OKLAHOMA CITY — Putnam City West’s girls basketball team played with more energy than in the past and made 6A power Mustang work a bit Tuesday (Feb. 3), but the Broncos had more firepower and picked up a 66-27 win in 6A-1 action.

West stayed relatively close to the Broncos early but by the end of the first quarter, the deficit was 10 and by halftime, Mustang led 33-18.

The Patriots were held to single-digit scoring in each quarter and the Broncos had three players score in double figures.

Putnam City West coach Kennedi Simien was pleased with the progression she’s seen from her team. Simien said she is looking for her players to learn from their mistakes.

“I think they did really, really well up until that fourth quarter,” Simien said. “I think we just got a little gassed.”

The Patriots were held to just three points in the final period.

West was more active on the floor and on the boards, something Simien has preached to her team. The squad recently moved to a 2-3 zone defense.

“It works out better for us. 
We would get beat a lot on rebounds. This helped us rebound a lot better.

Mustang senior Mya Alston wouldn’t be denied her points, however. Alston, a Quinnipiac University signee, scored eight points each in both the second and third quarters. She finished with 20 points, including two 3-pointers.

Bronco freshman Sionna Williams added 13 points and junior Lovely Haywood scored 12.

West senior guard Kimya Bullard paced her team with 12 points. Bullard scored seven of her total in the second quarter, trying to keep the Patriots close. She also hit two treys.

Sophomore Victoria Martinez added seven points.

Turnovers plagued West and Simien said the lack of ball handlers poses a problem.

“There are a lot of girls that aren’t comfortable with the ball in their hands,” Simien said. “So when teams go man-to-man against us, we struggle. And when teams adjust, or switch defenses, we kind of just freak out.”

Late in the game, with the Mustang win well in hand, Simien said she backed off the strategy and sets to let her team play.

“To be honest, that was the first time all season long where they just played basketball and tried to think like basketball players.”

Simien praised freshman Franny Vasquez Gramajo, who also plays soccer. The tempo is slightly different in that sport with jogging at times. Simien said she challenged her to pick up the pace

“You can’t have that (jogging). You’ve got to fly around the floor. You’ve got to be big. 
You got to get rebounds. You’ve got to be confident. We need you to be aggressive offensively,” Simien said. “I think today she really took that head on and she performed early.”

UP NEXT

West (2-17, 0-10) travels to Choctaw (15-5, 8-2) Friday (Feb. 6) at 6 p.m. in another 6A-1 game.

The Yellowjackets fell to Norman North, 49-43, Tuesday.

Choctaw routed West, 79-18, on Dec. 19.

	1	2	3	4	F
Mustang (12-5, 7-2)	19	14	18	15	66
Putnam City West (2-17, 0-10)	9	9	6	3	27