Patience, practice pays off for Pawnee's Lauren Bynum

February 9, 2013

Patience, practice pays off for Pawnee's Lauren Bynum

By Andrew Glover aglover@stwnewspress.com The Stillwater News Press Sat Feb 09, 2013, 08:47 PM CST

PAWNEE, Okla. — There’s the old adage that time can fix everything. For Pawnee High School senior Lauren Bynum, that has run true as she is making a higher percentage of her shots and leading the Lady Black Bears’ offense in the second half of the season.

“My shooting was way worse than last year and I had enough,” Bynum said. “I spent a lot of time working on my shot and making sacrifices.”

Coach Jeff Tatum said Bynum is playing really well since Christmas break.

“A couple weeks ago she scored a career-high 25 points,” Tatum said. “Since Christmas break she is averaging 17 points per game.”

That career-high came in a 53-30 victory over Perry. Friday in a victory over Woodland, Bynum scored 14 points. The senior said the time in the gym paid off for her.

“It has helped my confidence and my teammates’ confidence in me,” Bynum said. “My shooting has gotten a lot better.”

Bynum’s improvement hasn’t gone unnoticed by Tatum.

“She’s a tremendous competitor,” Tatum said. “She plays good defense. We shoot three days a week at 6:45 a.m. and she’s only missed one (day).”

Tatum said Bynum has expanded her shooting range.

“She started out being a 3-point shooter,” Tatum said. “Sometimes she has a smaller defender on her and we will take advantage of that and have her post up inside.”

Bynum said her dad has helped her a lot with her shot.

“He said just shooting outside wasn’t enough,” Bynum said. “He helped me work on my shot against bigger defenders. He worked with me down low on my inside shot, 10-foot shot and 15-foot shots.”

The Lady Black Bears have played strong in the second half, posting a 12-3 record since Christmas break. The only losses for Pawnee were to Frontier. Bynum said the team’s chemistry has improved.

“We can handle anything that is thrown out at us,” Bynum said. “At the beginning of the season we weren’t playing well together. Now we are working together.”

Bynum hopes to continue her playing career in college, with her top choices being the University of Central Oklahoma or Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

Honorable Mention

Ryon Boatright, Mulhall-Orlando

Brittany Blankinship, Mulhall-Orlando

Matt Reedy, Agra

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