Jeff Harrison
The Edmond Sun
EDMOND — Foul trouble kept Edmond North’s Elizabeth Donohoe on the bench for much of Friday night’s Edlam battle with No. 7-ranked Memorial, but the junior was still there when the No. 3 Lady Huskies needed her most.
Trailing by just a point, the Memorial girls were setting up for the final shot of the game. And just as they were ready to pull the trigger Donohoe knocked the ball away at the top of the key and was fouled as she dribbled down court. Donohoe proceeded to hit both free throws, giving North (13-2) a thrilling 55-52 win at Memorial High School.
Donohoe finished with a game-high 19 points, but it was her teammates that kept things rolling. TaNita Dewberry and Anna Kimsey were both tough to stop in the paint. Dewberry finished with 14 points and 17 rebounds, falling one shy of Donhoe’s school record, and Kimsey added 11 points and six rebounds.
“We had a lot of girls step up,” North head coach Kevin Korstjens said. “It was reminiscent of that McGuinness game when Liz was in foul trouble early and we didn’t panic. We just kept doing what we needed to do and other girls stepped up and found a way to win. Man, I’m proud of them.”
Memorial (8-5) had three players finish in double figures with Alie Decker leading the way with 13 points. Paige Locke and Katy Allen each finished with 10 for Memorial.
North got off to a fast start and led Memorial 10-2 midway through the period. Brooklyn Bell answered with a 3-pointer and offensive putback to pull Memorial within three.
“I think it was a game of runs, they’d make a run and we’d answer it, but we could never quite get over the hump and go take that lead,” Memorial head coach Shane Coffey said. “But I’m proud of my girls they did an outstanding job.”
The Lady Bulldogs grabbed the lead early in the second on a basket by Decker, but Kimsey and TaNita Dewberry made sure it was short-lived. The two combined to score 11 points helping North to a 29-24 halftime lead.
North continued to control in the third quarter. Their lead swelled to as many as eight on a pair of free throws from Emily Davis with 1:32 in the third. But the Memorial girls stormed back with the help of Allen, who scored six points in the final 1:08 of the third to make it a 45-43 game.
The North girls got a few chances in the fourth quarter but just couldn’t shake Memorial. The Lady Huskies continued to dominate on the boards in the period, but couldn’t get many second chance shots to fall. Memorial took advantage of the opportunity and pulled even at 51-51 with 1:30 left on a pair of free throws from Locke.
TaNita Dewberry later pushed North back in front with couple of free throws, only to see Locke get another chance to tie it at the foul line. But this time the senior’s second toss didn’t drop, making it a one-point game. Memorial would get one more chance only to see Donohoe steal the show.
Both squads return to action Tuesday night on the road. Memorial travels to No. 2 Santa Fe, while the Lady Huskies are at Putnam City North.
