GIRLS BASKETBALL: Claremore surrenders 42 turnovers, 22 offensive rebounds in 55-point loss to Sapulpa
Feb. 21—SAPULPA — Words like "dominant", "relentless" and "tenacious" come to mind as ways to describe Sapulpa's tyranny on the basketball court Tuesday night.
The defending Class 5A state champions methodically picked apart Claremore with an unstoppable offense and nonstop defensive pressure, grabbing 22 offensive rebounds while also forcing 42 turnovers in a 65-10 victory in Class 5A East Regional 5 on Tuesday at the Chieftain Center.
Of the nine Lady Chieftains to secure a rebound, five grabbed solely offensive boards. Tyla Heard and Nylia Reid snatched 5 apiece, and Makyia Lee seized 3 while Riki McQuarters and Wrigley Adkisson each grasped 2. Shay Koch (2), Kailynne Parker (1) and Caidrian Counts (1) also got their hands on offensive rebounds while Sapulpa recorded a team offensive board as well, outrebounding Claremore 32-17 overall.
The Lady Chieftains (19-5) scored the first 7 points of the game and never trailed, building a 17-4 lead going into the second quarter behind seven offensive rebounds and 11 takeaways. Heard was the primary beneficiary of those numbers, racking up 9 points and 3 offensive rebounds in the first period alone on the way to a 13-point, 5-rebound performance.
Things only got worse for the Lady Zebras (3-21) in the second, surrendering another 13 turnovers and 5 offensive boards as Sapulpa outscored them 22-2 en route to a 39-6 halftime lead. McQuarters scored 9 of her 16 points during that stretch.
The Lady Chieftains had 14 rebounds at the break, 12 of which were of the offensive variety.
Sapulpa scored 35-consecutive points during a run that spanned from the second period to the third, increasing its lead to 54-6 while taking advantage of 10 Claremore turnovers in the latter. Adkisson emerged as a significant scoring force during that stretch, tallying 9 of her 14 points in the third quarter.
Emoree Woody, who led the Lady Zebras with 6 points, finally broke the spurt with a free throw before hitting a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to make it a 56-10 spread heading into the final quarter. Annabelle Vanaman was Claremore's only other scorer, finishing with 4 points and 1 rebound, while Toney Gibson paced the team on the boards with 3 rebounds.
With both teams turning to their reserves for the remainder of the game, Sapulpa outscored the Lady Zebras 9-0 in the fourth period.
Claremore committed an additional 8 turnovers through those final eight minutes, bringing its total to 42. In comparison, the Lady Chieftains suffered only 10 giveaways, 4 of which came during the reserves-led fourth quarter.
The loss sent the Lady Zebras to the regional consolation bracket, where they will face Bishop Kelley at 2 p.m. Friday in an elimination game. They have already lost to the Lady Comets twice this season in district play by a combined score of 98-34.
