Jan. 20—Crowder 49, Stuart 33
A 19-point outing by Crowder senior Brooky Surginer helped propel the third-seeded Demonettes to a 49-33 victory over the sixth-seeded Stuart Lady Hornets in the Pitt 8 Tournament’s opening round Monday night.
Senior Addison Womack also got into double figures with 11 points while senior Reagan Wade was the leading scorer for the Lady Hornets, racking up nine points.
After a 4-0 Stuart scoring run that saw senior Keelie Treat make two second chance layups, No. 11 Crowder’s (12-1, 5-0 Pitt 8) potent offense that averages 52 points per game began to turn up the heat from distance.
Surginer and Womack both knocked down triples to put the Demonettes on the board and in the blink of an eye, Crowder was on a 13-0 run of its own to force a Lady Hornets timeout. Senior Reagan Wade was finally able to stop the bleeding with a triple near the end of the first quarter, but Stuart (7-8, 2-3 Pitt 8) still trailed 13-7.
The second period was more of a back-and-forth battle. Much like the opening quarter, Treat and Wade got the Lady Hornets four early points and a triple by freshman Lainey Ford even gave them a one-point lead. However, the Demonettes came surging back as a made jumper by Surginer and a triple by Womack ended the half with Crowder on top 21-16.
The Demonettes continued their dominance from distance into the second half with Womack and sophomore Brinley Parker finding their way open on the perimeter for back-to-back triples. Surginer then drove to the basket for a layup, giving Crowder its first double-digit lead of the game.
Despite Ford and Wade being able to keep Stuart competitive near the end of the third quarter, having both knocked down mid-range jumpers, the Lady Hornets had work to do heading into the fourth down 39-27.
A euro-step layup by Surginer encapsulated the Demonettes’ dominant offense they showed all game and while it may not have been their highest scoring quarter, Crowder would go on a 10-6 scoring run to close out its opening round victory, 49-33.
The Demonettes will next take on the winner of Indianola and Pittsburg Thursday at 4 p.m. while the Lady Hornets will face the loser of that game Friday at 6:40 p.m.
Canadian 46, Savanna 41
Canadian sophomore Abbie Jones had the game in her hands at the free throw line. Make one, and the game is out of reach for Savanna.
She had missed two at the stripe earlier in the game, giving the fifth-seeded Lady Bulldogs a chance to tie it down 42-39 with under 30 seconds left. However, when given a second chance, she secured the thrilling Pitt 8 Tournament win for the fourth-seeded Lady Cougars, 46-41.
Jones, who led the team with 16 points, got Canadian (9-4, 4-1 Pitt 8) on the board first and sophomore Kirstin Clark, who finished with six points, then knocked down the game’s first triple.
While holding Savanna (7-7, 1-4 Pitt 8) scoreless throughout the entire period, the Lady Cougars proceeded to go on another 5-0 run that ended the opening quarter with Canadian in front 10-0.
The Lady Bulldogs finally got on the board when senior Bailey Norton got the rim for a layup. Seemingly mirroring the Lady Cougars’ first quarter, senior Ryleigh Ivy then made a shot from the perimeter on the very next possession to bring the game within two possessions.
Both teams continued to trade baskets until sophomore Abbie Jones made a mid range floater that once again, gave Canadian a double-digit advantage. Savanna would get two more buckets from freshman Katy Ivy, though the Lady Bulldogs would trail 22-12 at the half.
A wild third quarter then ensued. The Lady Cougars got their largest lead of the game on layups by Jones and junior Yonariya Nichols, but after a timeout, Savanna truly turned it on.
With just under four minutes left in the period, senior MaKenna Hoffman and sophomore Hannah Goostree knocked down crucial triples to cut Canadian’s lead to five points and a layup by junior Bryanna Vanciel cut it to three.
Now only leading 34-27 in the fourth quarter, layups by Vanciel and Goostree made a dent in the Lady Cougars’ lead. The Lady Bulldogs needed misses at the charity stripe in order to have a chance to tie the game down by three and they would get the miracle as Jones’ shots both rolled in and out.
However, Savanna was unable to make the game-tying shot and Canadian iced it at the line to win the thriller, 46-41.
The Lady Cougars will take on the winner of Kiowa and Haileyville Thursday at 6:40 p.m. while the Lady Bulldogs will face the loser of that contest Friday at 4 p.m.
