February 26, 2022 Issue, Page 4 of 10

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4 February 26, 2022 Sports Merritt rolls through District Big Elks drop By Kerry Hookstra Fairview came to Oiler Field- Merritt prevailed 15-11 in the third to go ahead by one. Zach Carr hit another pair of tack with nine each by Carr, Dornon, and Justus. Others scoring were; Skelton-8, Ham- same with a 13-3 Oilerette bulge. Sosa buried a pair of treys with a deuce. Lexie Fra- District contest By Kerry Hookstra third with a 13-11 Woodward house Feb. 18 and dropped a buckets while Jayce Hamilton ilton-6, Prator-2, and Smith-2. zier and Pollard hit a field goal lead. Bailey tossed in two more pair of District contests. The went 2-2 on free throws plus Oilerettes-Fairview with a gift shot from R. Hart- The Boomers rolled into Elk baskets. Dunlap drained a trey Oilers held off the Yellowjack- a field goal. Dornon drained An 11-6 lead went to Merritt man. City Feb. 17 and handed the while Cole Buie and Church ets 47-46 while the Oilerettes his second three with a basket in the first. Ella Porter led the Final frame action went to Big Elks a 76-54 district de- sank 2-2 apiece from the line feat. They got out to an 18-4 rolled to a 46-17 decision. by Caden Smith and a charity way with a basket and two free Merritt 12-6 behind Jamie for Elk City. first quarter run. Joseph Dai- Oilers-Fairview shot each from Carr and Skel- throws. Dayli Pollard drained a Peffer who worked inside for ley delivered two baskets to ac- In the fourth Big Elks posted Merritt was down 12-11in ton. trey while Riely Hartman was two baskets and 2-2 from the count for the Elk City scoring. an 18-14 margin. Dunlap ex- the first quarter. Zack Carr led Fourth frame play featured 2-2 from the line and Ashlee stripe. Chloe Stout buried a A 28-21 margin went to ploded for three treys. Austin with a pair of baskets. Nick a 14-14 tie as the Oilers pre- Sosa hit a bucket. three with a two from Sosa and Woodward in the second. Jones added a three with 2-2 Kye Keyes led the way for the free throws by Church and a Dornon drained a trey with a served their one-point edge. A 10-2 run in the second put a free throw by A. Hartman. Big Elks burying a trey plus a field goal each from Dailey and deuce apiece by Jack Edler and Skelton led the way with two the Oilerettes in control. Ad- Macy Nightengale hit nine pair of deuces. Cooper Church Keyes. Coby Skelton. buckets and one from the line. dison Hartman led with a pair to lead the Lady Yellowjackets. worked an old fashioned Chavez tossed in 21 for Dornon and Justus buried a of baskets. Breegan Barnett Sosa took game high with a 3-point play plus a basket game high honors as he led The second went to Fairview trey apiece while Carr sank a added a three with a Jamie Pef- dozen. Others scoring for the while Caden Dunlap hit two buckets with a three from Coo- the Boomers. Dunlap led Elk 9-7. Hagen Justus buried a free throw. fer bucket and a gift shot by R. Oilerettes included: Pefffer-8, City with 16 and Dailey add- per Patton and a Blake Redd two and a three. Tristan Prator Pettus put in 13 to lead the Hartman. Merritt was up 21-8 A. Hartman-5, Pollard-5, R. field goal. The Boomers held a ed 10. Others scoring were; added a basket for the Oilers as Yellowjackets and all scorers. at halftime. Hartman-4, Porter-4, Bar- 46-25 bulge at halftime. Church-9, Keyes-9, Jones-3, they trailed 21-18 at halftime. Merritt had a balanced at- The third was more of the nett-3, Stout-3, and Frazier-2. Scoring slowed down in the Parron-3, Buie-2, and Redd-2. Sayre sweeps District There's still By Kerry Hookstra Cordell came to Jim Crabb Fieldhouse third. Crosby and Moler drained a trey each with a deuce from Merrick. The Blue Devils managed to lead the 2-2 at the line, and two deuces from Addi Mariano. Spieker hit two buckets with a three each from Arnold and Seymour. plenty to watch Feb. 18 for District action and the Ea- gles swept the Blue Devils. Sayre took the boys’ contest 53-39. The Lady Eagles fourth 12-10. Moler worked an old fash- ioned 3-point play for Sayre and Richard- son sank three from the line. Crosby sank Maecee Kirtley, Josie Merrick, and Zin- ser added a field goal apiece as the Lady Eagles held a 42-15 halftime bulge. as the Thunder claimed their seventh consecutive District title with a 69-36 decision. Eagles-Cordell 2-2 free throws with a basket from Mos- burg. Blaine Larson pumped in 15 for Cordell In the third Sayre led 19-9. Arnold worked an old fashioned 3-point play plus 2-2 at the charity stripe and a basket. Eas- enter season's Getting out to a 17-8 first quarter ad- vantage put Sayre in the driver’s seat. Clayton Mosburg led the attack with and led all scorers. Moler tossed down 14 to lead the Eagles. Mosburg added a dozen while Crosby and Richardson hit 10 ter and Kirtley tossed in a pair of buckets each with one apiece from Spieker and Zinser. stretch run three baskets. Caedyn Richardson drained each with seven from Merrick and one by Fourth frame action featured a 12-8 ad- Jesse Crittenden, Musk- particularly close to the NBA a trey and sank a free throw while Kolt Pierson. vantage for the Lady Blue Devils. Kirtley ogee Phoenix Play-in Tournament, either, as Merrick buried a three. Lake Crosby and Lady Eagles-Cordell paced the Lady Eagles sinking 2-2 free they sit 6.5 games back of the Walker Moler tossed in a basket apiece. Opening with a 17-5 first quarter run throws and a basket. Merrick and Gracee It’s not often the Oklahoma 10th seed. The Eagles prevailed 18-13 in the sec- gave Sayre control of the game. Makenna Myers added a bucket each. City Thunder isn’t fighting for They’re on track to miss the ond behind three buckets by Moler. Mos- Arnold buried a pair of treys to lead the Peyton Garrison and Renee Javor- playoff seeding after the All- playoffs for just the fourth burg went 2-2 at the line with a bucket. way. Claire Zinser sank 2-2 free throws sky tossed in a dozen apiece for Cordell. Star break. Richardson buried a three with a field goal plus a deuce. Bailey Seymour drained a Mariano led all scorers with 16 and Kirt- time in franchise history. With 24 games to go, the each from Crosby and Merrick plus a gift three with a basket apiece from Emily Eas- ley pumped in 10. Others scoring or Sayre Thunder (18-40) are sitting However, there’s still plenty of shot from Malik Pierson. Sayre was on top ter and Madi Spieker. included: Arnold-9, Spieker-8, Zinser-8, 10.5 games back of the eighth things to look for as the Thun- 35-21 at halftime. The offense stayed strong with a 25- Easter-6, Seymour-6, Merrick-4, and My- seed in the Western Confer- der enter the regular season’s An 8-6 margin went to the Eagles in the 10 explosion in the second behind a trey, ers-2. ence standings. They’re not stretch run. The Graham Jam Even LeBron is ‘Giddey’ for Thunder Rook By Graham Dudley NBA All-Star Weekend used to be appoint- streak, had the league taking notice. LeBron Giddey’s skillset would most come in handy, the ment viewing for Oklahoma City Thunder fans, James was highly complimentary when asked rooks weaved between three targets firing chest who for years could count on spectacular show- about the Thunder rookie, calling him “really, passes to rack up points. ings from the likes of Kevin Durant, Russell really, really good.” Team Rooks nearly won that passing compe- Westbrook and Paul George, who all frequently “He has a great pace about the game. Great tition, where Giddey again led his team, but appeared in the starting lineup. vision,” James said. “I’ve always loved pass-first ended tied with the Antetokounmpos who won It’s now been two years, though, since Chris guards who can see plays happen before they the challenge on a tie-breaker. Paul repped OKC by dropping 23 points off the happen, and Josh is one of those kids who could It was do-or-die for Team Rooks in the relay, bench in the game. definitely see the game a lot quicker than a lot of which featured shooting and dribbling obstacles Last season OKC’s contribution to the week- guys on the floor. up and down the court. Giddey ran the course end came on Friday night when Luguentz Dort “And he’s shown – I think he got like three first and helped his team finish with the best time, and Theo Maledon suited up for the World Team straight triple doubles – and he’s just been play- propelling Team Rooks to the final round. during the Rising Stars game. OKC was back at ing beautiful basketball.” The championship contest was simple: the Rising Stars last Friday, repped by teenage Giddey’s weekend wasn’t over after his stellar Whoever hit a half-court shot the fastest would Aussie Josh Giddey whose star was very much Rising Stars effort. On Saturday night, Giddey win. Giddey’s team did it in about 10 seconds, on the rise before the game with back-to-back-to- returned to the Cleveland court to compete in the courtesy of Cunningham. Josh Giddey warms up before playing back triple doubles the week before. Skills Challenge, which annually kicks off the Unfortunately, Team Cavs nailed the half- during the Rising Stars Challenge. (Kyle With the contest in a revamped format, Saturday slate before the famous 3-point contest court shot in just two attempts and walked away Terada-USA TODAY Sports ) Giddey suited up for a seven-player squad and dunk contest. Skills Competition champions. coached by Hall of Famer James Worthy. Giddey was paired with two other rookies, Still, Giddey’s weekend was impressive all Giddey, calling Presti the Thunder’s “MVP.” Giddey’s performance featured highs and lows; a Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Toronto’s around. He told the media it was “a dream” to be “I don’t understand this guy’s eye for talent,” flashy attempted assist off the backboard resulted Scottie Barnes, in a three-team competition involved in a competition he was watching on James said. “He drafted KD, Russ, Jeff Green, in a turnover, and Giddey missed two crucial free against the Antetokounmpo brothers and three TV just a year ago. Serge Ibaka, Reggie Jackson, Josh Giddey and throws that contributed to Team Worthy’s one- Cleveland Cavs. Team Rooks had to go first in “Every kid watches the All-Star Weekend and the list goes on and on and on. This guy is pretty point loss. each phase of the competition, a tough assign- wishes they could be in the actual event,” he said. damn good.” But Giddey also grabbed a gaudy nine ment, but nearly pulled out the victory anyway. Giddey is just the latest find from Thunder James’ comments were more than likely rebounds, by far the most on either team, and hit The challenge started with a shooting compe- general manager Sam Presti, who now looks pre- directed at his own embattled GM, the Lakers’ a long two-point jumper. He also led Team tition where Giddey posted a higher score than scient in what most considered to be a curious Rob Pelinka. But hey, Thunder fans can dream. Worthy with six assists. his teammates, despite his supposedly limited pick at No. 6 last summer. LeBron himself Maybe one day LeBron will be sharing the court Giddey’s performance, and triple-double range. During the passing contest, where brought that up on Saturday right after praising with Giddey rather than praising him from afar.