Bixby’s Gracy Wernli
By Ron Holt
From start to finish, December was an emotional, challenging month for Bixby’s talented Lady Spartans basketball team.
Second-ranked Bixby, 8-5, played all three of its allotted tournaments during the month – hosting the annual Bixby Classic in early December while competing in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix, Arizona and last week in the Tournament of Champions at the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa.
Bixby, which stunningly lost 6-3 senior post Meredith Mayes during the Bixby Classic semifinals against Edmond Memorial to a knee injury, also played Frontier Valley Conference games at Bartlesville and Owasso earlier last month.
“We’ve played a lot of games,” Lady Spartan head coach Tina Thomas said during the local Tournament of Champions. “We had four games last week (Nike), come home for Christmas and then play in this tournament. But I feel like the more they play the better they get … they are improving every game.
“They’ve just got a chasm to fill (without Mayes) but we’re making our way.”
After a couple of days off for Christmas, the Lady Spartans played Class A’s ninth-ranked Okarche in the first round of the Tournament of Champions. Bixby took control early in defeating Okarche, 78-49.
Senior guard Gracy Wernli led Bixby in scoring with 31 points followed by senior Gentry Baldwin’s 21 points. Okarche dropped to 7-4.
In the semifinals against Class 3A’s No. 5 Kiefer, the Lady Spartans used a 13-0 run midway through the first quarter for a 16-2 lead and relied on a 16-2 run in the second quarter as the springboard for a 40-9 halftime advantage.
The domination continued in the second half as the Spartans rolled to a 77-22 victory. The 55-point win was a tourney record for largest margin of victory, eclipsing the 54-point win (96-42) by Jenks over Okay in 2003. Bixby dominated on the board, outrebounding the Lady Trojans, 53-23.
Senior forward Alyssa Nielsen posted a double-double for the Lady Spartans, finishing with 11 points and 12 rebounds. G. Wernli led BHS in scoring with 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting afield. Baldwin ended with 15 points and a team high seven assists.
Junior Hannah Coons topped Kiefer (6-4) with six points and six rebounds.
“Alyssa having 12 rebounds was huge for us,” Baldwin said. “And Gracy and Brynn (Daniel) shutting down Hannah Coons was one of our main goals. We did good defensively. I’ve been focusing on getting the ball to teammates, that’s part of our transition game and a big part of my game.”
Bixby and Class 4A’s No. 2 Lincoln Christian were involved in a championship game rematch after the Lady Spartans downed the Lady Bulldogs in last year’s finale. Lincoln Christian’s game plan proved successful, but it took overtime for the Lady Bulldogs to pull away for a 47-44 win.
Bixby trailed 18-10 after one quarter but rallied to take a 24-21 lead into the locker room at halftime. Back-to-back three-pointers by freshman Kate Wernli gave Bixby a 30-21 third quarter lead but Lincoln Christian capitalized on six points in the final minute to trim the deficit to 34-32 going into the final stanza.
A jumper by Alyssa Nielsen and a trey by G. Wernli gave Bixby a 42-38 lead but the Lady Bulldogs’ Maddi Stewart scored consecutive goals to tie the game at 42 after regulation. Lincoln Christian had two field goal attempts to win in regulation bounce off the rim.
A three-point field goal by Ellie Brueggemann with 1:10 left in the overtime period proved to be the game winner.
“They just played really good defense on us, and we weren’t stroking the shots like we have been in the last couple of games. You’ve got to give their defense credit,” coach Thomas said. “It was a really tight game. They were methodical and disciplined. They just executed a very good plan.”
Nielsen led Bixby in scoring and rebounding with 15 points and seven rebounds, respectively. G. Wernli scored 12 points and K. Wernli finished with 11 points. Stewart led Lincoln Christian with 20 points.
“We’re working ourselves out … we’ll get there,” said G. Wernli. “We start out having Meredith out, which hurt us immensely emotionally and on the court. We knew what we were facing going into this year with it being our last year.
“We’ve had two tournaments of champions, but I also think we’ve stepped up and a lot of our younger girls stepped up and are doing what they need to do,” she added.
Nielsen added, “We wanted to win this tournament. It’s a tough loss but Lincoln Christian played a really good game. We put ourselves in position to win but didn’t get it done. If anything, this is going to make us stronger.”
G. Wernli, who averaged 23.3 points a game, and Baldwin, who averaged 14.0 points an outing, were named first teamers on the All-Tournament Team. Nielsen, who averaged 10.7 points a game, was named second team all-tournament.
In the Nike Tournament of Champions, Bixby was tested every game against highly ranked opponents. The Lady Spartans opened with a 66-56 loss to Sacred Heart of Louisville, Kentucky. G. Wernli had 20 points, Baldwin 18 and Nielsen 10 to pace the Lady Spartans. In a 49-42 loss to Miami (Florida) County Day, G. Wernli’s 16 points and 13 by Nielsen led BHS.
Bixby fell to Clackamas (Oregon), 67-61 in the third game with G. Wernli and Nielson scoring 15 points, Baldwin 13 and K. Wernli 12. The Lady Spartans ended the tourney with a 55-34 victory over Beaverton, Oregon. G. Wernli’s 26 points topped BHS while Baldwin scored 12 and Nielsen 11.
“While we were down in Phoenix, we had some leads at halftime, but we didn’t come out with that assertiveness in the third quarter so that’s what we’ve talked about,” coach Thomas said. “To do what we want to accomplish this season we’ve got to have four good quarters. There were a lot of good teams in that tournament.”
Prior to leaving for Arizona, Bixby relied on third quarter eruption in capturing a 67-32 Frontier Valley Conference victory at Owasso. BHS led 31-20 early in the third quarter before scoring 18 unanswered points to lead 49-20 entering the fourth quarter.
Baldwin paced Bixby’s balanced attack with 19 points followed by K. Wernli and Nielsen with 14 each.
“I thought we didn’t start well, we didn’t rebound the way I like, we had too many turnovers …we were a little disjointed,” coach Thomas said afterward. “I just didn’t feel like we were 100 percent zoned in tonight.”
NEXT GAME – Bixby returns to Frontier Valley Conference play Tuesday, Jan. 10, when Class 5A’s top-ranked Sapulpa visits Whitey Ford Field House. Bixby entertains Booker T. Washington on Friday, Jan. 13.
MAYES UPDATE – Bixby senior Meredith Mayes, a four-year starter, underwent successful ACL surgery Thursday, Dec. 22. She expects to have stitches removed from the knee this week. She was with the Lady Spartans during the TofC.
NIKE EXPERIENCE – The Lady Spartans departed early Dec. 18 for Phoenix, Arizona to compete in the Nike Tournament of Champions. “Those teams were top-notch … it’s maybe the best tournament I’ve been to as far as the talent,” BHS head coach Tina Thomas said.
“We were adjusting out there … we saw 6-5 and 6-3 girls that were not only tall but big. We didn’t have an answer. We competed well. It was a fun trip. We had a great time bonding. Coach (Corbin) Burchett’s wife (Courtney) planned our non-basketball itinerary and I felt like we had a travel agent … it just gave the kids an awesome experience.
“The trip was possible thanks to the generosity of the Bixby community, our school board, administration and our booster club. The fact they were so willing to pour into these girls for this experience is a blessing,” she added.
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Tulsa Tournament of Champions
Bixby 78, Okarche 49
(First Round, Dec. 28)
Bixby Scoring – Gracy Wernli 31, Gentry Baldwin 21, Kate Wernli 9, Alyssa Nielsen 6, Sarah Beltran 5, Ama Musick 4, Brynn Daniel 2.
Bixby 77, Kiefer 22
(Semifinals, Dec. 29)
Bixby Scoring – G. Wernli 27, Baldwin 15, Nielsen 11, K. Wernli 9, Musick 5, Daniel 3, Kassidy Blankenship 3, Bailey Wilson 2, Kate Datel 2.
Lincoln Christian 47, Bixby 44, OT
(Championship, Dec. 30)
Bixby Scoring – Nielsen 15, G. Wernli 12, K. Wernli 11, Baldwin 6.
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Nike Tournament of Champions
(Phoenix, Arizona, Dec. 18-22)
Sacred Heart 66, Bixby 56
Bixby Scoring – Gracy Wernli 20, Gentry Baldwin 18, Alyssa Nielsen 10, Kate Wernli 5, Ama Musick 3.
Miami Country Day 49, Bixby 42
Bixby Scoring – G. Wernli 16, Nielsen 13, Baldwin 9, Musick 2, Daniel 2.
Clackamas (Oregon) 67, Bixby 61
Bixby Scoring – G. Wernli 15, Nielsen 15, Baldwin 13, K. Wernli 12, Musick 2.
Bixby 55, Beaverton (Oregon) 34
Bixby Scoring – G. Wernli 26, Baldwin 12, Nielsen 11, K. Wernli 6.
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Bixby 67, Owasso 32
(Frontier Valley Conference, Dec. 16)Bixby Scoring – Gentry Baldwin 14, Kate Wernli 14, Alyssa Nielsen 14, Ama Musick 8, Gracy Wernli 7, Bailey Wilson 3, Brynn Daniel 2.
