Elgin teams defeat Chickasha, snap losing skids

ELGIN — A five-game losing streak came to an end Tuesday night when the Elgin Lady Owls defeated the Chickasha Fighting Chicks, 48-38.

The solid all-around performance improved Elgin’s season record to 12-8, with two tough games remaining against Class 4A’s No. 4 Kingfisher and No. 5 Weatherford.

But on Tuesday, the Lady Owls were back to playing solid basketball.

“I was happy. I thought we played well and Chickasha played well. They’d probably have a better record if they weren’t in our conference, which is tough,” head coach Brett Sanders said. “Playing in our conference is like having our own state tournament. There’s no rest in this conference.”

By the end of this week, Elgin will have played four of Class 4A’s top five teams within a two-week span. During the losing streak, the Lady Owls also lost to No. 2 Tuttle and No. 3 Bethany.

Tuesday’s game was Senior Night, so the team’s seniors started and played the entire first quarter.

“Our post play was good with Kelby (Carter) and Danika (Pendley), and our guard play was good. Taylor (Squyres) toughed it out with a sprained ankle and guarded her man, and I thought Kenley York and May (Kessler) played well,” Sanders said. “It was a team effort.”

After the regular season concludes Feb. 14 at Duncan, Elgin will move to the playoffs with a district tournament game at Community Christian, which is ranked No. 20 in Class 4A. The day and time of the game had not been announced by press time.

Boys down Chickasha 53-49

The Owls stopped their own losing skid Tuesday night with a 53-49 win over Chickasha.

Nicholas Meraz led Elgin in scoring with 15 points, followed by Christian Reed with 12. The Owls led 27-22 at halftime and increased the lead to 41-30 heading into the frame stanza, and then held on to secure the win and even Elgin’s record at 10-10.

Chickasha went on a scoring spree in the fourth quarter, outscoring Elgin 19-12 but Elgin’s 11-point lead was too much for the Chicks to overcome.

Elgin’s losing streak included losses to No. 10 Tuttle, No. 16 Bethany and Blanchard. The Owls will play No. 1 Kingfisher on Friday and then head to No. 3 Weatherford on Saturday before closing the regular season at Duncan on Feb. 14.

Like the Lady Owls, Elgin will play Community Christian in a district tournament game next week. Win or lose, both teams will advance to the regional tournament, but one team will already have a loss in the double-elimination playoff format.