Del City girls’ tournament run ends in semifinals

By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon

NORMAN — Del City’s girls pulled off one comeback win in the Class 5A state tournament.

But they couldn’t quite do it again Friday afternoon against Carl Albert in the semifinals.

The Lady Eagles started slow and struggled offensively in a 58-43 loss to their Mid-Del rivals at Lloyd Noble Center.

Jakary Brown sparked the Lady Titans early with 10 points in the first quarter as Carl Albert took a 14-9 lead. The margin continued to grow as Del City trailed 27-19 at halftime and 40-27 after three quarters.

The Lady Eagles offense finally heated up in the fourth quarter with several fast-break opportunities. Jaciah McCalister hit a layup with 4:31 remaining to cut the deficit to 12, but Del City would not get any closer.

“We got out to a slow start. We could just never get ourselves out of the hole,” Del City coach Mariah White said. “But even when it got down, they kept fighting. Even with 20 seconds left on the clock, I seen Sasha [Hunt] still playing defense. That’s what it’s about. No matter what the scoreboard looks like, you got to play.”

Kamyiah Morgan paced the Lady Eagles with 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Sacha Hunt had nine points and Saniya Bonds scored eight.
Brown led Carl Albert with 19 points.

Del City struggled offensively throughout the game, shooting just 26.8 percent from the field (15 of 56). Carl Albert shot 36.4 percent (20 of 36) and hit six 3-pointers.

Despite the loss, White said the season was a major step forward for the program.

“This is one of the best years Del City has had in close to 10 years, maybe 15 years,” White said. “This team finished with two championships, a tournament championship and a regional championship, and coming out as a two seed and getting to the semis was an accomplishment for this group.”

The Lady Eagles also faced a challenging schedule throughout the season.

“We played a lot of great talent this year,” White said. “What we did throughout the year prepared us for today.”

Del City 44, Shawnee 34
The Del City girls started slow and finished fast in a 44-34 win over Shawnee in the opening round of the Class 5A state tournament.

Del City opened the fourth quarter on a 15-0 run and outscored Shawnee 21-6 in the period to secure the comeback victory.

“I think the biggest thing was we had to settle in and play basketball,” White said. “The first quarter the lights were kind of big, but once we figured it out, we got rolling.”

The Lady Eagles struggled offensively early in the game, shooting just 1 of 12 from the field in the first quarter and not taking their first lead until midway through the fourth.

“I really think it was nerves,” White said. “Once you get past that and realize the other team is just like you, then you settle in and start playing.”

Hunt led the way with 17 points, eight steals and four assists. McCalister added 10 points and six steals.

Del City trailed 28-23 after three quarters before breaking out in the fourth quarter. Much of the offense came off turnovers and transition opportunities, as the Lady Eagles finished with 16 fast-break points.

“We had to lock in on defense,” McCalister said. “We had to move the ball more and stop arguing with each other, so we just had to fix our mindset.”

Shawnee was led by JaNya Bruner, who scored 22 points and grabbed three rebounds.

The win was especially meaningful for the Lady Eagles after recent early exits in the state tournament.

“It feels great,” McCalister said.