NORMAN – Despite an uneven first half Putnam City West routed Bixby, 45-22, Wednesday (March 6) in the Class 6A girls state tournament at Lloyd Noble Center.

The Lady Patriots (25-1) never trailed, sprinting out to a 17-2 lead after one quarter. The Lady Spartans (21-8) outscored West in the second quarter as neither offense could get going. West hit 2-of-12 from the field in that quarter.

Despite the uneven offensive performance Putnam City West coach Ja’Ron Jefferson believes defense is a key for his team.

“We hang our hats on our defensive end because that’s where it’s going to start for us, always,” Jefferson said. “Offensively, we kind of get teams going zone, so it kind of starts slow.

“But defensively, we can speed people up, get stops. We can get what we want in transition.”

West scored 24 of its points from Bixby turnovers and outscored the Lady Spartans on the fast break, 13-2.

West extended the lead in the second half, holding Bixby to single digits in each quarter of the game.

“Shots wasn’t following (early),” West sophomore Jayla Constant said. “So we just had to go to the bucket and just trust our layups.”

West had three players in double figures with Constant scoring a game-high 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting. She also had five assists. Fellow sophomore Da’Nae Jefferson added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Another sophomore, Kiana Gray also scored 10 points, hitting 4-of-7 from the field including two 3-pointers. Gray also collected three steals.

Senior Caya Smith, an Oklahoma commit, returned after missing the Area title game with a concussion. Smith, a several other players were involved in an automobile accident last Wednesday after joining legendary broadcaster John Brooks and Putnam City District Athletic Director Dick Balenseifen on their weekly high school sports show which airs on KGHM (1340 The Game).

Smith was the only player to miss any games due to the accident.

She finished with six points, five rebounds and three steals.

UP NEXT: West meets Owasso, who beat Putnam City North Wednesday, 54-38.

“Good shooters, good size,” Jefferson said of Owasso. “We just gotta be disciplined.”

Smith admits that she may be “cocky” but she believes her team has an edge.

“I don’t think anyone can stick with our defense for 32 minutes,” Smith

The state semifinal matchup is Friday (March 8) at 6 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	F
Bixby	2	8	8	4	22
Putnam City West	17	4	12	12	45