Vanoss girls survive late Latta charge

Mar. 2—CHICKASHA — While Vanoss head coach Jonathon Hurt was doing everything he could to avoid Elm Street, Latta head coach Clay Plunk had his team Daydream Believin'.

However, in the end, a gutsy fourth-quarter comeback by the Lady Panthers fell just short and Vanoss held on for a tense 32-28 victory in an edge-of-your-seat all-area clash Thursday at the Class 2A Area Tournament inside the Chickasha Activity Center.

No. 6 Vanoss improved to 26-4 on the year and played Walters — the team that sent them into consolation play in a 2A Regional Tournament contest — on Friday, while No. 18 Latta finishes its season at 17-12.

"I've been having nightmares about that team and obviously there's a reason why," Hurt told The Ada News following the game. "They've kept me up at night more than any team in my coaching career. Clay's done a great job with them and those kids played their butts off. They're tough kids. It sucks someone has to go home but they have a lot to be proud of and they have a good future in front of them."

Vanoss 32, Latta 28

After Caidence Cross hit a pair of free throws with 6:18 left in the game, Vanoss had built a 29-16 lead and it looked like Latta was on the verge of getting blown out.

That didn't happen. The Lady Panthers ratcheted up its defensive intensity and Vanoss managed just a single free throw over the next six-plus minutes. Latta went on a 12-1 surge and came ever-so-close to pulling off the upset.

Kate Williams hit a huge 3-pointer with 46 seconds left in the game for Latta to make it 30-28 and the Lady Panthers had several opportunities to tie the game or get the lead but couldn't get another shot or a pair of free throws to fall. In fact, Latta missed five free throws during the fourth-quarter resurgence and finished the game 10-of-17 from the line.

After Latta's final miss of the contest, Cross got free for a fast-break layup for the game's final points with four seconds left.

The first 11 minutes of the game were tight before Vanoss scored the final seven points of the second quarter to build a 19-10 halftime lead. Zoey Cagle started that spurt with a 3-pointer and Vanoss followed that with a basket inside by Avery Ellis and another fast-break layup by Cross.

The Lady Panthers struggled mightily offensively in the first half, finishing a cold 3-of-20 from the field.

Vanoss scored the first four points of the third period to stretch its lead to 23-10.

Until things got wild in the fourth quarter, Vanoss had played well defensively.

"The girls came out and did a great job of following the scouting report," Hurt said. "Late in the game it got real physical and they hit a couple of big shots. But for the most part, we did our jobs. We're a defensive team. We don't score a ton of points so we have to lock in on that end of the court."

Livi Ellis keyed the VHS defensive charge. She unofficially finished the game with 12 blocked shots to go with 13 rebounds for a double-double. She made 1-of-3 shots from beyond the arc.

"I'm on Livi all night long. I wish she was a little bit tougher on the offensive end. But the other part of that is she's a phenomenal shot blocker — one of the best-shot blockers in Oklahoma," Hurt said of his 5-10 sophomore. In a playoff matchup between Latta and Vanoss back in 2018, Emrie Ellis — the older sister of Livi and Avery who is currently a junior on the University of Arkansas women's basketball team — had 18 blocked shots in a win over the Panthers.

Avery Ellis finished with nine points to lead a balanced VHS offense. She also had six rebounds and swatted three shots before fouling out with 1:31 left in the game. Cross and Cagle followed with eight points apiece. Cagle hit a pair of first-half 3-point shots for Vanoss.

Eryn Khoury added four points for Vanoss and also fouled out late.

Hurt said Latta guards Jayse Smith and Kelby Parnacher can make life difficult on any play with their defensive talents.

"Zoey stepped up and hit some really big shots for us early and helped get some pressure off of us," Hurt said. "And Caidence had a big game. When you're going against those two guards — those are two of the best all-around guards you're going to see in Class 2A. I don't know any two guards that are as good as those two. Throw Caidence in there and those are three really dang good guards."

Smith, Parnacher and Savannah Senkel all scored seven points for the Lady Panthers. Jakobi Worcester scored just four points but made a 3-pointer to start the LHS comeback bid.

Vanoss made 9-of-14 free throws in the contest.