Webbers Falls beats district rival Keota twice
In two great Class A district matchups, both Webbers Falls basketball teams won handily Friday at home, beating long-time district rival Keota.
WEBBERS FALLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
In two great Class A district matchups, both Webbers Falls basketball teams won handily Friday at home, beating long-time district rival Keota.
WEBBERS FALLS 39, KEOTA 30
The Webbers Falls Lady Warriors (11-2) handed the 19th-ranked Keota Lady Lions (10-1) their first loss of the season with a 39-30 decision.
In the first quarter, Webbers Falls’ defense showed up and held Keota’s offense to just two buckets, while the Lady Warriors poured in 10 points. Anistyn Garner and Bridgette Baer made five points apiece to give the Lady Warriors an early eight-point advantage.
The Lady Lions staged a comeback in the second stanza, with star Saylee Smith getting some traction, making nine of Keota’s 12 points to cut into the Lady Warriors’ lead for a 21-16 score by halftime.
Webbers Falls started the second half strong, making 18 points on long-distance shooting success from Garner, who drained a pair of buckets from beyond the three-point arc for the majority of her eight points in the third period. The Lady Lions weren’t able to keep up, scoring 14 points, led by Smith’s 11 in the quarter.
Webbers Falls owned a 39-30 advantage to start the final frame, but it was too much for Keota to overcome, even with a 20-point outburst from Saylee Smith (11) and Chloee Smith (9).
But the Lady Lions were a little too aggressive in the eyes of the officials in the last quarter, because all but three of Webbers Falls’ 17 points came from the foul line, the lone exception coming from a three-pointer by Teralynn Colston.
The game’s top scorer was Keota’s Saylee Smith with 33 points, and Garner registered 25 points for Webbers Falls, followed by Colston with 13 points.
KEOTA 4 12 14 10 –50 WEBBERS FALLS 10 11 18 17 –56 WEBBERS FALLS – Anistyn Garner 25, Teralynn Colston 13, Bridgette Baer 12, Samantha Grithith 3, Abby Pense 3.
WEBBERS FALLS 44, KEOTA 34 Webbers Falls jumped out to an early lead to subdue Keota, and the Warriors limited any comeback the Lions might have mounted to record a 44-34 district victory.
In the first quarter, Stryker Chappell was on fire for the Warriors, scoring all of Webbers Falls’ eight points, which was enough to give the Warriors a onepoint lead by the end of the period.
Webbers Falls gave itself a cushion in the second stanza, as Chappell added five more points to go along with Luke Pierce’s two three-pointers for the majority of the Warriors’ 15 points in the quarter for a 23-12 count going into the locker rooms.
In the third period, Caden Dishman got on the board with two buckets for the Warriors, and Jaxon Swearingen’s five points helped Webbers Falls (6-7) build a 35-23 lead.
Going into the final frame, the Warriors made 9 of 13 free throws to hold the Lions at bay.
The Lions (4-6) managed an 11-point, last-ditch effort that was too little too late for Keota.
Chappell claimed game-high scoring honors with 15 points, while Gunner Hill had 13 points to pace Keota.
KEOTA 7 5 11 11 –34 WEBBERS FALLS 8 15 12 9 –44 WEBBERS FALLS – Stryker Chappell 15, Luke Pierce 9, Jaxon Swearingen 9, Caden Dishman 7, Maddux Shelby 4.
