Mac girls edge Del City in OT, keep district lead

MacArthur’s Janaiya Fisher hit four late free throws in overtime Tuesday to lead the Highlanders to a 51-47 victory over Del City in a key District 5A-2 contest that keeps Otis Gentry’s club atop the district standings.

Mac girls appeared to be in trouble in the overtime as the Eagles built a 47-43 lead with 1:30 remaining in the overtime. But Fisher sliced that deficit in half with a pair of free throws with 1:23 remaining and after a DC turnover Mac’s Mia Hughes sank a layup to knot the score at 47-all.

Quickly Mac’s defensive pressure forced another turnover and this time Fisher sank a layup to send the Highlanders in front, 49-47.

Once again, the Eagles struggled to advance the ball and a turnover gave Mac possession and Gentry called for the 4-corner offense to milk some time off the clock.

The Eagles waited until just 16 seconds remained before fouling Fisher and she made DC pay by sinking both charity tosses for a 51-47 lead.

The hosts got a good look at the other end but the shot missed and Mac grabbed the rebound with eight seconds remaining. The Highlanders were able to inbound the ball and get it downcourt to the offensive end and while Mac turned the ball over, the clock hit 0:00 and this one was history.

Mac girls are now 6-2 overall but the important record is its 5-0 district mark entering a huge home game Friday against Midwest City girls which saw a\ road game at Guymon Tuesday canceled by snow and ice in northwest Oklahoma.

Mac girls seemed about to get the win in regulation but a turnover gave the Eagles the ball with eight seconds remaining. The Eagles got the ball inside where Shelby Thornton missed a short jumper but she was fouled with two seconds remaining to go to the line for a pair of free throws that gave the hosts a chance at victory. Thornton made the first but missed the second and after a timeout, Mac was unable to get off a shot and the teams went to overtime where Mac was able to grab the win.

The Mac boys were unable to keep their top spot in the district standings after suffering a 52-35 loss to the Eagles in the boys contest. Mac boys fell to 5-1 heading into Friday’s home game against Midwest City which is 4-0 in district after seeing last night’s game at Guymon canceled by snow and ice on the roads in the northwest part of the state.

Elgin boys lost a road game to Guthrie, 61-25, as the Owls dropped further back down the district standings.

Anadarko girls handed Cache a 69-32 victory Tuesday while the Anadarko boys made it a sweep of Cache with a 52-38 victory.

In area action Tuesday, Geronimo girls climbed to 15-1 with a 52-36 victory over Ryan as the Bluejays head into next week’s Comanche County Tournament as the No. 1 seed.