The Lady Redskins met the Marlow Outlaws on March 6, 2021 at the Area Tournament. The Lady Redskins won the tournament hosted at Ada High School and are State Tournament Bound. Coach Chad Rumer and the Kingston Lady Redskins defeated Marlow and advanced to the State Tournament.
With the final score of 34 to 27 shows just what a difference twenty-four hours makes. The Lady Redskins were defeated by # 2 Jones, knowing that all they needed was a win against Marlow. They had beaten the Lady Outlaws soundly back in January in the New Years Classic. It was far from easy, they put up a fight, this time.
At the tip-off the fans, parents, and obviously the players seemed a little nervous, but everyone was cautiously optimistic. From the tip-off until the final buzzer, it was an all-out battle. Avri Weeks reported she was feeling better after playing thru illness in the prior contest. Ryan Herndon was doing her best to keep everyone loose. Emi O’Steen, Kamry Bohannon and Raegan Davis all looked a little tense. Maybe they sensed what a battle it would be.
It was a tough and physical game. Every trip down court someone was going to pick themselves up off the floor. Both teams were really locked in, especially on the defensive end of the court. It turned into a rough and tumble, sloppy quarter. Weeks got to the line but missed both attempts. After the buzzer, the score was 4 to 0 in favor of the Lady Outlaws.
In the second, Bohannon got inside and had two buckets. Weeks was covered up in a double team. She managed a bucket and was 3 of 4 from the line. Raegan Davis began to get in foul trouble, and Kaya Wiebener subbed in for her. At the 5:30 mark, the score was now tied, 6 to 6. Emi O’Steen managed a free throw. The score going into the locker room was 12 to 10 in Marlow’s favor.
In the previous quarter, the Lady Outlaws had managed a couple of threepointers. They tried sticking to that strategy for the second half. Starting in the third, they started a barrage of long-range shots. They only managed to connect on one of them. They also had a twopoint field goal.
That was it, five points total. Meanwhile, on the other end of the court, Weeks had a bucket and was 1 of 3 from the line. Her free throws were falling short.
The fatigue appeared to be setting in. At this point she had not left the floor, nor would she. Bohannon was picking up the slack and had two buckets on drives. She was fouled and hit her one attempt. Davis was back in and had a bucket. The Lady Redskins had recovered the lead, 20 to 17.
In the fourth quarter, Bohannon kept attacking the basket and getting to the line. It seemed to be taking a toll on her physically. After one foul, she struggled to get up after going hard into the base of the goal. Her teammates helped her up and she struggled to get to the line. She was 1 of 2. O’Steen was fouled and on the one and one attempt, hit them both. She later had a bucket and another free throw.
Weeks was still battling away and helping get the ball up court when the Lady Outlaws tried to press. She was 1 of 4 from the line. Late in the quarter, Herndon hit a layup and was 1 of 2 from the line. Taking the win of 34 to 27, the Lady Redskins are state tourney bound.
Box score: Bohannon lead the team with 14 points, she was 6 of 10 from the line. Weeks was next with nine points. She was 5 of 13 from the line. O’Steen had six points and went 4 of 6 from the line. Herndon had three points and was 1 of 2 from the line, and Davis had two points. As a team, from the free throw line, 16 of 31 for 52 %. Also getting minutes were Wiebner and French.
Rumer said he was not even sure the teams would even get a basketball season.
“In August, I wasn’t sure we would even have a season,” he said. “Some teams in the state did not play a game until January.”
Even though the past two years will be remembered as the Covid-19 years, 2021 will be remembered as the third appearance at the “Big House” for this class of seniors. It will be the fourth for the program. Congratulations to Coach Rumer and the Lady Redskins. The next time they hit the floor will be on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. at the Big House in OKC. Good luck girls.