Hammon ousts Mt. View-Gotebo girls

OKLAHOMA CITY — If any team in the Class B Girls State Basketball Tournament is going to win the title in that class, they better find a way to slow down 6-4 post Henley West who scored 25 points and totally thwarted Mt. View-Gotebo at every turn Wednesday in a 47-42 victory at the State Fairgrounds Arena.

The Tigers were in the game until the final quarter when the shots they had been hitting were bouncing off the rim or just missing and with the 6-4 West situated right under the bucket there were few second-chance points for the Tigers.

But the most telling stat were the fouls that the Tigers drew while trying to stop West or her teammates. Mt. View-Gotebo’s tallest player, Hallie Carney, drew three quick fouls in the first quarter and sat on the bench until the second half.

Despite that, Mt. View-Gotebo still had the lead after three quarters, 35-34, but in the final eight minutes shots the Tigers had been making started falling off-target and West was able to hit three big buckets and several free throws as the Warriors pulled out the win.

To the Tigers’ credit they didn’t quit until the final buzzer, in fact sophomore Rowyn Fite had a nifty move on a fast break and drew contact after sinking a layup with 13 seconds remaining. She missed the free throw and at that point all the Tigers could do was foul and Hammon’s Shannon Ayers hit two free throws to seal the outcome.

Cyril, Empire girls to play

Today Class A girls and boys hit the State Fairgrounds Norick Arena and Cyril and Empire girls will carry the area banner today.

Cyril girls are the No. 2 seed and will battle Oklahoma Bible Academy at noon while Empire takes the court at 10:30 a.m. to tangle with Quinton.

The Pirates of Coach Shane McLemore are led by junior Hadley Gibson and Khole Goombi but the coach has other good option in his lineup and that depth has helped the team go through the playoffs without a loss, winning five straight to reach the Big House.