WAURIKA — Career scoring leader Brittany Elkins got some offensive help from three teammates in the third quarter, and it was enough for the Lady Eagles to repulse a late assault by Ryan, in a 41-40 victory at Waurika’s 2009 Homecoming Game.
Although the Lady Eagles rode a scoring roller-coaster much of the night, Elkins, Kacee Daily, Carly Norton and Micah Smith fueled a 19-7 run in the third period that provided just enough scoring for Waurika to turn back a threat from the Cowgirls, rise to 9-10 for the season and sweep the annual series with county rival RHS.
Not all records are available, but Elkins is thought to have become the first Waurika female to top 1,500 points in her career, when the senior had 22 points in a win over Ringling. In her final homecoming contest, Elkins was limited to 14 points by the Cowgirls, but 7 of those tallies came in the crucial third quarter.
In addition, senior Daily had 5 points, Norton had 4 and senior Smith had 3, which propelled a 19-7 run that turned Ryan’s 24-18 halftime lead into a 37-31 Waurika edge going into the fourth frame.
The Lady Eagles needed all of those points. After WHS’ lead grew to as many as 12 tallies, its offense went dry in the fourth period and the Cowgirls were able to pull within 41-40, with 35 seconds remaining. However, Elkins and Daily maintained possession for the final 35 seconds and RHS got no more scoring opportunities.
While 14 points brought Elkins’ career total to 1,527, Daily and Norton finished with 9 points each, as the Lady Eagles won their third straight game.
They were able to do so despite a game-high 25 points from Ryan’s Alaina Martin. After Waurika had opened a 10-5 lead in the first quarter, Martin dropped in 11 of her points in sparking a 19-8 run in the second stanza that gave the Cowgirls a halftime edge.
Shelby Thompson had 7 points and Shaylee Kimbro added 6 for RHS, which had fallen, 51-38, when the teams met in November
Waurika 10 8 19 4-41
RYAN — Martin 25, Thompson 7, Kimbro 6, Haile Morrison 2.
WAURIKA (9-10) — Elkins 14, Daily 9, Norton 9,. Smith 3, DaVida England 2, Amber Hall 2, Roxanne Sherrill 2.
Waurika 54,
Ringling 35
“We controlled the game most of the time,” head coach Roger Jessie said, after WHS came off losing two of three games on the road with an improved all-around performance against its county rival.
“We had a tremendous game defensively and we took care of the ball,” he added. “Offensively, we had a good opening half, scoring-wise, and we had consistent effort at both ends of the court.”
The Lady Eagles raised their field goal shooting 10 percent from a dismal 28 percent performance in a loss at Bray-Doyle, hitting 41 percent on two-point attempts and 38 percent overall. “We also started looking good again shooting free throws,” Jessie noted, after WHS made 11 of 14 from the stripe.
Waurika had a 14-6 lead at the end of the first stanza, then boosted the advantage to 31-16 by halftime, with Elkins scoring 12 of her game-high 22 points in the second quarter. That production is believed to have moved Elkins to the top of WHS’ all-time scoring list for female players.
Guard Daily broke out of a scoring slump, bagging 7 of her 11 points in the third period, which ended with WHS on top, 43-24.
DaVida England chipped in 8 points and Smith 6, while Ringling got a team-high 11 points from Mindy McElroy.
WAURIKA 54, RINGLING 35
Ringling 6 10 8 11-35
Waurika 14 17 12 1 1-54
WAURIKA — Elkins 22, Daily 11, England 8, Smith 6, Norton 3, Ana Gomez 2, Roxanne Sherrill 2.
RINGLING — McElroy 11, McLemore 8, Grace 5, McCoy 4, Reid 3, Baker 2.
