BETHANY – The Bethany Lady Bronchos lost their first game in nearly 11 months, falling to Kingfisher, 54-44, Tuesday (Dec. 10) in a Western Athletic Conference contest and Bethany’s opener.
The loss was the first one for the defending Class 4A State Champions and fifth-ranked Lady Bronchos since Jan. 15 when Bethany lost to nationally-ranked Morris Catholic in the Washington, D.C. area.
The Lady Bronchos’ inexperience and first-game jitters were a factor as turnovers and poor shooting doomed Bethany.
Lady Broncho coach Eric Sailer pointed out the sixth-ranked Kingfisher (3-0) will be one of the top teams in 4A and had played three games. Bethany (0-1) was making its season debut with only one player with “major varsity minutes” in senior Kayten Donley, an Oral Roberts signee.
With Oklahoma signee Keziah Lofton out due to injury, Zya Vann now at OU and sister Talia Vann now at Grind Prep, Bethany had plenty of new faces.
“So, you had seven other girls that were put in a new role in front of this type of atmosphere, which is a great atmosphere,” Sailer said.
Sailer drew on his past experience as a 6A coach and said the packed gym for the contest was a good experience despite the loss.
“When you can come to Bethany in a 4A school and you can pack out the place, those, those are great moments,” Sailer said. “Those are games that you want to be involved in”
After a back-and-forth first half, the visiting Lady Jackets took the lead for good late in the second quarter and held a four-point lead at halftime.
Donley and the Lady Bronchos stayed within a couple of buckets for most of the third quarter until Kingfisher freshman Ela Hartman drilled a 3-pointer to make it 39-34 with 1:32 left in the third quarter.
From there, the Lady Jackets began to extend the lead as junior Reese Roof (who had been held to two points in the first half), hit three treys in the second half (and finished with 12 points) to help Kingfisher pull away.
The Lady Jackets had two other players in double figures junior Abbie Myers scoring a game-high 23 points and Hartman finishing with 13.
“We’ve got to do a better job of not turning the ball over. I thought we had some poor passes, some not the best decisions on when to drive and when to kick the ball,” Sailer said. “We have to have better court vision of moving the ball so that we can get open shots.”
Sailer said some offensive scheme adjustments were needed as well as well as defensive intensity on the full court press.
Donley led the Lady Bronchos with 19 points, including nine points in the third quarter to keep Bethany close.
“(Donley) did a really good job of stepping up, making sure that she’s getting her shots and going to the boards hard, trying to get rebounds for putbacks,” Sailer said.
Sophomore Camryn Regier added 13 points.
Sailer praised junior Reese Harris for containing Roof for most of the game.
Junior Madison Bibbs also drew praise. In the first quarter, Bibbs came off the bench, got a steal and a easy layup to retake the lead in a tight contest.
“(Bibbs) played some really good defense, defensive minutes for us, was able to get ball touches for rebounds,” Sailer said.
WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDINGS
| OVERALL RECORD | CONFERENCE RECORD | |
|---|---|---|
| Kingfisher | 3-0 | 1-0 |
| Newcastle | 3-0 | 1-0 |
| Anadarko | 3-0 | 1-0 |
| Tuttle | 2-0 | 1-0 |
| Chickasha | 2-1 | 1-1 |
| Weatherford | 2-0 | 0-0 |
| Blanchard | 1-2 | 0-1 |
| Elk City | 0-2 | 0-1 |
| Bethany | 0-1 | 0-1 |
| Cache | 0-3 | 0-2 |
| Clinton | 0-4 | 0-2 |
UP NEXT
The Lady Bronchos will get plenty of game action, playing in the Alva Shootout which begins Thursday at 11 a.m. Bethany will meet fellow conference member Clinton (0-4).
If Bethany wins, they would play the winner of 6A Deer Creek and host Alva (a 3A school) Friday. Should Bethany make it to the title game, Saturday they could get a rematch with Kingfisher, who is on the other side of the bracket.
“In order to, make progress, you’ve got to have those opportunities and they gotta be game-like, and so, we’re going to have a great opportunity,” Sailer said as the Lady Bronchos will play five games over an eight-day span. “Those are going to be great opportunities for us to learn and move forward.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingfisher (3-0) | 13 | 16 | 10 | 15 | 54 |
| Bethany (0-1) | 14 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 44 |
BETHANY – Kayten Donley 19, Camryn Regier 13, Ali Linn 6, Maddison Bibbs 2, Reese Harris 2, Lauren Koonce 2.
Photographs courtesy of Kristie Escoe of Life in Action Photography.
West Metro Sports 