Carl Albert girls cruise to state
Carl Albert senior Ariana Diaz (20) shoots a layup against Glenpool during a Class 5A girls Area championship at Edmond North High School on March 2. The Titans won the game 71-36 and advanced to the state tournament for the third year in a row. Photo by Jeff Harrison
By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon
EDMOND – The Carl Albert girls basketball team was reeling in the final weeks of the regular season.
In the postseason, they’re rolling.
The Titans (21-5) were in top form last Thursday as they throttled Glenpool 71-36 in the Class 5A Area finals at Edmond North’s Siberian Gym. Carl Albert went up by double digits in the second quarter and never let up the defensive pressure.
“We played well offensively, and that was one of the best defensive performances I’ve seen in a long time,” coach Kyle Richey said. “The past couple weeks we’ve tried to clean up the defensive end and the rebounding and it’s paid off.”
The win sends the Carl Albert girls to the 5A state tournament for the third year in a row. They will face Tulsa Will Rogers at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.
Carl Albert’s girls are looking to make a title run after losing in the first round the past two seasons.
“We just need to stay focused and locked in and know when to attack,” said senior guard Ariana Diaz. “I feel like the last couple of years we lost our focus.”
The Titans took charge early against the Warriors (18-9). They started the game with three 3-pointers and took a 19-10 lead. That margin grew to double digits in the second. Kennedy Cofer scored back-to-back baskets for a 28-16 lead and later hit a 3-pointer to make it 33-29 at halftime.
“We hit those three 3s to jump on them quick and our girls were in the zone,” Richey said. “They came at us in a man defense, and we thought we could find some avenues to the basket, and it worked.”
That pace continued in the second half.
Ausha Moore scored six points in the third, including a basket at the buzzer for a 53-30 lead. Audrey Plunkett and Cofer each knocked down a trey in the fourth for the 71-36 win.
Cofer led the Titans with 18 points and three 3-pointers. Plunkett finished with 17 points and Skylar Anderson added nine in the win.
Glenpool advanced to the 5A state tournament on Saturday with a 61-52 win against Guthrie in the Area consolation finals.
The Carl Albert girls basketball team receives the Area championship plaque from Edmond North athletic director Kent Douglas. Photo by Jeff Harrison
The Carl Albert High School basketball team beat Glenpool 71-36 last Thursday night in the Class 5A Area championship game at Edmond North High School. Photo by Jeff Harrison
