NEWCASTLE — Championship round bids were on the line Friday at the Sweet Pea Tournament in Newcastle, and two area teams made the most of their opportunities.
The Elgin girls were the first to clinch their spot in the Saturday's final, overcoming an early double-digit deficit to nip Class 4A No. 17 Blanchard, 57-50. MacArthur followed suit with a dominating 62-41 victory over host 4A No. 14 Newcastle in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates.
The 4A No. 7 Owls (12-2) and the 5A No. 6 Highlanders (10-4) will meet for the Sweet Pea title Saturday at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Elgin and Cache boys weren’t as fortunate, falling in their semifinal matchups against stiff competition.
The Owls fell behind early, and despite a late rally, they failed to complete the comeback in a 57-46 loss to Ada. The Bulldogs met a similar fate, crumbling to a streaking Heritage Hall team, 55-40.
No. 9 Elgin (9-5) and No. 15 Cache (12-4) face off for the second time this season in the third-place game Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
Elgin girls claw back against Blanchard
Elgin had an ugly opening quarter, but how it finished proved to be a more important factor in the Owls’ 57-50 win over Blanchard in the Sweet Pea Tournament semifinals.
Elgin trailed 20-4 in the early stages of the second quarter, and Blanchard looked to be on its way to a surprise berth in the tournament championship game. However, the Owls managed to pull within five by halftime, and the rest is history.
Elgin carried its second-quarter surge into the second half, gaining a double-digit lead of its own heading into the fourth quarter.
Owls coach Brett Tahah said it was all about remaining calm in the face of adversity.
“I told them if we panic and try to get it all back at once, it’s not going to happen,” Tahah said. “We were going to get it back on the defensive end, and defensively we picked it up quite a bit in the second and third quarters, and we progressively scored more points in every quarter, which is something I like to see.”
Izzy Cummins was key to Elgin’s rally as well.
The junior hit three-consecutive 3-pointers at one point in the second half on the way to a 24-point performance. She finished with four of the team’s shots from deep range.
“When Izzy is on, she’s one,” Tahah said. “It’s great to see a kid have success like that. Whenever she’s on, it gets everyone else motivated.”
Paige Pendley added 14 points in the win. Brittney Garrett led Blanchard with 19 points, 11 of which came from the free throw line. Carly Craig also finished in double figures for the Lions with 16 points.
Mac girls have breakout game, reach finals
This was the game Mac coach David Vann has been waiting.
The Highlanders have made a habit of falling behind only to come back and secure the win.
However, Mac was pulling no punches this time around, storming to a 62-41 win over Newcastle, its largest margin of victory of the season.
“This was the breakout game I’ve been talking about,” Vann said. “I feel like we came out ready and focused. Overall, the girls played from when we tipped off to the very end.”
One of Mac’s main goals on defense was limiting 3-point shots, and the strategy worked to perfection. The Racers hit only three shots of that variety, all of which came in the fourth quarter — when they surpassed six points in a quarter for the first time. The defense also forced 18 turnovers.
It was also one of the Highlanders’ highest-scoring games of the season. They came into the contest averaging 49.84 points per game — 44.83 in 2018. It was the team’s first game breaking 60 points since Dec. 9 — an 81-73 overtime decision over Putnam City North.
McKenzie Washington is normally Mac’s leading scorer, and though the Highlanders had three girls score in double figures, Washington wasn’t one of them.
Erin Henry, Tamera Thomas and Victoria Lewis took over the scoring load for Washington, combining for 40 points — nearly 65 percent of Mac’s scoring production.
Henry led the team with 19 points, while Thomas added 11 and Lewis pitched in 10.
“The good thing about my group is I don’t rely on one person,” Vann said. “Even though Washington has scored 17 or more points four or five times, we don’t rely on that. It’s good to have people to step up.”
Maddy North led Newcastle with 13 points.
Elgin boys’ slide continues in loss to Ada
It has been a difficult start to 2018 for Elgin.
After starting the season with an 8-1 record, the Owls have lost four of their last five, including a 57-46 loss to unranked Ada in the Sweet Pea semis.
Elgin overcame a 10-point deficit with a 12-4 run spanning from the end of the second quarter to the opening minutes of the second half, but the problems that have plagued the Owls during the rough patch kept presenting themselves at key moments.
“I thought we played pretty well defensively, which is what kept us in the game, but offensively we struggled,” Elgin coach Ryan Green said. “We couldn’t hit a shot, and we didn’t execute down the stretch. That really hurt us down the stretch.”
Connor Slater led the Owls with 15 points, and Shawn Person added 11 of his own. Sam Godwin finished with 11 points to lead the Cougars.
Cache boys win streak ends in semis
All great things must come to an end.
Cache came into its semifinal contest with Heritage Hall on a captivating four-game win streak, earning the team a No. 15 ranking in 4A. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were tasked with taking down a hot Chargers team that was on a four-game streak of its own.
Cache managed to keep it close for most of the contest, but Heritage Hall’s athleticism was too much to overcome, as the Chargers ran away with a 55-40 win.
“Heritage Hall is extremely talented,” Bulldogs coach Miles Thompson said. “They’re (No. 6) in the state for a reason. I thought our boys played pretty well, that’s just a good team.”
Cache now turns its attention to rival Elgin in the third-place game of the Sweet Pea Tournament. The Bulldogs squeaked by the Owls, 44-41, on Jan. 9, and this meeting is sure to provide another exciting matchup.
“Hopefully we can stay with them again — it is what it is,” Thompson said. “It’s a tough turnaround, but we’re going to come give it our best, I guarantee you that.”