BTW girls win third basketball state title in six years
BY MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer
Sunday, March 10, 2013
3/10/13 at 8:28 AM
In the aftermath, as Booker T. Washington's girls posed for team pictures, a photographer asked them to hold up a finger, signifying that the Hornets were No. 1.
Kaylan Mayberry broke into a smile and pointed to her ring finger. That's where she'll wear the ring signifying that she has joined the club.
The senior guard became the third member of her immediate family to win a state basketball championship on Saturday.
Mayberry made five treys among her game-high 22 points and willed the No. 6 Hornets to a 52-46 win over No. 3 Bixby in the Class 6A final before about 3,500 spectators at the Mabee Center.
"This is special," Mayberry said. "My sister played on the first (Booker T. Washington) girls team to win a state championship and it hasn't been done since. I wanted to join the club, so this means a lot."
Mayberry's older sister, Taleya, was a big part of Hornets championship teams in 2008-09. Their father, Lee Mayberry, led Will Rogers to a gold ball in 1988.
The Mayberry clan was on hand Saturday.
"I felt so many emotions. It brought me back to my own high school days," Taleya Mayberry said.
The Hornets (27-2) won their third championship in six years under head coach Annette Kennedy, but their first at the Class 6A level. They denied Bixby (21-8) a second gold ball to go with the Spartans' Class A title in 1957.
"We did all we could, but I guess we didn't do enough," said tearful Bixby forward Stevi Parker, who led her team in scoring with 13 points.
Washington capped a 15-game winning streak to end the season after upsetting two-time defending champion Edmond Santa Fe in Friday's semifinals.
Mayberry's three fourth-quarter treys helped carry the Hornets through after Bixby rallied from an 11-point deficit to take its only lead of the final three quarters.
Christina Devers' 3-pointer put the Spartans in front, 41-40, with five minutes left, but Mayberry answered with a trey and the Hornets were back on top, 43-41.
Allie Alvstad, who had nine points and nine rebounds, scored to tie it for the Spartans. Mayberry hit another 3-pointer, but the 6-foot Alvstad rammed inside to tie the game one final time on a basket and foul shot with 2:11 left.
Sandy Samilton's driving layup just crawled over the rim for her third basket off the bench, and the Hornets were ahead to stay with 1:41 left. But nothing was decided yet.
The Spartans missed a potential tying shot and the Hornets had the ball with 1:10 left. Devers, the multi-talented guard who carried the Spartans during the 12 games that the 6-1 Parker missed with a stress fracture, fouled out with 10 points, but the Hornets still had anxious moments to weather.
Mayberry had to go deep in the backcourt to retrieve an inbounds pass and charged while trying to bring the ball up the sideline.
Bixby had a chance to tie, but Lexi Williams slipped and almost lost the ball before the Spartans got a timeout. Washington's Mikayla Alexander stole the ball after the timeout and Makenzie Ellis made two foul shots. She was 5-for-6 from the line after going 12-for-13 against Santa Fe on Friday.
Two more foul shots by Danielle Carr, who sparked Friday's upset with seven points off the bench, and the Hornets were celebrating.
Kennedy notched her 300th win in her 15th season at the Washington helm.
"It's special to do it at one school because it shows the confidence our administrative team has in our program," she said.
The Hornets were making their 11th tournament appearance over the past 12 seasons.
Bixby coach Melody Stewart thanked the Spartan fans who cheered Saturday and said she was proud of her team. She recalled that the program wasn't nearly at this level when Devers, Parker, Alvstad, Kayla Hawk and Brianna Reinholz were eighth-graders and started dreaming of better things.
"I told our seniors that they prepared the road for a bunch of juniors, sophomores and freshmen who are coming back next year. There were tons of Bixby eighth-grade girls in the stands today who started getting a little more serious about basketball because they liked what this looked like - except they'll be trying for a different ending when they get here," she said.
Original Print Headline: HORNETS win
Mike Brown 918-581-8390
mike.brown@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Booker T. Washington's Kaylan Mayberry hugs teammate Cori Williams (15) as her team celebrates a win over Bixby in the 6A championship game Saturday at the Mabee Center. Mayberry scored a game-high 22 points. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World
Booker T. Washington's Kaylan Mayberry (right) made five 3-pointers to help the Hornets win the 6A title. She is the third member of her immediate family to win a state basketball championship. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World
Bixby's Madison Curley (left), Lexi Williams and Kayla Hawk watch a trophy presentation for opponent Booker T. Washington after the 6A championship game Saturday at Oral Roberts University. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World
Washington's Kendriana Washington (right) and Bixby's Mariah Knox fight for the ball during the 6A girls championship game. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World
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