Lady Tigers Finish as 1A-7 District Runners-Up

BY NORM BETZ –

The Acorn Lady Tigers fell to the Kirby Lady Trojans in the 1A-7 West District Championship game, 45-20. It was an odd night in Oden, as the Lady Tigers never really got in sync and struggled to put points on the board all night long.

“It was an off night for us,” said Lady Tigers head coach Mike Jackson. “They’re a good team, with a 31-2 record, and you have to be on top of your game when you play an opponent like them.”

The Lady Tigers scored the first four points of the contest and added another bucket later to lead the Lady Trojans, 6-5 after the opening quarter. It looked like Acorn was ready, as senior Jessica Looney stole the ball, took it coast-to-coast and laid it up and in to put up the first points of the game. Senior Tara Warrington followed suit with a lay-up of her own to give Acorn what would end up being their largest lead of the game, 4-0. Looney added a 10-foot jumper to round out the Acorn first quarter scoring.

The Lady Trojans scored the first 11 points of the second quarter to lead the Lady Tigers by 10 points, 16-6 with less than a minute to play. Senior Misty Oglesby ended the drought with just :30 seconds left in the quarter, when she drained one from beyond the arc to cut the lead to seven points. Acorn trailed Kirby 16-9 as they headed to the locker room at halftime.

“We just weren’t aggressive enough from the beginning,” explained Jackson. “They’re a good team and we needed to push more to stay in the game and we just didn’t do enough.”

Things didn’t improve for the Lady Tigers in the third quarter. Kirby outscored Acorn 12-2 to increase their lead to 28-11 at the end of the quarter. Junior Ashlee Long hit a 15-footer for the Lady Tigers halfway through the quarter for the only points of the third for Acorn.

“I thought we played pretty well defensively too,” commented Jackson. “We stayed in the game, but just couldn’t put points on the board.”

The Lady Tigers had their biggest output of the game in the fourth quarter scoring nine points, but ultimately fell to the Lady Trojans, 45-20. Looney led the Lady Tigers, drilling a high-arcing three-pointer and later adding a pair from the charity stripe. Long kissed one high off the glass for a lay-up, while junior Teagan Vann grabbed a loose ball and took it coast-to-coast for a lay-up to round out the Acorn scoring on the night.

Jessica Looney led the Lady Tigers with nine points, while Kirby’s Megan Stinson led the Lady Trojans with 10 points. The biggest difference was Acorn had five scorers in the game, while Kirby finished with 10 Lady Trojans putting up points. Ashlee Long finished with four points, Misty Oglesby added three points; while Tara Warrington and Teagan Vann each added two points. Acorn shot 29% from the line (2-of-7), while Kirby shot 46% (6-of-13).

The Lady Tigers (28-6) will now focus on their next opponent, Trinity Christian. Acorn finished as the No. 2 seed for the 1A Region 4 Tournament, while the Lady Warriors finished as the No. 3 seed. Acorn and Trinity Christian will battle in the first-round of Regionals on Thursday, February 26, at Emerson High School. Tip-off is slated for 4:00 p.m.

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