The Checotah Lady Wildcats ran into a buzz saw in the form of Adair Thursday at the Locust Grove basketball tournament. Adair used a highpressure defense and great ball movement and penetration to defeat Checotah 69-46 in a well-fought game.
Adair scored 21 points in the first period, outscoring Checotah 21-8. They added another 22 points in the second period to take a 43-23 halftime lead.
Ali Scherdtfeger was unstoppable for Adair as she finished with 34 total points. Checotah coach Wes Cloud ran multiple defenses trying to slow down Scherdtfeger but none was successful. Aiyana Brewer was the big scorer for Checotah. She finished with 13 points. The Lady Wildcats at times did a good job of moving the ball up court but turnovers played a factor. Ruby Folkner and Shyanne Madewell had multiple assists and Sidney Hamilton had a big game in the paint and in the baseline as she finished with seven points.
In Friday’s action the Lady Wildcats topped Inola JV 4937.
The Lady Wildcats had seven players score in the contest with three having double digits. Brewer had 14, Madewell 11 and Nyah Cloud added 12 points in the win. Checotah led 15 to 9 to start the second period where Inola battled back courageously scoring 14 points. But Checotah took a 30-23 lead into halftime and never trailed again in the Game.
In Saturday’s matchup with Hulbert in the consolation round, Checotah’s early start doomed Hulbert 56-41. Aiyana Brewer was stellar in the first half as she scored 16 total points. Shyanne Madewell played one of her best all around games with the sophomore scoring 10 points with seven assists and three rebounds. Hulbert failed to keep the Lady Wildcats out of the paint or taking the shooting lanes away.
Ruthie and Ruby Folkner combined for 16 points in the victory.
Lincoln surges in Fourth Period to edge Checotah 57-48
The Checotah Wildcats found themselves in a battle on Thursday at the Locust Grove Basketball tournament. The Wildcats drew Lincoln to start the opening round and saw their 3635 lead disappear. Lincoln led 15-14 after the first period and seemed to gain an upper hand in the second as they outscored Checotah 11-9 to take a 26-23 lead into the halftime break.
The Wildcats relied upon their punishing defense as RJ Womack and Tyler Orman forced several turnovers and Elijah Thomas snatched defensive rebounds. Aum Patel gave Checotah a spark with his scoring as he finished with a personal best 14 points. But Lincoln rallied the troops and outscored Checotah 22-12 in the final period to win the game.
Thomas led Checotah with 16 points, Patel 14, Orman eight and Womack added six points.
Wildcats win in dramatic fashion
Fans witnessed possibly the greatest comeback in high school sports as Checotah rallied to defeat the tournament hosting team, Locust Grove 49-47. It looked like the Locust Grove Pirates were going to sweep the Wildcats under the rug after scoring 20 points in the first period and holding Checotah to zero points. However, the Wildcats steadily chipped away at the lead as Elijah Thomas began to hit from the arch and the paint. R.J. Womack continues to be a presence under the goal as he out played the Locust Grove big men.
The Pirates were astonished as Checotah roared back with a 20-point period to trail 26-20 at halftime.
Both teams were shot for shot in the third period with Aum Patel hitting a couple of big shots. But it was the physicality of the game that leaned toward the Wildcats with Roman Chapman and Womack working hard on both ends of the court.
Checotah head coach Malcolm Warrior saw four of his players foul out in the second half and he made the adjustments.
It was the effort by the Wildcats that doomed Locust Grove as Elijah Thomas scored 18 points with nine points coming in the second half. Orman and Chapman combined for 13 points in the fourth period as Checotah held off the Pirates 49-47.
Checotah lost to Glenpool 46-42 on Saturday. Thomas led all scorers with 16 points. Orman had nine, Womack six and Weston Brown finished with seven points.
