Vanoss girls earn trip to 2A Area Tournament

Feb. 28—VANOSS — The sixth-ranked Vanoss Lady Wolves had their backs against the wall after dropping into the consolation portion of the Class 2A Regional Tournament and the Coalgate Lady Wildcats had the unenviable task of standing in their way.

Vanoss stormed past the Lady Wildcats 60-17 in a Class 2A Regional Tournament consolation championship game Saturday afternoon inside the Kenneth D. Smith Memorial Fieldhouse. Just 24 hours earlier, the Lady Wolves had pushed aside roadblock Hobart 52-29.

"Sometimes things don't work out like you want them to and how you respond to those things tells you a lot about your kids," Vanoss girls coach Jonathon Hurt told The Ada News following the win over Coalgate. "We have a good group of kids that work hard every day and want to win."

Vanoss heads to the Class 2A Area Tournament at Chickasha with a 25-4 record. Coalgate — which snagged a pair of impressive regional tournament victories over Apache (34-28) and Mangum (44-40) — finishes at 5-21. The Lady Wildcats started their playoff journey with a 59-26 loss to Vanoss in a Class 2A District Tournament contest.

Next up for the Lady Wolves is a battle with local rival Latta at 1 p.m. Thursday in Chickasha.

The Vanoss boys saw a rollercoaster season come to an end with a 54-46 loss to Mangum in a Class 2A Regional Tournament contest. The Wolves finished up at 15-13.

GIRLS

Vanoss 60, Coalgate 17

When very Ellis buried a 3-pointer off an assist from Zoey Cagle at the 4:37 mark of the second quarter, the Lady Wolves were already in control with a 20-6 lead.

Vanoss led 26-8 at halftime and kept pulling away in the second half. The Lady Wolves outscored Coalgate 17-5 in the third quarter and 17-4 in the fourth period.

Caidence Cross led the Vanoss attack with 15 points and also had four of 18 VHS steals in the game. Avery Ellis finished with 11 points and five steals. She finished 3-of-5 from 3-point range and took only two field goal attempts in the second half.

Eryn Khoury and Zoey Cagle scored eight points apiece for the hosts. Livi Ellis finished with five points, seven rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots for the Lady Wolves.

Vanoss made a total of 10 3-point baskets, including two by Cross. Veah Pierce, Maggie Stone, Cagle, Khoury and Livi Ellis all hit one 3-point shot.

Macy Delozier, Faith Grant and Jocelynne Lambert score four points each for Coalgate. Destiny Grant tracked down six rebounds for the Lady Wildcats.

Vanoss made 12-of-18 free shots and Coalgate went 7-of-12 from the line.

Vanoss 52, Hobart 29

The Lady Wolves buried the Lady Bearcats 16-2 to start the game and led 25-5 by halftime. Vanoss outscored Hobart 27-24 in the second half.

Avery Ellis erupted for a game-high 26 points to lead the VHS offense. She hit a pair of 3-pointers and made 10-of-14 free throws.

No other Vanoss player scored more than six.

Caidence Cross, Eryn Khoury and Zoey Cagle finished with six points each. Cagle sank a pair of triples and Cross made one 3-point bucket.

Reydan Salazar led the Lady Bearcats with nine points. Harper Talley hit a pair of 3-pointers for six points.

Vanoss made 19-of-36 free throws in the game and Hobart finished 11-of-20 from the charity stripe.

BOYS

Mangum 54, Vanoss 46

Mangum led just 16-14 after the first quarter but used a 23-12 surge in the second period to build a 39-27 halftime advantage.

Vanoss got within 45-36 heading into the fourth period and outscored the Tigers 10-9 in the fourth frame but couldn't make up the difference.

Logan Hulbutta paced the VHS offense with 15 points and Jarin Factor reached double figures with 12 points. Layne Thrower just missed double figures with nine points for the Wolves.

Remington Laughlin led all scorers with 26 points for the Tigers. He finished 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Colton Earls scored 18 points for Mangum. He hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished 8-of-10 from the line.

Vanoss made 4-of-4 free throws — all by Factor — and Mangume went 20-of-29 from the stripe.