By Jeff Cali | The Ada News

The Tuttle Lady Tigers finished their impressive run through the 44th Annual Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic by pulverizing Perry 52-20 in Thursday night’s championship contest.

The Lady Tigers, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, improved to 7-1 on the season — with their only loss at the hands of out-of-state foe Glenwood, Arkansas. Perry, No. 3 in Class 3A, lost for the first time, falling to 6-1.

Coach Brian Lester’s squad ran roughshod through the tough Mid-America field. Tuttle started with a 58-31 first-round win over Class A No. 11 Frontier and leveled Class A No. 1 Frontier 82-41. Oddly enough, those 82 points in the semifinals were the most scored in a Mid-America contest since Lomega stuffed Wright City 82-56 in the 2016 fifth-place contest.

The Lady Tigers flustered Perry right from the start, bolting to a 15-2 first-quarter lead. Tuttle sank 7-of-14 shots in the initial period while limiting Perry to a single field goal by Kennedy Hight.

After junior standout post player Landry Allen — who committed to the University of Oklahoma this past summer — scored in the paint with just under four minutes left in the second period, the THS lead had grown to 23-4.

After a 12-2 surge midway late the third quarter — sparked by three baskets from Madi Surber — the Lady Tigers had extended their lead to 39-11 at the 2:40 mark.

Allen capped off a strong individual tournament with 21 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots to lead the Tuttle onslaught. She finished an efficient 9-of-13 from the field.

Surber turned in a strong all-around effort for Tuttle with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field and a 4-of-4 effort from the free-throw line to go with four rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Both Allen and Surber were named to the all-tournament team.

Allie Rehl — who has two older sisters that play basketball for East Central University – was next for Tuttle with seven points. Hadley Periman, who was voted the 2021 Mid-America Classic MVP by a 10-person all-tournament selection committee, was next with six points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Periman has committed to the University of Tulsa.

Hight, another all-tournament selection, scored nine points to pace the Perry offense. No other PHS player scored more than four. The Lady Maroons also saw Braylee Dale named to the all-tournament team.

By Jeff Cali | The Ada News

Things seemed to be trending Latta’s way heading into the fourth quarter of their 2021 Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic matchup with Hammon Wednesday afternoon at ECU’s Kerr Activities Center.

Latta post player Taryn Batterton had calmly sank four straight free throws in the final 1:21 of the third period to help the Lady Panthers forge to a 37-31 lead. Those late free shots capped a 17-9 LHS third-quarter surge.

However, the bottom fell out for Latta in the fourth quarter. The local tournament hosts managed just one field goal in the final period in a perplexing 46-40 loss to the Lady Raiders.

Hammon, ranked No. 2 in Class B, improved to 10-1 on the year, while Latta’s second Mid-America loss saw the Lady Panthers fall to 10-2.

Coach Bruce Plunk watched his squad go ice cold over the final eight minutes, going just 1-of-14 (7.1%) from the field to end the game. That field goal came when Brooklyn Ryan scored on a put-back to get Latta within 43-40 with 41.5 seconds left in the game.

Hammon’s Maylee Chaney left the door open by missing the front end of a 1-and-1 attempt with 35.8 seconds left, but Latta simply couldn’t cash in.

HHS reserve Mariah Espinosa finally iced the game with two free throws makes with 17.2 seconds left. Shortly after, Hammon head coach Leah Beer gave Espinosa a high-5 and told her “good job.”

Latta led by six twice in the second quarter — the last time 18-12 on a jumper by Batterton at the 4:41 mark. However, Hammon finished the first half on a 10-2 run to grab a slim 22-20 lead at intermission.

The Lady Panthers built a 37-25 lead late in the third quarter on a drive to the basket by Ryan and still led 37-31 heading into the disastrous fourth frame.

Henley West, Hammon’s 6-4 freshman post player, dominated the paint with a game-high 19 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots. She finished 7-of-9 from the field and 5-of-8 from the free-throw line. Maylee Chaney and Addison Walker chipped in 10 points each for the Lady Raiders. Both players also had five assists.

Batterton paced Latta with 15 points and five rebounds, while Ryan followed with 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Jaylee Willis followed with seven points, four assists and a pair of takeaways.

Hammon finished 12-of-20 from the free-throw line, while Latta was 6-of-11.

There was more bad news for Latta. Senior Triniti Cotanny knocked heads with another player and was expected to miss Thursday’s seventh-place matchup with Amber-Pocasset that featured a battle between two of the top teams in Class 2A.

Hammon faced Frontier in Thursday’s fifth-place game.

By Jeff Cali | The Ada News

Weatherford certainly soared like Eagles to begin their contest with Hammon during the first round of the 44th Annual Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic Tuesday evening inside East Central’s Kerr Activities Center.

The Lady Eagles led 25-9 when Chloe Cummings nailed a 3-pointer with just over three minutes left in the second period and went on to defeat Hammon 54-39.

Weatherford, ranked No. 4 in Class 4A, improved to 9-0 on the year, while Class B No. 2 Hammon lost for the first time this season, falling to 9-1.

The Lady Eagles jumped out to an early 14-3 lead to start the game after a fastbreak bucket by Hunter Bayless at the 1:02 mark of the opening period.

Weatherford led 32-14 at halftime.

Hammon played a solid second half, outscoring the Lady Eagles 25-22 over the final two frames.

The game featured lots of fouls and turnovers. Hammon was hurt by 24 turnovers and Weatherford finished with 13.

There were 44 personal fouls called in the sometimes frenetic contest. Weatherford finished 21-of-33 (63.6%) from the free-throw line compared to a 12-of-24 (50%) showing by the Lady Warriors.

Weatherford ended up with a huge 38-25 rebounding edge.

Addy Hoffman led the WHS offense, finishing with 19 points to go with six rebounds and six steals. She finished 10-of-15 from the charity stripe. Bayless also hit double figures for the Lady Eagles with 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Maylee Chaney led the Hammon attack with 12 points. She finished 3-of-3 from 3-point territory. The Lady Warriors got 11 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots from freshman post player Henley West. She sank 7-of-11 free throws.

Weatherford battled Perry in a Wednesday night semifinal contest, while Hammon faced local entry Latta in a consolation game.

The 2020 Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic was canceled by a vote of 9-2 from board members at a meeting held recently at the Vision Bank branch on Arlington.

The local girls basketball tournament was scheduled to run Dec. 28-30 inside East Central University’s Kerr Activities Center.

This year’s field was going to be highlighted by three local teams — the Ada Lady Cougars, the Latta Lady Panthers and the Vanoss Lady Wolves. All three of those squads will enter the 2020-21 season expected to be contenders in their respective classes.

It marks the first time a board of directors has canceled the popular holiday tournament since 2000.

Once Sequoyah-Tahlequah got a little breathing room in the fourth quarter, the team’s talented guards weren’t about to let a lead slip away.

The Lady Indians played a good game of keep away down the stretch, made clutch free throws and held off Vanoss 57-48 to claim the championship of the 2019 Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic.

The Lady Indians, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, ran their record to 9-1 on the year. Their only blemish was a 53-48 loss to Class 6A No. 6 Booker T. Washington Dec. 14 at the Tahlequah Tournament.

Meanwhile, Vanoss — No. 1 in Class 2A — saw its season-opening 12-game win streak come to an end and dropped to 12-1.

Jones won the rebounding battle 37-28 and had 15 offensive boards and was able to force Vanoss into 20 turnovers with its relentless defensive pressure.

“We knew they were going to be really good. If you’re going to beat them, you’re going to have to do a better job on the boards and not turn the basketball over,” said Vanoss head coach Jonathon Hurt. “It’s hard to emulate what they do and when you don’t see that all year, it takes some time to get adjusted to their speed of the game and their length.”

The Lady Longhorns led 45-37 heading to the fourth quarter before Emily Wilson hit a 3-pointer and scored on a putback to get Vanoss within 45-42.

Rileigh Rush hit a free shot for Vanoss with 6:27 to play to make it 47-43, but tournament MVP Lexy Keys answered with two free throws of her own to push the Jones lead back to six with 5:55 showing.

Smalls Goudeau hit a bucket for Sequoyah-Tahlequah with just over four minutes left in the game to put her team on top 51-43, and Lizzy Simpson fouled out for Vanoss at the 3:57 mark. Those two plays began to signal the beginning of the end for the Lady Wolves.

The Lady Indians went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final 3:08 — including four from Keys — all while milking precious time off the clock with each possession.

“In the end, we made free throws down the stretch and took care of the basketball, and that was the difference,” said Sequoyah-Tahlequah head coach Justin Brown. “We spread them out. Size is their strength, and guards are our strength. We had the lead and took advantage of our speed on the outside the last four or five minutes, and that made the difference.”

The Lady Indians led by as many as 10 during a 20-12 run in the second period, but a free throw by Emrie Ellis and a 3-point bank shot by Wilson just before halftime made it 27-21 at the break.

A Keys jumper midway through the third period put Sequoyah-Tahlequah ahead 34-27. Vanoss responded with nine consecutive points, including six by Simpson. Her basket with just over two minutes left in the period gave Vanoss a 36-34 lead and had the pro-Lady Wolves Kerr Center crowd rockin’.

However, the Lady Indians outscored Vanoss 11-1 over the final minutes of the third period — including a 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper by Baylee Davis — to build a 45-37 lead and set the stage for the fourth quarter.

Hurt said the entire Mid-America experience should pay dividends for the Lady Wolves on down the road.

“I’m really proud of the kids. We played some of the best teams in the state for three straight days and looked pretty good throughout. We can learn from this because we’re going to play other good teams … It will help us in the long run,” he said.

Simpson led the charge for Vanoss despite her early exit. She finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, both team-highs. Wilson tossed in 14 points and hit four 3-pointers, and Ellis chimed in with 12 points, six rebounds, six assists, three blocked shots and two steals.

Keys played every bit of the MVP role for Sequoyah-Tahlequah. She finished with a game-high 25 points, hit 15-of-16 free throws and had five steals.

“She’s our leader. She does a little bit of everything. She handles it, shoots it and plays great defense,” Brown said. “What I’m most proud of is she hooks up on both ends of the floor. She’s not just out there to shoot it. She’s going to guard you — I don’t know how many deflections she gets in a game. She just makes everyone else around her better. Kids like that are hard to come by, and we’re lucky to have one.”

Goudeau added 10 points and nine rebounds for the winners, while Jaide Long followed with eight points, including a pair of 3-point baskets. Jessica Mackey also scored eight points off the bench and had two triples of her own.

Ironically, Sequoyah-Tahlequah wasn’t one of the original eight teams that were selected to compete in the 2019 Mid-America Classic, sponsored by Vision Bank. Another team dropped out in Mid-November, and the Lady Indians jumped at the chance to enter the Mid-America field.

“There’s a reason this tournament is considered one of the best. I’ve been to other big tournaments over the holidays, but the way our kids were treated and the way the tournament is ran is just on another level,” Brown said. “We had a great time, and we appreciate all the hospitality here. We couldn’t be more thankful to be here and honored to be a part of it. It’s unfortunate for the way it worked out for the other school. But like I said, we’re honored to be here. I’ve always held this tournament in high regard, and we enjoyed it.”