Lady Indians fall one win short of making state tournament

The Comanche Lady Indians left everything they had out on the floor in the area consolation finals against Bethel last Saturday in Ada. Unfortunately for Comanche they would come up two points and one win short of a trip to the state tournament as the Lady Wildcats won, 56-54.

With the exception of two ties early in the first quarter, Bethel led from start to finish. The Lady Indians never gave up, however, even when they were down double digits despite playing their fifth game in six days.

“They fought hard all night long,” said Megan Robbins, head coach. “That’s what makes me the most sick is just they fought so hard. There’s so many excuses that people could have made for them not to play hard. There’s just so many kids that would have checked out a long time ago. Even in this ball game when they got down, they didn’t quit. That just shows how gritty this team is and how badly they wanted it. It breaks your heart as a coach because you want it so bad for them.”

Robbins said she was proud of the team for their effort throughout the season whether it was games or practice.

“One through 16 has come every day to practice and did what we’ve asked them to do and that’s not easy, especially when you have a lot of girls out there,” Robbins said. “But, I’m just super proud of this team.”

The Lady Indians finish the season with a 21-6 record.

Bethel led 18-11 at the end of the first quarter and 26-18 at the half.

Comanche was able to slowly reel Bethel in during the second half, outscoring the Lady Wildcats 18-15 in the third to make it 41-36 heading into the final quarter. Bethel led by as many as 11 points in the third before Comanche closed out the quarter on a 10-6 run. Gracee Miller, who finished with 27 points even though she was playing with a blister on her foot, had her made shot at the buzzer waved off by referees for being late.

The Lady Indians stayed within striking distance in the fourth quarter, getting within three points three times in the first three minutes, but they could never get over the hump.

Bethel did a good job down the stretch hitting their free throws, while Comanche struggled at times. A day after going 16-of-17 in the fourth quarter, Comanche went 8-of-16 on Saturday.

The Lady Wildcats went up 56-51 with 12.6 seconds left in the game. With three seconds left, Comanche got a free-throw from Kynli Morris to cut the lead to 56-52. After getting the ball back, Kylie Roden’s putback made the final, 56-54.

Scoring

Comanche: Gracee Miller, 27; Kylie Roden, 8; Caity Blair, 8; Kenley Lemons, 6; Kynli Morris, 3

Bethel: Parker Stevenson, 25; Hannah Davidson, 11; Josie Meghee, 9; Brooklyn Duff, 7; Baylee Tapay, 4