EDMOND —
The Deer Creek Lady Antlers fought off a late run by the Mustang Lady Broncos on their way to a 49-43 victory in the semifinals of the Bruce Gray Tournament Friday night at Deer Creek High School.
The Lady Antlers got off to a hot start in the first quarter led by Ashley Gibson who turned in seven of Deer Creek’s first 11 points. Five of Gibson’s seven points came from the free throw line, which turned out to be Deer Creek’s bread and butter throughout the night.
Mustang’s offense struggled early with only four points in the first eight minutes. The Lady Antlers started the game with an early press, which forced Mustang into bad shot selection and sloppy turnovers.
The Lady Broncos cleaned up their play in the second quarter, but Deer Creek kept up their scoring as well.
Dakota Vann led the Lady Antlers with seven points in the second period and helped her team go into halftime with a 21-13 lead. Vann hit all three of her buckets after the Broncos jumped out to 6-2 run to start the period. Deer Creek’s defense buckled down late in the quarter as they held Mustang to just three points in the final five minutes before halftime.
The Lady Antlers and Lady Broncos battled for the first two minutes of the third period, but a 12-1 Deer Creek run helped extend the Lady Antlers’ lead to 37-19 going into the final period.
Vann and Gibson led Deer Creek in the third period with 11 of the team’s 16 points. Vann and Gibson each scored 14 points to lead all scorers while Whitney Jones and Bayli Blanchard combined for 17.
The Lady Antlers slowed the pace down after the half and forced Mustang into a sense of urgency. The combination of Mustang’s mistakes and Deer Creek’s scoring ability led to an 18-point Lady Antlers lead after 24 minutes.
The Lady Broncos fought their way back into the game in the fourth quarter and eventually cut Deer Creek’s lead to four with 28 seconds left in the game.
Deer Creek scored eight of their final 12 points from the charity stripe as the Lady Antlers outlasted Mustang’s late comeback and won the game 49-43 to advance to the finals of the Bruce Gray tournament.
“We were 21 of 26 from the free throw line and we did a great job at the end of stepping up and hitting free throws,” Deer Creek coach Totsy Manning said after the game. “We’re typically a good free throw shooting team so we knew if we pulled the ball out and they fouled us, we could hit those shots.”
“There’s a lot of things we can fix for the championship game, but we are still going to play hard,” Manning said. “We kind of have a target on our back. We’ve only won this tournament twice in 19 years and we hope to bring the trophy home tomorrow.”
Deer Creek came into the game 16-2 and ranked third in Class 5A. The Lady Antlers will square off against the Enid Pacers Saturday at 7 p.m. in Edmond for the Bruce Gray Invitational championship.
Sports
Related Photos
-
DREW HARMON | THE EDMOND SUN Deer Creek's Whitney Jones works past a Mustang defender Friday night in the win.
-
DREW HARMON | THE EDMOND SUN Deer Creek's Ashley Gibson battles a Mustang player for a loose ball in the Lady Antlers' win Friday night.
-
DREW HARMON | THE EDMOND SUN Deer Creek's Dakota Vann, left, and Bayli Blanchard defend a Mustang player during Friday night's win.
Discussion
Lady Antlers eye Bruce Gray title
- Sports
-
-
Blake Shelton brings relief concert to Oklahoma City
Blake Shelton has organized and will headline the telethon “Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert” on May 29, to take place at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Grammy Award-winning artists Miranda Lambert, Reba and Vince Gill also will perform. Additional guests for the concert will be announced shortly.
The concert will be televised live at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. It also will air on cable networks Style, G4, Bravo, E! and CMT on either a live or delayed basis. -
OCU’s Wright playing for Moore
Drew Wright’s heart will be with her hometown of Moore when her Oklahoma City University softball team competes in the NAIA Championships this week. Edmond Santa Fe graduate Kayley Humann, an OCU outfielder, is one of Wright’s teammates.
Wright and the fourth-ranked Stars (50-13) opened national-tournament play against fifth-ranked Cal State San Marcos Friday at South Commons Softball Complex.
The senior third baseman said it was difficult to leave Oklahoma City on Tuesday after a destructive tornado leveled several city blocks of Moore and south Oklahoma City on Monday.
Fortunately, Wright’s family is safe from the tornado that has been hailed as the most severe to hit the area. -
Bronchos win 2 straight at NCAA Division II World Series
Kaylee Brunson and Kacie Edwards keyed an 11-hit attack that carried Central Oklahoma to a 7-1 romp over Molloy in the second round of the NCAA Division II Championship Finals in Salem, VA. Friday afternoon at the Moyer Sports Complex.
Brunson and Edwards had three hits apiece and both drove in runs during a big five-run, sixth-inning outburst that turned a precarious 2-0 lead into a comfortable 7-0 cushion as UCO coasted into Sunday’s winner’s bracket finals. -
Area camps start May 28
Girls hoop camp kicks off Tuesday
The three head varsity girls basketball coaches (Dandy Peeler, Edmond Memorial; Karlie Free, Edmond North; Paul Bass, Edmond Santa Fe) of Edmond Schools will be hosting a youth basketball camp for girls entering kindergarten-ninth grades at Edmond Memorial High School May 28-31.
The younger kids, entering grades kindergarten-4th, will run from 9 a.m.-noon. The camp will focus on basic fundamentals of the game including shooting, passing, ball handling as well as defensive and offensive skills.
Girls entering grades 5-9 will be in the afternoon camp from 1-4 p.m. The camp will focus on offensive and defensive fundamental skills along with sharpening individual skills through station work and competitive contests.
Cost is $115. Contact Dandy Peeler at 250-4377 for more information. -
Still time to register for UCO's Endeavor Games
Registration is open online for athletes and volunteers for the 2013 University of Central Oklahoma Endeavor Games, June 6-9, the nation’s largest multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities.
Athletes of all ages or sporting experience are invited to register for the event. Community members are also encouraged to register to volunteer with more than 300 volunteer opportunities available.
Similar to the summer Paralympic Games, athletes may register for multiple adaptive sports, which include cycling, indoor archery, outdoor archery, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, shooting, table tennis, track and field, wheelchair basketball, and, for the first time at the UCO Endeavor Games, paratriathlon. The paratriathlon will be limited to athletes over the age of 16 with previous paratriathlon experience. -
UCO opens World Series with a victory
Kalynn Schrock dominated in the pitching circle and Kaylee Brunson came through with a tie-breaking triple to lift Central Oklahoma past fourth-ranked Armstrong Atlantic 5-2 in Salem, Va. Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Division II Championship Finals.
It was the sixth straight postseason win for the No. 19-ranked Bronchos, who improved to 48-11 and moved into today’s 3 p.m. semifinal game against either defending national champion Valdosta State or Malloy.
Schrock gave up just two hits and no walks while striking out 15 — including 10 of the final 12 batters she faced — in improving to 31-6 on the season and 6-0 in the postseason. -
Edmond Santa Fe's Taylor heading to Central Florida
Danielle Taylor, fresh off a Central District Youth Rowing Championship victory on the Oklahoma River at the start of the month, followed up the success by signing a letter of intent in rowing with Central Florida at Edmond Santa Fe High School.
Though Santa Fe does not offer rowing as a team sport, Taylor competes for OKC Riversport on the Junior Crew which competes on the Oklahoma River.
Taylor missed her junior season due to an injury, but Coach Brian Ebke knew the Santa Fe athlete would be raring to go her senior season.
“She’s an extremely hard worker,” Ebke lauded. “Her work ethic is impeccable.” -
Bronchos hit final match play spot in first round
Dillon Rust got off to a blazing start and ended up shooting a one-under-par 70 to lead Central Oklahoma in the second round of the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships in Hershey, Pa. Tuesday.
Rust birdied four of his first five holes en route to his under-par round and the Bronchos ended up with a 300 on the day, giving them a 36-hole total of 597. The 300 leaves UCO eighth in the 20-team field heading into final round of stroke play, with the top eight teams advancing to match play that will determine the national champion. -
Area players earn All-State honors on the diamond
Three area baseball players were selected to the All-State Team this week.
Right-handed pitcher Holden Lyons from Edmond North, made the team after posting a perfect 7-0 mark with an ultra-low 1.29 earned run average.
Deer Creek’s Cole Lindley made it as an outfielder and Oklahoma Christian’s Austin Brooks landed on the list in the designated hitter’s spot.
The threesome will compete on the Large West squad on July 30 at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa. -
Tennis camps offered in Edmond
Edmond Raquet Club is offering a pair of tennis camps beginning May 28.
For ages 5-8, a camp is offered from 8:45-9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and for ages 7-15 a tennis camp is available from 6-6:55 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Both camps run from May 28-June 13 and cost is $99 per camp.
A camp session for ages 8-16 will run on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30-9:25 a.m. May 29-June 12 for the identical cost.
For more information concerning these camps and others, call 341-4241. - More Sports Headlines
-
Blake Shelton brings relief concert to Oklahoma City
