Copan, Oaks end MHS seasons

MORRISON — Morrison’s Cinderella chariot to the Area basketball tournament turned into a pumpkin here Saturday afternoon.

The Copan Lady Hornets (20-5) used their superior height to outlast the Lady Wildcats, 62-56, and end the MHS season (13-11). MHS held a 42-40 lead going into the fourth period, but 5-9 Jill Bryan scored half of her 18 points to thwart the Morrison rally.

Laine Wheatley put on a sterling show with a 28-point performance and her nine-point fourth period was the only thing that kept Morrison in the game.

In the boys’ consolation finals contest, Oaks recovered from an early 23-11 deficit to overwhelm the Wildcat boys, 67-59. The victory lifted the Warriors into the Area tournament at Enid and improved their record to 14-10.

Oaks’ 6-4, 350-pound center Steve Thompson wasn’t the most mobile player on the floor but he muscled in 17 points while his teammates zeroed in on eight three-point shots.

Morrison, finishing its season 12-13, grabbed a 23-11 lead after the first quarter thanks to Shawn Walls, who scored 14 of his game high 23 points. The margin wilted to a point at halftime, 40-39, and after that the ’Cats couldn’t buy a basket.

In fact, in a span of almost 11 minutes during the third and fourth periods the Wildcats were starved to one field goal. That was a short jumper by Walls that cut the Warrior lead to 56-52 with 5:16 to play.

Oaks rattled off eight straight points to grab a 66-52 lead with 90-seconds remaining, and even though the Warriors missed six of their last seven free throws MHS couldn’t get close.

“Any loss is disappointing but this was doubly difficult to swallow, particularly on your home court,” MHS coach John Hardaway admitted. “We started great but as the game went on we couldn’t buy a basket.

“Their size was an obvious problem for us but we threw every piece of defensive junk we had at them and couldn’t make up the ground.”



Class A, Area I

at Morrison • Loser’s bracket

Copan 62, Morrison 56 (girls)

Copan 11 17 12 22 — 62

Morrison 10 13 19 14 — 56

(C) Bryan 18, Thomas 16, Davis 12, Wright 8, Townley 4, Eddy 4. 3 pt. Goals: Thomas 4, Wright 2, Bryan 2. FGM-A: 18-36 (50%). FTM-A: 18-24 (75%). PF - 17. (M) Wheatley 28, Bradley 14, Luckey 4, Henington 4, Casey 3, Wright 2, Quinata 1. FGM-A: 19-48 (40%). FTM-A: 13-18 (72%). PF - 18.



Oaks 67, Morrison 59 (boys)

Oaks 11 28 15 13 — 67

Morrison 23 17 9 10 — 59

(O) S. Thompson 17, C. Tucker 16, T. Tucker 9, Foreman 7, Osburn 6, Trimble 4, Haughn 4, C. Thompson 4. 3-pt. goals: T. Tucker 3, C. Tucker 2, Foreman. FGM-A: 22-51 (43%). FTM-A: 11-22 (50%). PF - 17. (M) Walls 23, Holba 10, Owens 9, James 8, Quinata 7, J. Simons 2. 3-pt. goals: Walls 3, James 2. FGM-A: 22-62 (35%). FTM-A: 10-16 (63%). PF - 22.