By Ron Holt
While recording a 3-1 early season record, Bixby’s second-ranked Lady Spartan basketballers experienced success and disappointment last week.
Coach Tina Thomas’ Lady Spartans, Class 6A state runners-up last season, opened the season at home with a 63-34 victory over Booker T. Washington prior to hosting the Bixby Girls Invitational last Thursday through Saturday.
Bixby defeated Class 4A’s Harding Charter, 54-37, in the tourney quarterfinal and held off Broken Arrow, 61-56, in the semifinals before falling to unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Edmond North, 75-34, in the championship game.
The challenges continue as the Lady Spartans close out 2021 at home with No. 6 Tulsa Union (3-0) Tuesday (Dec. 14) and in the Girls Tournament of Champions at the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa, Dec. 27-29.
While encountering expected growing pains early in the season, Bixby played Edmond North and a half of the Broken Arrow game without standout junior guard Gracy Wernli, who was sidelined with a shoulder injury during the second quarter against BA.
Edmond North (6-0) didn’t lack motivation after losing to Bixby 59-54 in last year’s Class 6A state semifinals. The Huskies, featuring size, physicality and experience, led 20-8 after one quarter and were on top 34-15 at halftime. Despite battling, the Lady Spartans were unable to close the gap.
“They came out with a little vendetta after last year …it just shows we’ve got a lot of growing to do but it’s just December,” Thomas said. “Some of our kids are a little green and that’s what you expect at this time of the season. We have three very seasoned players on the court, but we always preach it takes the whole unit.
“It wasn’t a matter of effort, I thought they played hard. We’ll just get better and better but that was hard to take.”
Laci Steele, a 5-10 junior, earned the Most Valuable Player trophy after leading Edmond North in scoring with 19 points. Allison Heathcock, a 5-11 sophomore, and 6-3 senior Ryan Franklin finished with 16 and 12 points, respectively, for the Lady Huskies.
Junior guard Gentry Baldwin, who went on a third quarter scoring spree, finished as Bixby’s top scorer with 16 points. Junior forwards Meredith Mayes and Alyssa Nielsen each scored eight points.
“You can’t look at the score. You just have to keep pushing, you can’t quit,” said Baldwin of the sizeable deficit. “Losing Gracy hurt us, but I think it gave some younger players a chance to grow and will make us stronger in the end.
“I’ve been working on my game so it’s good to go out there and show what I’ve been doing,” added Baldwin, who scored 14, 14 and 16 points in three tourney outings. “I’m better at attacking the paint and getting the ball to the posts and I’ve worked on improving my range shooting the ball and getting it off a little quicker. It was a hard loss, but we’ll come back stronger.”
Against improved Broken Arrow, the Lady Spartans trailed 10-9 after one quarter but used a 17-5 second quarter run to lead 26-15 at halftime. Bixby’s 12-5 run early in the third quarter expanded its lead to 38-22, growing to 49-30 with 6:20 left in the game before BA – and 5-10 senior guard Taleyah Jones in particular – rallied to make it a game down the stretch.
Behind baskets by Jones and Hallie Kitchen, the Lady Tigers went on a 12-0 run to narrow the gap to 49-42. Two straight three-pointers by Jones trimmed the score to 55-52 with a minute left but clutch free throws by Baldwin – who hit four – and Nielsen’s two with five seconds left secured the win.
“I believe in these kids and even though getting anxious at the end I was proud we made some free throws. Gentry is doing a good job managing our team and playing good defense and Alyssa has played fabulous, she had nine points and 16 rebounds last night (Harding).”
Wernli, a three-year starter who scored 19 points in the win over Washington and 13 in the Harding Charter win, was injured early in the second quarter against BA.
“They overcame the adversity of Wernli going out so early, which was impactful to say the least. I thought they regrouped and made up for losing her in other ways,” coach Thomas said. “We did what we needed to do to get out of there with the victory.
Nielsen was an offensive force in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of her game-high 25 points for Bixby. The 25 points were a career high.
“I hadn’t scored 25 points in a varsity game before … I just got the ball more tonight. I wasn’t nervous at all … I just pretended I was with my trainer,” Nielsen said of her crucial final free throws. “Losing Gracy was tough, she’s an anchor on our team, but I thought the bench stepped up and helped us.
“We knew they were a good fourth quarter team … we expected that run,” she added.
Bixby received double figure scoring from Baldwin and Mayes, both with 14 points, against BA. The Lady Tigers were led by Jones, who finished with 31 points.
A 20-9 scoring advantage in the second quarter allowed Bixby to pull away from Harding Charter en route to the tourney quarterfinal win. Mayes led Bixby with 16 points, followed by Baldwin with 14 and Wernli with 13. Jordyn Anderson’s 10 points led Harding Charter.
Trailing 12-11 late in the first quarter in the season opener against Booker T. Washington, Bixby used a drive by Nielsen and a three-pointer by Wernli to take a 16-12 first quarter lead, which expanded to 25-15 at halftime. An 11-3 run in the third quarter allowed Bixby to capture a 43-24 lead going into the fourth quarter.
“They were red hot, making contested threes at the start,” Thomas said of the Lady Hornets. “Our goal was to keep them down on transition and on the dribble drive. I was pleased with the way we played. I was pleased with the bench. I thought Brynn (Daniel) and Kass (Blankenship) came in off the bench and elevated us.
“This is what we can expect this year … we’ve got a bullseye on our back and teams will bring their A game against us,” she added.
NOTEBOOK – Named to the Bixby Invitational All-Tournament team were Lady Spartans Baldwin and Nielsen, Edmond North’s Steele and Elle Papahronis, Broken Arrow’s Jones and Sapulpa’s Stailee Heard. … In three tourney games, Broken Arrow’s Jones scored 25, 31 and 31 points. … Off to a hot start this season, Edmond North averages 76.6 points a game while winning six games by a margin of 42.5 points a game. … Union, a Class 6A state qualifier last year, is 3-0 this season, defeating Sapulpa (40-36), Bentonville, Arkansas (55-37) and Fayetteville, Arkansas (59-34). … In the 56th annual Girls Tournament of Champions, Bixby plays Class A power Seiling in the first round at noon Monday, Dec. 27, at the BOK Center. In the bracket opposite BHS is Tahlequah playing Holland Hall. Other teams in the tourney are Norman, Howe, Classen SAS and Lincoln Christian. …
Bixby Girls Invitational
Saturday’s Games
Edmond North 75, Bixby 34 (Championship)
Bixby Scoring – Gentry Baldwin 16, Meredith Mayes 8, Alyssa Nielsen 8, Laci Scott 2.
Sapulpa 63, Broken Arrow 53 (Third Place)
Edmond Memorial 56, Putnam City 23 (Consolation Finals)
Harding Charter 44, Will Rogers 35 (Seventh Place)
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Friday’s Games
BIXBY 61, BROKEN ARROW 56
Bixby Scoring – Alyssa Nielsen 25, Gentry Baldwin 14, Meredith Mayes 14, Kassidy Blankenship 5, Lexi Eaves 3.
Putnam City 34, Will Rogers 26
Edmond Memorial 38, Harding Charter 32
Edmond North 66, Sapulpa 36
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Thursday’s Games
BIXBY 54, HARDING CHARTER 37
Bixby Scoring – Meredith Mayes 16, Gentry Baldwin 14, Gracy Wernli 13, Alyssa Nielsen 9, Brynn Daniel 1, Laci Scott 1.
Sapulpa 65, Will Rogers 21
Broken Arrow 60, Edmond Memorial 56
Edmond North 75, Putnam City 30
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BIXBY 63, BOOKER T WASHINGTON 34
Bixby Scoring – Gracy Wernli 19, Meredith Mayes 13, Gentry Baldwin 9, Alyssa Nielsen 8, Brynn Daniel 6, Lexi Eaves 3, Kassidy Blankenship 3, Sadie Baltran 3.
