20-1 overall and finished a perfect league slate at 10-0. Sophomore Hailey Belveal scored a career-high 19 points to pace the No. 13 Berryhill girls, who fell to 16-6 overall and finished league play at 8-2.
Cushing also won the boys game, pulling away in the third quarter and overcoming fourth-quarter woes to beat the Chiefs 59-49.
Nick Tanner scored 15 points to lead four players in double figures as the No. 18 Tigers (15-5, 8-2) gave Berryhill its first league loss. The No. 13 Chiefs (17-5, 9-1) had already clinched the Tulsa Seven boys title.
Cushing 66, Berryhill 54 (girls): Lewis got off to a good start at the foul line, going 8-for-10 and scoring 10 first-quarter points.
"We have good guards who get us the ball, and that's actually why we're able to draw fouls," she said.
Berryhill coach Rick Tipton said the Tigers "lived at the foul line," noting that his team attempted only 16 foul shots.
The Maidens used their quickness to force 20 turnovers, but were unable to cash in, shooting just 37.6 percent (18-for-49) from the field. Scoring leader Ashley Williams was held to seven points.
Cushing went ahead to stay by scoring six straight points after Berryhill forged the game's fourth and final tie at 20, and led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Cushing 59, Berryhill 49 (boys): Bingham Hightower's four-point play (on a trey and foul shot) keyed a 16-0 run that carried the Tigers to a 51-33 lead after three quarters.
Then, the Tigers hung on to avenge one of its conference losses, despite going the first 6:01 of the fourth quarter without a point.
"I thought we played awfully well in the third quarter, and then we went through a stretch where we didn't execute very well," coach Bobby Tanner said.
Berryhill cut the lead to 55-49 with 37.6 seconds left, but the Tigers scored the final four points. Chandler Moczygemba and Colin Belveal scored 14 each to lead the Chiefs.
CUSHING 66, BERRYHILL 54 (girls)
| Cushing |
20 |
14 |
12 |
20 |
- |
66 |
| Berryhill |
17 |
8 |
10 |
19 |
- |
54 |
Cushing: Lewis 20, Jones 15, Burris 13, Jackson 10, Stump 5, McCullough 3.
Berryhill: Belveal 19, Cramer 9, May 9,Williams 7, Melton 4, Boone 3, Green 3.
CUSHING 59, BERRYHILL 49 (boys)
| Cushing |
18 |
13 |
20 |
8 |
- |
59 |
| Berryhill |
17 |
11 |
5 |
16 |
- |
49 |
Cushing: Tanner 15, Hightower 14, Myers 14, Wilson 10, Conley 6.
Berryhill: Belveal 14, Moczygemba 14, Robinson 7, Wilson 6, Mayberry 5, Losh 3.
Mike Brown 918-581-8390
mike.brown@tulsaworld.com
