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Choctaw’s other Llanusa comes up big
TULSA — Ana Llanusa picked up her fourth foul and got an earful.
Her little sister let her have it.
“Yelled at her,” Aliyah Llanusa confirmed.
Little Llanusa is one of the only people on the team who will holler at Ana, not just the best player at Choctaw High but arguably the best player in the state. But when Ana, an OU commit, reached in unnecessarily and had to take a seat early in the fourth quarter of the state semifinal, Aliyah made sure her sister knew what she’d done could cost them.
Then, Aliyah went out and made sure it didn’t.
Choctaw 42, Edmond Santa Fe 40.
“Aliyah, she’s feisty,” Choctaw coach Ryan Maloney said. “If you want somebody in a street fight, you pick Aliyah Llanusa.”
Don’t misunderstand — Ana was still the star of the game Friday afternoon at the Mabee Center.
She had a game-high 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds, including the game’s final carom when a potential game-winning 3-pointer from Edmond Santa Fe went in and out.
But the game was decided in the two-plus minutes that she was on the bench. Down a point when Ana picked up her fourth foul, Edmond Santa Fe didn’t make up any ground during her absence.
It actually lost some.
Aliyah was a big reason why.
On Choctaw’s first possession without Ana, Aliyah drove to the basket, spun off a defender and flicked a pass across the lane to a wide-open teammate for an easy layup.
Then on the other end of the court, Aliyah pulled down a rebound.
That’s no small thing. Unlike her 5-foot-11 sister, Aliyah is 5-4.
What’s more, topranked and highenergy Edmond Santa Fe crashes the boards as well as any team in the state.
None of that stopped Aliyah. She knew those first few possessions after Ana went to the bench were critical.
She wanted to send a message, not so much to her opponents but to her teammates.
“Let our team know we’re still in this,” she said.
The result was positive as Choctaw expanded its lead to two points, which might not seem like much, but against a team that can score as quick as Edmond Santa Fe can, it was critical.
“We didn’t get our heads down,” Aliyah said. “We just had to keep our momentum and keep going.”
It set up Llanusa sister heroics in the game’s final minutes.
Ana scored all five of Choctaw’s points in the last two minutes, her final point coming after Aliyah snagged yet another rebound.
Little Llanusa’s line isn’t overwhelming — five points, five rebounds and two assists — but just about everything that she did came when Choctaw needed it most.
“She’s developed into a really big-time player,” Ana said.
“She’s smart with the ball. She knows what she’s doing.
“I have complete faith in her.”
Big sister is the big star, and no one is prouder of her than Aliyah.
“But she also understands that she’s a great player,” Maloney said. “She handles it great. She knows her job, and she does it well.”
Well enough to play for a state title on Saturday.
Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at (405) 475-4125 or jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/ JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok or view her personality page at newsok.com/jennicarlson.
Choctaw edges top-ranked Edmond Santa Fe
TULSA — Choctaw’s fourth straight trip to the Class 6A state tournament was going to be different, Ana Llanusa was going to make sure of it.
With her team leading from the start of Friday’s state semifinal inside the Mabee Center, Llanusa couldn’t watch idly as top-ranked Edmond Santa Fe tied the game in the fourth quarter. Instead, she lunged forward for a loose ball and drew her fourth foul.
Was coach Ryan Maloney concerned?
“No, I wanted to kill her,” Maloney said. “Unbelievably bad foul. Reach. Unnecessary. Could have cost us the game.”
Llanusa, an OU signee, had 17 points to lead all scorers and propelled No. 2 Choctaw to the state final for the first time during her storied high school career, beating No. 1 Santa Fe 42-40.
Llanusa, for her part, kept Santa Fe from controlling the pace of the game, and once the Wolves mounted their comeback, she saw red.
“It was an aggression thing,” the senior Llanusa said. “I’ve been in that position before, so I know how to play with four fouls. I was just in the moment.”
The Yellowjackets (23-5) led 12-6 after the first quarter and 31-30 at half. Their lead grew to nine early in the third before Santa Fe’s Jo’Nah Johnson hit a trio of 3-pointers. With 1:38 left in the third quarter, Johnson’s steal and pass to Kiera Neal for a layup revived the Wolves’ squad and drew Choctaw’s lead to three.
“That’s what we do,” Santa Fe coach Paul Bass said. “We have four seniors who are just phenomenal, they get after it.”
Andrea Cooper’s layup tied the game at 34 with 4:35 left. Santa Fe took the lead a minute later before Llanusa’s free throws reversed it. A potential game-winning shot rimmed out for Santa Fe (25-2) with 2 seconds left, with Llanusa grabbing the final rebound.
“It means everything to me,” Llanusa said of the win. “I’ve been here the last three years and never been past the semifinals. But I’m not settling for that, I want to finish this off with a championship.”
CHRISTIAN FAVALORA,
FOR THE OKLAHOMAN
TULSA — Ana Llanusa picked up her fourth foul and got an earful.
Her little sister let her have it.
“Yelled at her,” Aliyah Llanusa confirmed.
Little Llanusa is one of the only people on the team who will holler at Ana, not just the best player at Choctaw High but arguably the best player in the state. But when Ana, an OU commit, reached in unnecessarily and had to take a seat early in the fourth quarter of the state semifinal, Aliyah made sure her sister knew what she’d done could cost them.
Then, Aliyah went out and made sure it didn’t.
Choctaw 42, Edmond Santa Fe 40.
“Aliyah, she’s feisty,” Choctaw coach Ryan Maloney said. “If you want somebody in a street fight, you pick Aliyah Llanusa.”
Don’t misunderstand — Ana was still the star of the game Friday afternoon at the Mabee Center.
She had a game-high 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds, including the game’s final carom when a potential game-winning 3-pointer from Edmond Santa Fe went in and out.
But the game was decided in the two-plus minutes that she was on the bench. Down a point when Ana picked up her fourth foul, Edmond Santa Fe didn’t make up any ground during her absence.
It actually lost some.
Aliyah was a big reason why.
On Choctaw’s first possession without Ana, Aliyah drove to the basket, spun off a defender and flicked a pass across the lane to a wide-open teammate for an easy layup.
Then on the other end of the court, Aliyah pulled down a rebound.
That’s no small thing. Unlike her 5-foot-11 sister, Aliyah is 5-4.
What’s more, topranked and highenergy Edmond Santa Fe crashes the boards as well as any team in the state.
None of that stopped Aliyah. She knew those first few possessions after Ana went to the bench were critical.
She wanted to send a message, not so much to her opponents but to her teammates.
“Let our team know we’re still in this,” she said.
The result was positive as Choctaw expanded its lead to two points, which might not seem like much, but against a team that can score as quick as Edmond Santa Fe can, it was critical.
“We didn’t get our heads down,” Aliyah said. “We just had to keep our momentum and keep going.”
It set up Llanusa sister heroics in the game’s final minutes.
Ana scored all five of Choctaw’s points in the last two minutes, her final point coming after Aliyah snagged yet another rebound.
Little Llanusa’s line isn’t overwhelming — five points, five rebounds and two assists — but just about everything that she did came when Choctaw needed it most.
“She’s developed into a really big-time player,” Ana said.
“She’s smart with the ball. She knows what she’s doing.
“I have complete faith in her.”
Big sister is the big star, and no one is prouder of her than Aliyah.
“But she also understands that she’s a great player,” Maloney said. “She handles it great. She knows her job, and she does it well.”
Well enough to play for a state title on Saturday.
Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at (405) 475-4125 or jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/ JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok or view her personality page at newsok.com/jennicarlson.
Choctaw edges top-ranked Edmond Santa Fe
TULSA — Choctaw’s fourth straight trip to the Class 6A state tournament was going to be different, Ana Llanusa was going to make sure of it.
With her team leading from the start of Friday’s state semifinal inside the Mabee Center, Llanusa couldn’t watch idly as top-ranked Edmond Santa Fe tied the game in the fourth quarter. Instead, she lunged forward for a loose ball and drew her fourth foul.
Was coach Ryan Maloney concerned?
“No, I wanted to kill her,” Maloney said. “Unbelievably bad foul. Reach. Unnecessary. Could have cost us the game.”
Llanusa, an OU signee, had 17 points to lead all scorers and propelled No. 2 Choctaw to the state final for the first time during her storied high school career, beating No. 1 Santa Fe 42-40.
Llanusa, for her part, kept Santa Fe from controlling the pace of the game, and once the Wolves mounted their comeback, she saw red.
“It was an aggression thing,” the senior Llanusa said. “I’ve been in that position before, so I know how to play with four fouls. I was just in the moment.”
The Yellowjackets (23-5) led 12-6 after the first quarter and 31-30 at half. Their lead grew to nine early in the third before Santa Fe’s Jo’Nah Johnson hit a trio of 3-pointers. With 1:38 left in the third quarter, Johnson’s steal and pass to Kiera Neal for a layup revived the Wolves’ squad and drew Choctaw’s lead to three.
“That’s what we do,” Santa Fe coach Paul Bass said. “We have four seniors who are just phenomenal, they get after it.”
Andrea Cooper’s layup tied the game at 34 with 4:35 left. Santa Fe took the lead a minute later before Llanusa’s free throws reversed it. A potential game-winning shot rimmed out for Santa Fe (25-2) with 2 seconds left, with Llanusa grabbing the final rebound.
“It means everything to me,” Llanusa said of the win. “I’ve been here the last three years and never been past the semifinals. But I’m not settling for that, I want to finish this off with a championship.”
CHRISTIAN FAVALORA,
FOR THE OKLAHOMAN
