Settling for second...yet again
Matthews named MVP, but Lady Jackets are runners-up for 4th time in 6 years
WHEAT CAPITAL HARDWARE – Caden Kitchens (far left) and Addy Matthews (third from left) were named Wheat Capital Tournament most valuable players last week. Peyton Walker (second from left) and Xavier Ridenour (far right) were all-tournament team members
The history books won’t show whether Raegan Snider made or missed her free throw attempts. She never got them.
They’ll only show that Class 3A’s two-time defending state champion Jones survived Kingfisher 35-34 Saturday in the finals of the Wheat Capital Tournament in Chisholm.
Jones’ Sofi Woodson was whistled for a foul with 18 seconds to play after her teammate Kasia Hansen missed the front end of a one-and-one.
Woodson climbed over Snider in an attempt to grab the rebound, but fouled her in doing so.
Kingfisher’s team book and Jones’ team book both showed it as the seventh team foul for the top-seeded Lady Longhorns, meaning Snider should have been marching to the foul line with a chance to tie the game with a make or put her team up a point with two.
The official book had it only as the sixth foul, meaning no free throws.
KHS eventually turned it over on the ensuing possession and didn’t get another good look at the buzzer as the Lady Jackets had to settle for the runner- up trophy for the fourth time in the last six years.
“I like how our team competed all night long,” said coach Taylor Young after her team saw its eightgame win streak come to an end.
“They handled the playoff like environment really well.”
Early on, it appeared KHS may not be able to handle Jones.
Quick buckets on the Lady Longhorns’ end and Kingfisher’s ineffectiveness on the other forced an early timeout.
Young was forced to call her second timeout at 5:51 of the second quarter as Jones used a 6-0 burst for a 16-9 advantage.
The Lady Jackets held Jones to just two points the rest of the half and trailed by only three.
That deficit was quickly gone as Addy Matthews, who had just one open look in the first half, nailed a 3-pointer to start the third quarter.
Then another. The junior’s driving bucket at 3:58 of the quarter gave KHS a 23-20 lead and capped a 14-4 run that stretched all the way back to that second-quarter timeout.
Matthews had eight of Kingfisher’s 10 points in the third and the Lady Jackets managed to take a one-point lead into the final frame.
The Lady Longhorns began to come alive about three minutes into the final stanza.
Zoe Tucker’s 3-pointer and Boston Berry’s jumper gave the Lady Longhorns a 32-27 advantage.
But KHS marched right back.
Snider made two free throws with 2:18 to play to pull the Lady Jackets within a point.
After Hansen made one of two foul shots, Peyton Walker delivered her biggest shot of the tournament.
The junior knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:30 left and put KHS on top 34-33.
But Berry had another answer as the Jones senior nailed a step-back 16-footer to put her team back on top, 35-34, with 52 seconds remaining.
A KHS turnover on the other end eventually forced the Lady Jackets to foul Hansen with 18 seconds left.
Although Jones missed two free throws in those final seconds, KHS never got off another shot…and Snider never got her chance at the foul line.
Snider finished the game with six points and five rebounds.
Kadyn Daugherty came off the bench to provide the Lady Jackets with two points and a team-high six boards.
Those two primarily defended Woodson, a 6-foot-2 post player.
After helping Jones get out of the gates quickly, Woodson was held to eight points and three rebounds. She didn’t score in the second half.
Berry led all scorers with 18 points, including what proved to be the game winner. H owever, she didn’t earn MVP honors.
That went to Matthews, who lit up the Wheat Capital nets over the course of the tournament.
She scored 14 points in the championship while also grabbing five rebounds.
She averaged 19.7 points for the tournament and made 11 of 19 (58 percent) 3-pointers.
Matthews was joined on the all-tournament team by Walker, who scored seven in the title game. Walker averaged 10 points and three assists during the tournament.
Emily Myers chipped in five points on the final day.
KHS 50, Woodward 45 (semifinals)
A back-and-forth game finally stayed on Kingfi sher’s side in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Jackets returned to the Wheat Capital Tournament championship game with a 50-45 victory over Woodward in Friday’s semifinal at Chisholm.
It was a rematch of sorts from last year’s playoffs. Woodward upset KHS in the first round of the 4A regional at the APB.
The Lady Jackets responded by winning five games in six days to reach state, including beating Woodward for the area consolation title.
This time a trip to the Wheat Capital final was on the line and within the game was a scoring battle between Kingfisher’s Addy Matthews and the Lady Boomers’ Thessaly Pfeifer.
The latter scored 15 in the first half and helped Woodward claim and reclaim the lead. But then Matthews exploded toward the end of the second quarter.
The junior knocked down four 3-pointers and scored 17 points in the stanza to help KHS to a 2922 lead.
But the Lady Boomers marched right back, using a 16-4 run to stake a 38-33 advantage.
Mya Dewberry’s 3-pointer sparked a quick 5-0 to tie the game for KHS by the end of the quarter, then the senior hit another early in the fourth.
KHS didn’t let the lead go.
Peyton Walker went 4 of 4 from the foul line down the stretch while Raegan Snider hit 3 of her 4 attempts.
Pfeifer won the scoring battle as she knocked down 26 points.
Matthews scored a season- high 23, which included making 6 of 13 3-point attempts.
Walker finished with nine points while Dewberry chipped in seven.
Emily Myers and Snider had five apiece while Snider added a team-high six boards.