Lady Indians get first win as Comanche hosts "Pink Out" game

The memory of Athena Strand was honored at the Comanche and Newcastle “Pink Out” game held Tuesday night.

Both teams and fans from both sides participated in the special night. Comanche players wore “J4A” (Justice for Athena) t-shirts, Newcastle cheerleaders had pink bows in their hair, Comanche cheerleaders had pink pom-pom, the referees wore pink wristbands and many Newcastle players wore pink socks.

Donations and a cupcake sale raised more than $1,700 for the family for funeral expenses for the Comanche 7-year-old killed in Texas last week.

Lady Indians 58

Lady Racers 13

The Comanche girls picked up their first win of the season in grand fashion, routing visiting Newcastle,

After not hitting a single three-pointer in a loss to Chickasha on Friday night, the Lady Indians knocked down seven against Chickasha, building a 22-1 lead before the Lady Racers knew what had hit them.

“We didn’t have a come to Jesus meeting or anything like that,” said Megan Robbins, head coach. “It’s like I keep telling them, we have a lot of kids who haven’t been in the fire. It’s so much more about the whole year. It’s not about where we started. It’s just about getting a little bit more comfortable out there and getting their feet a little more underneath them. The game is slowing down a little bit now that they’re getting playing time. It’s going to be a work in progress.”

That includes knocking down three-pointers, where Robbins said goes right along with the overall game.

“We had more rhythm shots,” Robbins said. “We were able to drive and kick out like we like to do. We didn’t have to force it as much.”

Comanche (1-2) went on to take a 28-5 halftime lead. Six of the seven three-pointers hit in the game by Comanche game in the first half.

Newcastle (1-1) would not hit double digits until the fourth quarter.

Eight Lady Indians finished in the scoring column, led by Gracee Miller with 20 points. Kylie Roden and Kamrey Rendon also finished in double digits with 10 points each. Braylie Harris was next with six points. Kynli Morris, Jentry Whaley and Jaylee Roebuck had four points each and Brilee Combs had two.

Bella Allen had five to lead Newcastle.

Racers 72

Indians 43

A relentless and athletic Newcastle team broke open a close game in the second quarter and never slowed down as the Racers handed Comanche its first loss of the season.

The game went back-and-forth in the early going with Comanche’s Briar Blair and Newcastle’s Sucharda leading their teams. Blair scored seven of his team-high 13 points in the quarter as he maneuvered his way through the Newcastle defense for lay-up attempts. Sucharda had six points for the Racers in the first quarter, but was just getting started as he ended the game with a game-high 25 point in three quarters worth of work.

Newcastle led 16-13 at the end of the first quarter and then took a 37-28 lead at the half as they opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run.

Comanche’s scoring slowed in the third quarter, putting up eight points, while Newcastle scored 20 to take a 57-37 lead into the final quarter.

Gunner King was the second leading scorer for Comanche with nine points. He was followed by Hunter Lassley and Dillon Ellis with six points, Corbin Bowen with four points and Myles Ellis with three points.