Sports Minded: Passion, excitement in small school basketball

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Published on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 11:32

By Justin Ediger

A few weeks ago my column was about small school basketball and about how passionate the small schools are about their sports.  Specifically I spoke of how the small school state basketball tournament is a sight to behold.  Of course the state tournament only involves 8 teams from each classification so that means a team’s road to “The Big House” makes its way through district, regional and area tournament play.     

Last weekend I had the privilege of traveling to Okeene to cover both Merritt teams in the regional championships. Both took on Frontier with the winners advancing to the area tournament in Enid this coming weekend.  A win on Saturday night meant one victory away from making it to the field of 8 for next week’s state tournament.

From the minute my partner (Gabe Edney) and I walked into the Whippet gym Saturday you could tell it was playoff time.   With many years of broadcasting small school basketball under our belts, Gabe and I are well aware of the importance of getting to a school early.  You never know what the set up is going to be or what kind of creative thinking a guy is going to have to use in order to get a phone line from an outlet that is often in a coaches office to the broadcast booth that could be just about anywhere.  In general, small schools like Okeene aren’t used to us media types showing up. 

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Elk City to face Weatherford at home tonight

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Published on Friday, 17 February 2012 13:41

Mary Loveland
Daily Elk Citian

Elk City High School basketball teams are prepping for the start of playoff season. 

Both the boys and girls teams will play conference team, Weatherford, in the District game tonight in Elk City.

Districts are assigned by the OSSAA. There are 64 teams in class 4A and 32 District games to be played.

BOYS

The Big Elks have played the Weatherford Eagles three times so far this season.

“Weatherford is probably one of our biggest rivals to begin with,” Garrette Mantle, ECHS boys and girls head basketball coach, said. “It’s a team that traditionally is good at every sport and very competitive and it’s not different in basketball. They win a few, we win a few. It’s kind of like the North Carolina/Duke match up.”

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Big Elk wrestlers prepared to compete in Anadarko

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Published on Thursday, 16 February 2012 13:38

By Derek Brown
Daily Elk CItian

Seven Big Elk wrestlers will have a chance at furthering their wrestling season at the Regional Tournament in Anadarko.

On Friday and Saturday the Elk City wrestlers will be aiming at finishing in the top four of their divisions to keep their season alive and spring life into the State Tournament.

"They're excited and ready to go to Regionals," said Kevin Mincher, Elk City head coach. "The last 10 days they've been building up to this."

Elk City senior Hunter Christian is in the 113-pound weight class. Christian missed the State Tournament last year by one match and is looking to make it to Oklahoma City this season.

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Sports Minded: Thunder rolls

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Published on Wednesday, 15 February 2012 12:40

As an athlete, there’s nothing like having a chip on your shoulder.  You know…that feeling that you get no respect, that your opponent or so-called experts look at you as nothing more than a poser, a “wannabe.” If you’ve played any kind of sport you’ve probably experienced at one time or another.    

I’ve been following the Oklahoma City Thunder story since the moment Clay Bennett (an Oklahoma City good ‘ol boy) bought the Seattle SuperSonics.  You’ll remember that in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Hornets were transplanted in OKC as a temporary home while Louisiana and the rest of the Mississippi River delta recovered from one of the worst natural disasters in American history.  We as Oklahomans did what we do best.  We opened our arms, treated the organization like it was our own and proved to the rest of the world that Oklahomans supports our sports teams...even if they are only here for a little while.  We were ready to be a big big league state...we just had to convince the rest of the world.

Enter Clay Bennett.  The SuperSonics with then rookie Kevin Durant were dying on the vine in Seattle.  The city didn’t support them and ownership (Starbucks guru Howard Shultz) saw the writing on the wall.  Bennett and his contingency of Oklahoma financiers were more than happy to step in.   Predictably Super Sonic fans were up in arms and threw a virtual fit knowing that it was only a matter of time before their team would be moving to OKC.   Lack of voter suppor for a new arena in Seattle resulted in what SuperSonic fans had feared…a move to OKC and what an unbelievable move its turn out to be.

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9th grade Elkettes end the season

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Published on Wednesday, 15 February 2012 12:36

On February 9, the Elkettes played Duncan in the Anadarko Tournament. They were able to romp Duncan 41-5. All of Duncan’s points came in the second quarter. Mallory Luttrell led the way with 11 points. Randie Cheatham had 10, Whitney Brownfield scored six, Tristin Noyes chipped in five, Salina Salinas scored five, Jackie Cheatham and Michaela Spilinek both scored two.

The Elkettes played Lawton MacArthur on February 11. They were able to slip past them 24-23. Salinas led all scorers with 16 points. Randie Cheatham scored three, Luttrell had two, Noyes had two, and Jackie Cheatham scored one.

“What a way to end the 9th grade girl’s season. Two wins and a trophy in the Anadarko Tournament. We lost the first game to a real talented Lawton Eisenhower team who probably won the tournament.” said Jim Taylor, Elk City 9th grade coach.

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Woodward downs Elk City at home

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Published on Wednesday, 15 February 2012 12:31

Derek Brown
Daily Elk Citian

The Elkettes were hoping to end the regular season with a win over Woodward on Tuesday night.

On Senior Night Elk City hosted the Lady Boomers, but were unable to rally in the fourth quarter and fell 51-47.

"I just thought the girls defensively played uncanny," said Garrette Mantle, Elk City head coach. "We talked a little bit about how we wanted to defend and how we wanted to cover. Man we did a good job tonight."

The Elkettes trailed 49-47 with 51.9 seconds left to play. Mikayla Harrison drove into the paint and threw up a shot that would have tied the game with under a minute to go. Harrison's shot fell short.

"There are two periods of thought on that. One is to call timeout and set something up. But I'm thinking we've got a young lady that's averaging close to 20 points a game, and she has 24 that night. If she's free and able to get to the front of the rim you let her go," said Mantle. "She's made a bunch of those this year, and that one just didn't go in."

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Big Elks, Elkettes take on rival Woodward at home

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Published on Tuesday, 14 February 2012 12:27

Derek Brown
Daily Elk Citian

The Elkettes were able to get their first home win against Hobart last Friday night. The Elkettes look to make it two wins in a row on Senior Night against rival Woodward tonight.

Earlier in the season Elk City traveled to the Lady Boomers' gym and were defeated 60-54. 

"The last time we played them there I think it was a 20-point deficit with three or four minutes left to go. We were able to chisel away at it there in the end," said Garrette Mantle, Elk City head coach.

The Elkettes were led by a balanced scoring attack with Courtney Jacks leading the way with 15 points, Mikayla Harrison dropped in 14, and Erin Hutchinson chipped in 11 points. Elk City will hope for another successful offensive output.

"The increasingly tough part for us is what they do defensively. They're very tall," said Mantle.

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Clean Sweep: Elk City defeats Hobart at home

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Published on Monday, 13 February 2012 15:35

By Derek Brown
Daily Elk Citian

The Elkettes managed to get their first win in the Pioneer Center this season on Friday night.

Elk City hosted the Hobart Lady Bearcats in their third meeting. The Elkettes were beaten by Hobart twice this year before hosting the Lady Bearcats. 

The third game against Hobart the Elkettes hung on to a 23-15 lead at halftime and a 37-23 lead going into the fourth quarter to beat the Lady Bearcats 40-35.

"I think the big key in the game was Hobart only shoots 23 percent from the field. I'm telling you right now they've got a good offensive team. They've got four girls that can score," said Garrette Mantle, Elk City head coach. "This is a big win for us. One that we needed to get against a team that's beat us twice."

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