Elgin girls prep for Weatherford Classic

ELGIN — Elgin’s Lady Owls will face a tough first round game against Tuttle in the Weatherford Classic which tips off Thursday.

Tuttle is ranked No. 3 in Class 4A with a 6-1 record while Elgin is unranked with a 5-1 mark. The two teams will square off 1 p.m. Jan. 5 at Weatherford High School.

“As you know, there are high quality teams in this tournament,” Elgin head coach Brett Sanders said. “We’re going to have to play top level basketball to come away with any wins at all.”

If Elgin wins its opener against Tuttle, the Lady Owls would play the winner of the Clinton-Midwest City matchup at 4 p.m. on Jan. 6. Midwest City is ranked No. 8 in Class 6A and Clinton is unranked in 4A.

Elgin’s only loss came to Dale in the finals of the Boomerang Tournament earlier this month. Since then, the Lady Owls defeated Class 5A’s No. 11 Duncan and Newcastle.

“We’re about on pace despite our setback with injuries,” Sanders said. “We’re piecing things together.”

The setbacks occurred before the season started when freshman Kaydence Kern and senior Lizzie Peak went down with knee injuries. Peak is the twin sister to starter Kirsten Peak.

“This tournament will give us a measuring stick on where we’re at,” Sanders said. “We’re going to have to play some really good basketball to win. I’m happy to play in this tournament because the more ranked teams you play the better we’ll get.”

Prior to the Weatherford tournament, Elgin returns to Western Conference action Jan. 3 at Cache for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff. The Lady Owls return home Jan. 10 to host Anadarko.