Feb. 20—Returning to their home court, the Tahlequah Lady Tigers kicked off the Regional Tournament in a big way on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
After finishing the season with three straight road games, the Lady Tigers returned to host the Regional Tournament and opened with a 81-16 over the Tulsa-Edison Eagles.
THS opened the game with 29 points in the first quarter and didn’t look back.
“Any playoff win is a good win. We got off to a good start and did well with the press. We were able to up the tempo a little,” THS Head Coach David Qualls said.
While their offense was hot to start the game, the Lady Tigers’ defense shone through. The Eagles picked up just two points in the first quarter with the Lady Tigers getting better as the game went on.
Going into the second quarter, the Eagles couldn’t get any offensive momentum. By the halfway point of the second, it was already over a quarter since their last bucket.
“They were playing good team defense,” Qualls said. “They were disciplined, closed passing lanes and didn’t foul. We sometimes bail them out with fouls but we didn’t tonight.”
When the Eagles found the back of the net again it had nearly been a quarter and a half since their last point. But with 41 seconds on the clock, the Eagles hit a pair of free throws and a three-pointer to go into halftime down 42-7.
While the Lady Tigers started hot on offense, the second quarter saw them slow down some. THS picked up just 13 points after their nearly 30-point start.
“Really it was being a little too patient we were turning down some shots. Our girls were trying to do the right thing and we started too patient in the second,” Qualls said.
Despite struggling in the second quarter, the Lady Tigers would improve to start the second half. Jaydyn Buttery opened the half was a quick lay-up and the Lady Tigers didn’t look back. By the time Qualls took the starters out, the Lady Tigers started the second half on a 17-0 run.
Once again the Lady Tigers played lockdown defense not allowing the Eagles to score until there was just a minute left in the third quarter.
Jaydyn Buttery and Kori Rainwater led the way for the Lady Tigers. Rainwater led the way with 21 points while Buttery added 20.
“Those two have been a big part of our success and will continue to be,” Qualls said. “Coming out and getting 20 each is big. We will need them to continue to play well.”
THS will be back in action at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23.
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