Mar. 1—STROUD — It is hard to beat a team like Verdigris four times in one season.
The No. 14 Lady Cardinals made sure of that, forcing Inola into turnovers while finding ways to score in the paint and from the perimeter in the opening period. However, in a win-or-go-home scenario, Addison Mootry understood the mission: don’t let them get comfortable defensively.
The 5-foot-6 senior guard had an answer for every basket Verdigris made in the first quarter, scoring all 9 of the sixth-ranked Lady Longhorns’ points with three 3-pointers. Her shooting success created scoring opportunities for her teammates, and Inola used those to eventually pull away for a 49-36 victory Thursday afternoon in the Class 4A Area IV area consolation quarterfinals at the Stroud Route 66 Coliseum.
The Lady Longhorns earned the 4-0 season sweep of the Lady Cardinals with the win, advancing to play Madill in the area consolation semifinals Friday afternoon. Coverage from that game and their possible area consolation championship appearance will be available this weekend at claremoreprogress.com.
“I put our team on my back and just pushed us until somebody else could hop on and go with me,” said Mootry, who finished with 18 points and 2 rebounds. “That’s what I was trying to do, just get us on a roll.”
Mootry’s last 3 of the first period tied the score at 9 and seemingly sparked her team’s momentum moving forward.
Brynlee Brown scored the first basket of the second to push Verdigris ahead once more, but Miller Weast responded with a 3-pointer of her own and a pair of free throws before Mootry added a close-range shot to give Inola a 16-11 lead. Despite that advantage growing slightly to 6 points shortly thereafter, the Lady Cardinals led 20-19 after rallying off a 7-0 run with baskets from Adalyn Waters and Bobbi Jones and a Rilyn Stringfellow 3-pointer.
However, a Brynna Wiginton 3-ball sent the Lady Longhorns into halftime with a 22-20 edge, and they never trailed again.
“We were on our heels and weren’t being real aggressive, and it took that (Mootry’s spark) for us to get going,” Inola coach Travis Wheeler said of his team, which secured 4 offensive rebounds on its first possession of the game but came away with no points after a pair of missed free throws. “If that doesn’t happen, it might be a different story.”
Verdigris (18-10) remained within striking distance through the third quarter, but it was at that point its interior defense began to deteriorate.
The Lady Cardinals applied pressure to the Inola back court in an effort to limit its 3-point-shooting capabilities, but that left the likes of Jaci Moore open under the basket for easy layups.
“Their guards are so good with the basketball, so we were trying to create some traps and some double-teams and just trying to get the ball out of their hands,” Verdigris coach Mike Buntin said. “They did a good job of escaping it and getting downhill, and a lot of our rotations were really late, which allowed them to get to the basket and get some easy finishes.”
The 6-0 senior center had a field day in the paint in the second half, scoring 10 of her 11 points during that stretch — including 6 in the fourth period. Propelled by Mootry’s buzzer-beating layup at the end of the third quarter and the emergence of Moore on the inside, the Lady Longhorns used a 13-2 run to grow their lead to 45-30 in the fourth.
“We’ve had trouble with that pressure up top at times and of not seeing her, so we did a really good job of finding her,” Wheeler said of Moore, who also grabbed 5 rebounds. “That was huge; the difference in the game, really.”
Verdigris’ season-leading scorer Kate Wiginton, who had been kept quiet for most of the game, scored 6 of her 8 points during that final period, but it wasn’t enough to keep the team alive.
Weast joined Mootry and Moore in double figures with 11 points and 4 rebounds, and Brooke Walker — despite not scoring — led the team on the glass with 6 boards.
“She’s more of a shooter, and the jump shot hasn’t been falling for her lately,” Wheeler said of Walker. “She’s still setting really good screens, and she had 11 rebounds against Locust Grove the other night. She’s due a game for a shot to fall. Hopefully that’ll come (soon).”
Brown paced the Lady Cardinals with 10 points and a board while Maddy Daniels snagged a team-high 5 rebounds to go alongside 4 points.
Unfortunately for the Lady Cardinals, the loss marked the end of Brown and Daniels’ careers, and the same is true for fellow seniors Waters and Jones. Those four combined for 20 points and 12 rebounds Thursday, providing a snapshot of the production Buntin must replace come next season.
“All four have been vital in creating the culture and the success that we’ve had, so we hate to lose all of them,” Buntin said. “They all bring little intangibles, and Maddy is one of the best leaders I’ve ever coached. She’s one of the best kids as far as just taking ownership of the team and having that pride and getting people where they need to be on both ends.
“Life’s not always fair,” Buntin said of his postgame message to the seniors. “Athletics are a great teacher of life lessons. You’ve poured your heart and soul into this your entire life, and if it was fair, you’d be going on and you group of seniors would be playing in the state tournament. It doesn’t always work that way. It’s disheartening, and I told them I love them and how much I care about them, and I hope that they know that.”
