Lady Tigers win Ketchum Tournament, Tigers finish 4th

The Central Lady Tigers came home Ketchum Tournament champions Saturday night after defeating former Sallisaw boys basketball coach Chadd Gehrke’s Chouteau-Mazie Lady Wildcats 49-38 in the title game. The Lady Tigers reached the finals with a 58-22 opening-round rout of Oklahoma Union on Thursday and a 51-44 semifinal victory over Salina on Friday.

The Tigers were fourth in the tournament after losing 62-44 to Fairland in the third-place game on Saturday. The Tigers opened the tournament with a 55-47 win over Chouteau-Mazie on Thursday but lost 55-47 to Ketchum in Friday’s semifinals.

In the girls’ title game, the Lady Tigers (13-3) raced out to a 23-7 lead after the first quarter and were never headed.

For the game, Haley Cheek, the tournament’s girls Most Valuable Player, scored a gamehigh 22 points to lead Central, followed by all-tournament team member Hadlie Woods with 12 points, Cambree Bair with eight points and Paris Campbell with seven points.

In the girls’ semifinals, the Lady Tigers doubled the Lady Wildcats 16-8 in the first quarter en route to a 29-21 halftime advantage and a 39-35 lead going into the final period.

For the game, Cheek scored a gamehigh 20 points to lead Central, followed by Woods with 19 points, Ayrland Jiles with six points, Campbell with four points and Cheyenne Busch with a free throw.

In the girls’ opening-round game, the Lady Tigers jumped out to a 15-10 lead after the opening period, but they outscored the Lady Cougars 43-14 over the final three quarters to win going away.

For the game, Central put a trio of players into double figures, led by Woods with a game-high 14 points, followed by Jiles with 12 points and Cheek with 11 points. Bair scored eight points, followed by Charlie Petree with six points and Campbell with five points.

In the boys’ third-place game, the Tigers (10-6) fell behind the Owls 16-11 after a quarter as Fairland upped its lead to 29-19 at halftime and 48-32 after three periods.

In defeat, Aidan Sainer scored 15 points and Josh Brunk and Noan Buzzard each scored 10 points to pace Central, followed by Nathan Vann and Gavin Randolph with three points each, Paitton Merrill with two points and Jake Woods with a free throw.

In the boys’ semifinals, the host Warriors jumped out to a 16-9 lead after a quarter en route to a 28-21 halftime advantage and a 37-29 lead going into the final period.

In defeat, Brunk scored a game-high 21 points to lead Central, followed by Sainer with 12 points, Randolph with six points, Merrill with four points and Hardy Buzzard and Noah Buzzard with two points apiece.

In the boys’ opening-round game, the Tigers broke a 35-all tie after three quarters by outscoring the Wildcats 20-10 in the final period for the win.

For the game, Braxin Goodson scored a game-high 18 points and Sainer added 14 points to lead Central, followed by Hardy Buzzard with seven points, Merrill with five points, Woods and Hardy Buzzard with four pints each and Randolph with three points.