Runner-ups

By Brody Feldmann

Staff Writer

 

DEER CREEK- The Mustang Broncos girls basketball team competed in the Bruce Gray Invitational hosted at Deer Creek over the weekend. The Broncos finished as the tournament runner-up losing to host Deer Creek in the championship.

“When they shoot the ball like that they are as good as any team by far. They are already a good team but, when #23 shoots like that,” head coach Kevin Korstjens said.

Mustang defeated Bishop McGuinness 63-41 in the first round of the tournament on Thursday night. The Broncos had four in double digit scoring figures with Logan Haller leading the way with 14 points and added four rebounds.

The other three double digit scorers were Abby Niehues and Cur-Tiera Haywood with 11 points and Amber Metzinger added 10 points off of the bench.

Mustang had 10 turnovers in the game but the defense forced McGuinness into 17 turnovers of their own. The Broncos led 35-19 at halftime and held the lead for the remainder of the game as all of the bench players got playing time.

Between the Broncos and the Irish 25 players got playing time with 15 players scoring at least two points in the exhibition.

The Broncos (#15) upset the No. 10 Edmond Memorial Bulldogs 48-37 in the semifinal matchup on Friday to advance to the championship game of the Bruce Gray Invitational.

In the championship the Broncos faced off with the host No. 4 team in the state Deer Creek Antlers. The Antlers were just too much for the Broncos on this given day defeating Mustang 70-48.

Mustang’s Ellise Foreman (SO) was the only player in double digits with 15 points in the game. She was named to the All-Tournament team along with Haller.

“She (Foreman) was great that’s why they chose her for the All-Tournament team. Not only did she guard their best player but she carried so much of a load offensively. She is such a tough kid and she doesn’t make excuses just tries to find a way,” Korstjens said.

The Antlers forced Mustang into 13 turnovers while Mustang only forced the Antlers into eight turnovers. At halftime Deer Creek had built a 32-18 lead and never looked back. Both teams scored at least 30 in the second half with a 38-30 second half advantage to Deer Creek.

“Give them a lot of credit because they came out wanting to win this championship and we didn’t. We just rolled out careless and that’s what happens when you play a top team like them and you come out careless. You’re going to get kicked and we got our teeth kicked in,” Korstjens said.

Mustang defeated Edmond North last Tuesday night on the Huskies home court 55-52. The Broncos had to hold on late after building a 14 point halftime lead.

The Broncos play again on Friday night at Westmoore (#8) with the tip being scheduled for 6:00 P.M.

“Every coach is looking for consistency which is hard when you are dealing with high school kids. But we need to be a little more consistent especially with our focus and preparation. There is a small margin between us being a really good/great team and just an average team,” Korstjens said.