Lady Owls defeat McGuinness to win consolation title

WEATHERFORD — Elgin’s Lady Owls overcame an early deficit against McGuinness to capture the consolation championship trophy at the Weatherford Classic last Saturday.

Elgin, behind by five points at halftime, ultimately finished with a 51-39 win. The Lady Owls trailed by as many as 11 points in the first quarter before outscoring McGuinness 11-5 the remainder of the half. Freshman point guard Maycee Hill tallied five points and senior Lizzie Peak scored a bucket to close the gap to 23-16.

Behind 25-20 at halftime, Elgin outscored McGuinness 12-4 in the third quarter and finally took a 32-29 lead heading into the final frame. At one point, the Lady Owls went on an 11-2 run sparked by freshmen post players Kelby Carter and Danika Pendley.

In the fourth quarter, Elgin outscored McGuinness 19-10 including a 16-3 run that pushed the Lady Owls’ lead to 48-32. Pendley, Carter, Hill and sophomore Maddie Nez accounted for all the points while the Elgin defense stifled the McGuinness offense.

“I’m happy with the win,” Elgin head coach Brett Sanders said. “We didn’t play great, but it’s always good to get that second win in a tournament. We’re proving we belong after jumping into the 4A rankings at No. 20. The girls were excited about that.”

Elgin 50, Clinton 30

Elgin’s Lady Owls struggled for almost three quarters, but finally found their rhythm against Clinton in the consolation bracket semifinals.

Elgin was able to post 50-30 win, but it didn’t come easy for the Lady Owls who allowed Clinton to rally from an early 8-0 deficit. Elgin maintained a lead, but turnovers and ineffective post play cost the Lady Owls as Clinton made an abbreviated rally.

“We came out early and shot well and then gave up the intensity and made the game ugly,” Sanders said. “It’s really frustrating. That’s not the way we practice. It’s like they were afraid of something. I’ve gotta figure out what will give them confidence and that’s on me.”

Hill led Elgin in scoring with 19 points followed by Peak with 11 and Pendley with nine points.

Elgin led 21-14 at halftime and allowed Clinton to creep closer at 23-18 about halfway through the third quarter. That’s when Peak hit a three-point basket and the Lady Owls outscored Clinton 12-4 the rest of the stanza.

The game suddenly turned into a runaway in the fourth period as the Lady Owls outscored Clinton 18-8 the final eight minutes. All of Clinton’s fourth quarter points came at the free throw line as Elgin’s defensive pace picked up. At one point, Hill scored six consecutive points to give Elgin a 46-26 advantage. Hill was also perfect at the free throw line hitting five of five charity attempts.

Tuttle 56, Elgin 31

Tuttle’s Lady Tigers converted on a traditional three-point play in the first minute against Elgin and never looked back as one of the best Class 4A teams posted a 56-31 win in the first round of the Weatherford Classic.

“I think we just forgot to show up,” Sanders said.

Tuttle never trailed as Elgin played catchup the entire game with the Lady Tigers using efficient three-point shooting and strong post play to lead 23-10 by the end of the first quarter. Tuttle continued to build the lead from there with its biggest advantage coming late in the fourth quarter 56-29.

Tuttle, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, led by more than 20 points on several occasions. Elgin tallied only three points in the third quarter but those didn’t come until late in the stanza. Elgin’s top scorer was Hill with 14 points.