Lady Bulldogs Come Up Short Against Tough Ada Defense
Last week’s snowstorm threw a major kink into Sulphur High School’s basketball plans, forcing the Bulldogs into playing six games in the last seven days.
The Dogs (4-4) lost a nail-bitter to Ada on January 7, then were scheduled to play in the Charles K. Heatly tournament in Lindsay two days later. Those plans were dashed, however, as Mother Nature intervened with about10 inches of snow Thursday.
The Dogs managed to get in one game of the tournament last Saturday and were scheduled to compete in the tournament’s second round on Monday, and the final round on Wednesday of this week. In between, they had their regular schedule of games on Tuesday and Friday to complete.
Starting off on January 7, the Dogs lost to Ada by three in a very tough environment (52-49), then got a much needed win January 11 against Duncan (57-47) in the first round of the Lindsay tournament. Then, they faced off with Chickasha on Monday, Jan. 13 in the second round of the tournament and won by 17,and were scheduled to meet Silo in a Tuesday evening regular season game. They will play in the finals of the Lindsay tournament on Wednesday, and will end the brutal stretch on Friday at Byng in a regular season game.
Head Sulphur coach Grant Bates said the Dogs played well against Ada, but fell short on the boards and that was the difference in the game.
“We have taken that as a challenge moving forward and my vision is we turn that weakness into one of our strengths,” said Bates.
The Dogs had their chances, but Bates said Ada is a very tough playing environment.
“Through my experience playing vs Ada at Ada, it’s always tough to come out of there with a win. We came out and had a good 2nd quarter and were able to take a 7-point lead going into the half. We held on through the 3rd but late in the 4th quarter they took the lead and it was a back and forth exchange until the end with them ending up coming out on top.”
The Dog’s Bridge Barrett (23 points) and Devin Willis (19 points) led the team in scoring.
Ada got out to a one-point lead after the first period, 15-14, but the Dogs stormed back, taking advantage of five Cougar turnovers in the second period and took a 28-21 lead into halftime.
The Cougars responded with an 11-2 run in the third quarter and led at the halfway point of third quarter, 35-34.
Despite trailing 45-41 with 5:43 to play, the Dog’s Barrett drilled a jumper from the free-throw line and Noah Carr sank a pair of clutch free throws to tie the game at 49.
However, the Cougars hit a layup and a free throw to seal the deal at the end.
In their 10-point win over Duncan in the Lindsay tournament’s first round last Saturday, Bates said the Dogs made some key adjustments at half that helped in the 57-47 win.
“I thought Duncan did a great job of mixing in and out of different defenses early in the game that got us off to a slow start,” said Bates. “Our guys were able to make the necessary in-game adjustments at half time to come out and have a huge 3rd quarter to turn the game into our favor. Duncan battled until the end but we were able to hang on and win. I was particularly proud of our guys ability to not panic, stay the course, and find a way to win.”
Again, it was Bridge Barrett and Devin Willis leading the team in scoring. Barrett pumped in 23 and Willis 19 in the winning effort.
Sulphur 22, Ada 39
In girl’s action, the Lady Bulldogs suffered through a scoreless second quarter that allowed Ada to break open a close game and win by double digits, 39-22.
Hailey Beesley led the Lady Bulldogs with 13 points and eight rebounds. Jayden Lee scored just four points but also had eight boards and four steals.
According to reports, there were 51 turnovers in the game, 30 by Sulphur and 21 by Ada.
