The Watonga Lady Eagles were held scoreless during the overtime period on Friday afternoon in Hennessey, ending their playoff run with a narrow 45-40 loss to the Merritt Oilerettes. “It was a very tough loss, I feel that if we were healthy, we would be in the state tournament,” Coach Lauren Campo said.
The contest, a rematch of the Regionals loss that sent Watonga to the consolation bracket, was close throughout and required extra time to decide a victor after Merritt turned the ball over before a last-second shot in the fourth, and Watonga’s heave from half-court fell short.
Aubrey Bridges finished with 14 points to lead the Lady Eagles, while Landri Hussey had 10 and Azha’Rae Richard scored eight.
Watonga and Merritt played it close through the first half, ending the first quarter knotted at 9 and heading to halftime with an 18-16 Merritt advantage.
In the third, Watonga grabbed the lead almost immediately. Bridges started the quarter with a 3-pointer to go up by one, then stole the ball on Merritt’s ensuing possession and returned it for an and-one bucket. Bridges sank the free throw, doubling her first-half scoring total of six points before a minute had passed in the third.
A Hussey 3 had Watonga up by six, at 25- 19, with about 5:30 to play.
That’s when Merritt made its move. Jamie Peffer nailed consecutive layups to narrow the Oilerretes’ deficit to two points; Watonga called a timeout to regroup.
Watonga’s Natalie Walker then took the ball and drove to the hoop for a layup, but crashed into an Oilerette underneath the basket. The refs ruled it a charge, sending the ball the other way. It proved a crucial possession, as Merritt’s Dayli Pollard sank a 3 on the other end to put Merritt back on top, 26-25. Merritt ended the third up 30-28.
Both teams struggled with turnovers in the fourth quarter, with errant passes mostly to blame, but the Lady Eagles still managed to add 12 points in the frame. That was largely due to good free-throw shooting, as the Oilerettes sent Watonga into the bonus, and then the double-bonus, while picking up fouls with aggressive defense far from the hoop.
Richard hit a huge 3 with just under five minutes to play, putting Watonga back on top. But Merritt retook the lead immediately at the charity stripe, 36-35.
The final regulation score came when Bridges intercepted a cross-court pass from the lane, rising up to snatch the ball out of the air and take it the other way. The possession ended with Hussey on the line, who sank one of two free throws to tie the score at 40.
In the overtime period, though, Watonga’s shooting dried up. Merritt earned all its points at the line, but Watonga couldn’t get back there and missed both from deep and from underneath the basket. Merritt’s Ashlee Sosa effectively iced the game with 25 seconds to play when two clutch free throws put the Oilerettes ahead 44-40.
“A big part of the game is not only those 32 minutes. But how you can form relationships off the court as well as battling through adversity-our seniors kept us together!” Campo said. She was “honored” to get to coach Hussey and Richard for the time she did.
The Watonga girls played one day longer than the boys, after defeating Cashion 53-47 on Thursday in the Areas opener. With Regionals pushed back by weather, the Lady Eagles played five games in seven days before bowing out of the playoffs.
Campo says the outlook for next season is very bright for her team, although they are losing the two crucial seniors. “We are still very young and have young bench players to step into bigger roles, and more minutes,” she said. Her goal is to have a good fundamental summer.
Eagles Fall to Am-Po On Thursday, March 3, the Watonga boys
On Thursday, March 3, the Watonga boys opened Areas with a 51-43 loss to Amber-Pocasset, ending their season despite another spectacular output from Deondre Dunn, who scored 25.
Watonga got down big early before coming back and taking the lead in the second quarter. It was Am-Po’s big fourth quarter, however, that allowed the Panthers to pull away while Watonga struggled with turnovers and foul troubles. “I just wish we’d had shot the ball a little better, especially after I saw the stats,” Coach Brandon Gallagher said.
Am-Po went up by double-digits quickly, 14-4, after scoring the first three baskets of the game and then nailing two 3-pointers. Gallagher called timeout at the 2:38 mark to try and stop the bleeding.
The pause worked, as Watonga finished the quarter down just 14-8 with no more points allowed.
In the second, the script flipped entirely as the Panthers were overwhelmed by a faster Eagles’ defense. Watonga started closing out with intensity, denying Am-Po the 3-point line, and the Panthers were stymied. They scored only one point, on a free throw, through nearly seven minutes of the quarter.
Dunn used the opportunity to tack on scores for the Eagles, including a 3, while Tuesday’s hero Devon Wilson got in on the scoring, too. By the time Am-Po called its second timeout of the quarter, Watonga had vaulted to an 18- 16 lead.
Am-Po settled down but took just a onepoint lead to the locker room at 19-18.
The Panthers had stretched their lead to two points, at 31-29, by the end of the third. The win was either team’s for the taking.
But a tough start to the fourth quarter ultimately doomed the Eagles.
The quarter started promisingly with a layup for Wilson, who finished with 15 points of his own on the day. But then in a matter of minutes, Am-Po hit two 3-pointers and tacked on four more points from the line. Coupled with a Watonga turnover on a fast break, the Eagles looked up to see themselves down by nine, 41- 32, with under five minutes to play.
The Eagles fought valiantly to narrow the lead, with Wilson hitting yet another 3 near the three-minute mark. But with 2:25 to play, Wilson fouled out and left the ballgame. The Eagles kept sending Am-Po to the line, and the Panthers kept delivering. Phoenix Whiteshirt also fouled out for Watonga just before the game concluded, and the final moments played out undramatically as Am-Po cruised to a comfortable eight-point win. “Sometimes that’s basketball. I thought we played hard and gave ourselves a chance, we just didn’t quite get it done,” Gallagher said.
The Eagles are excited for the future in spite of the difficult loss. “We’re always gonna be pretty competitive around here … we’re ready to get back to work. You know sometimes you gotta take a step back, but we’re excited about what’s coming in the future,” Gallagher said about upcoming seasons.
Gallagher’s five senior players all influenced this season and team one way or another, through big plays and always showing up ready to work. “We’re definitely gonna miss ‘em,” Gallagher said. It was a successful season for Gallagher and the Eagles. “We were able to win 21 games, win a couple of tournaments, get to the area tournament,” Gallagher said.”
The Eagles finished their season just three wins away from the Big House, while the Lady Eagles were two wins away.