Jan. 9—VERDIGRIS — Halfway through the fourth quarter, the Tahlequah girls basketball team tied the game at 40-40 on day one — and perhaps the only day — of the Mother Road Classic in Verdigris.
Throughout the game on Thursday, Jan. 9, the Lady Tigers had to come back after falling down in the first quarter against the Kiefer Trojans. A start that saw the Lady Tigers go 7-2 tied the game before a timeout from the Trojans’ bench slowed down the momentum.
“We took care of the ball better today — that was important — and we were able to get some good shots up,” THS head coach David Qualls said. “We contested their threes [late], that is what they wanted to do. They just made some plays there at the end.”
In that fourth quarter, Lakyn Adams opened with a three-pointer, followed by a Raylee McCarter field goal, followed by a Carsyn Gilbert fast break, and the game was tied.
Following the timeout, the Lady Trojans quickly got back in the drive lead, hitting a couple of baskets back-to-back. After that, KHS kept a hold of the lead for the 48-43 win.
Early in the game, the Lady Trojans were on fire, hitting five three-pointers in the first quarter. Even though the KHS scored 19 to open the game, the Lady Tigers kept up with them down just 19-15 after one quarter.
After the quick start, the Lady Tigers kept KHS in check in the second quarter. Both teams scored just 10 points to keep the deficit at four.
After the first quarter, THS looked to cut the Lady Trojans’ momentum.
“We just tried to slow the tempo down a little,” Qualls said. “We just tried to slow the tempo down a little bit, and we did a good job of changing our defense between man and zone. We figured they would cool off and they did.”
Early in the second half, the Lady Trojans once again hit a hot stretch making seven straight points. THS’ Lauren Stephens eventually cut that streak down with a shot in the paint. Moe Wilson added a late three-pointer that kept the game within 38-33.
In the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers were in the driver’s seat for the first four minutes. Eventually, the Lady Trojans retook the lead to secure the win.
“We played a team that is 7-1, they’re good and we’re tied up 40-40,” Qualls said. “They made more plays down the stretch. They got hot early, they got off to a seven point lead and we weathered the storm. I am proud of our group.”
Adams led the Lady Tigers with 15 points. Gilbert added 12 points, while Stephens posted 10.
The remainder of the Mother Road Classic is in doubt due to poor weather. Multiple teams opted to not travel to Verdigris leaving Qualls to guess at least the Friday portion of the event was going to be canceled. The THS boys basketball team did not play their scheduled game.
The Lady Tigers return to regular season action at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at home vs. Durant.
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