By Ron Holt
JENKS – Known for their balanced offensive attack, Bixby’s Lady Spartans relied on an aggressive defensive effort from the opening tip in romping past Jenks, 55-25, in a Frontier Valley Conference game at Frank Herald Gymnasium here last Friday night.
Fifth-ranked Bixby improved to 10-3 this season. The Lady Spartans face another Frontier Valley Conference challenge this week, visiting Bartlesville (3-8) on Tuesday (Jan. 18) before being idle the remainder of the week.
Bixby’s defense caused Jenks’ offensive problems and set the early tempo. The Lady Trojans had problems finding an uncontested shot while turning the ball over numerous times in the opening half. Bixby struggled getting close range shots to fall at times during the game, but the defensive effort was solid throughout.
“We’ve been working a lot on our defense … we’ve taken a lot of pride in that recently,” said Bixby’s junior guard Gentry Baldwin. “It’s good when it shows our hard work in practice. I think that defense helps us create our offense too when we get steals.
“Coach always says the first five minutes of the game are key and we need to come out strong so that we can get in our flow and help us stay the course.”
Lady Spartan junior guard Gracy Wernli drained a three-point field goal at the 7:32 mark of the first quarter to start a 7-0 BHS run which featured a drive by junior Meredith Mayes and a lay-in by junior Alyssa Nielsen off a feed from Baldwin.
Jenks didn’t score until the 2:05 mark of the first quarter as Jill Twiehaus sank a three-pointer which would be the hosts only opening quarter points. A jump shot by sophomore Brynn Daniel at the 1:05 mark gave the Lady Spartans a 9-3 first quarter advantage.
A pair of jumpers by Nielsen, a three-pointer and layup by Baldwin increased Bixby’s advantage to 18-8 with 4:45 left in the second stanza. A layup by Jenks’ Kiara Brown narrowed the gap to 18-10 at the 4:02 mark but Bixby closed the half outscoring Jenks, 9-2, for a 27-12 first half lead.
During the surge late in the second quarter, Nielsen scored three points while Mayes, Baldwin and Daniel each scored two points.
Bixby kept applying the defensive pressure in the second half, limiting the Lady Trojans to five points while Nielsen scored six points and Wernli, Baldwin and Mayes scored two each lifting the visitors to a 39-17 lead going into the final quarter.
Leading 42-21 with 6:04 showing in the final stanza, Bixby outscored Jenks 13-4 down the stretch to capture the win over its nearby rival.
“We played good defense, but we just missed a lot of chip shots. I thought our offense got us the shots we wanted but we had a hard time finishing. Their effort was good. And they ran the floor but sometimes the shot doesn’t always fall,” said Lady Spartan head coach Tina Thomas.
Nielsen finished with 15 points followed by Baldwin’s 14, 10 points each from Wernli and Mayes, four by Daniel and two by Ava Casper. Twiehaus led Jenks with 10 points while Brown contributed seven points.
NOTABLES – With the win, Bixby has won seven of its last eight games. … The 25 points Bixby allowed at Jenks were the fewest points allowed this season. … Last week, Bartlesville lost at Owasso (50-47) and at home against Sand Springs (55-37). … Bixby’s scheduled game last week at Muskogee was postponed. The game will be rescheduled at a later date.
