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EDMOND — Michael Neal looked out on the floor and saw a state tournament team.
For now, it’s just not his own.
Fourth-ranked Edmond Memorial never sweated an early deficit and put a vice grip on its late lead in a 51-40 victory over No. 8 Norman High in Monday’s girls basketball regional final at Memorial.
Disappointed as Neal was that his team dropped to the area tournament losers’ bracket, he lauded what he’d just seen on the opposite bench. “I personally think, and I told the girls this, that’s a state team,” Neal said. “I have so much respect for them and I love the way they play. It was fun playing against them and they gave us a good test of what’s to come.”
For NHS, the goal this week is to get on that level — quick.
It will play Midwest City at 8 p.m. Thursday at Western Heights in an area tournament elimination game and needs two victories to make the state tournament.
NHS freshman guard Kelbie Washington scored 15 points and grabbed three rebounds against Memorial, but the Tigers’ opportunity for an easier path to state began to fade in the third quarter.
They didn’t make a field goal until the 3:53 mark, while Memorial broke a 21-21 halftime tie with a backbreaking 13-2 run. The lead grew as large as 13.
“When they gather a lead … As disciplined as Memorial is, it’s hard to catch back up because they’re not gonna make mistakes to beat themselves — ever,” Neal said.
NHS shot 19 percent from the field overall and led for most of the first half despite making 5 of 21 shots. That the Tigers hung around as long as they did with the offense struggling was commendable.
It was also puzzling that Memorial made its charge with Washington and Nyah Henderson (four points) — two of the Tigers’ best players — on the floor. Both had sat the entire second quarter with two fouls, watching while their teammates
upheld NHS’ early lead.
Memorial trailed the entire first half until 49 seconds before intermission. NHS guard Christina Shadid — who finished with 11 points — then drew a foul on a 3-point attempt at the buzzer, and hit two free throws to tie it 21-21 at the break.
“We stepped up in the first half, made some shots, kept it close,” Neal said. “We got some stops. We limited them to one shot for the most part. If they made we wanted to slow it down and get a bucket. If they missed, we wanted to push it in transition. I thought we did that for the most part in the first half.”
From there, Neal watched Memorial become the aggressor. NHS was outscored 19-10 in the third quarter.
“They exploited us a little bit,” Neal said.
Taylor Norman and Erin Talbott each scored 15 points, and point guard Erin Erdoes added 12. Talbott was especially effective in the third quarter, scoring seven points and shaking off the mistake before halftime, when she fouled Shadid on the 3.
Memorial won despite 31 percent shooting and 12 turnovers, 10 of which came in the opening half.
“I thought we did what we wanted to do on the defensive end probably for 90 percent of the game,” Neal said. “In the third quarter, we broke down a lot. Credit to them for being disciplined and exploiting some of our mistakes.”
Tyler Palmateer
Transcript Sports Writer @tpalmateer83
For now, it’s just not his own.
Fourth-ranked Edmond Memorial never sweated an early deficit and put a vice grip on its late lead in a 51-40 victory over No. 8 Norman High in Monday’s girls basketball regional final at Memorial.
Disappointed as Neal was that his team dropped to the area tournament losers’ bracket, he lauded what he’d just seen on the opposite bench. “I personally think, and I told the girls this, that’s a state team,” Neal said. “I have so much respect for them and I love the way they play. It was fun playing against them and they gave us a good test of what’s to come.”
For NHS, the goal this week is to get on that level — quick.
It will play Midwest City at 8 p.m. Thursday at Western Heights in an area tournament elimination game and needs two victories to make the state tournament.
NHS freshman guard Kelbie Washington scored 15 points and grabbed three rebounds against Memorial, but the Tigers’ opportunity for an easier path to state began to fade in the third quarter.
They didn’t make a field goal until the 3:53 mark, while Memorial broke a 21-21 halftime tie with a backbreaking 13-2 run. The lead grew as large as 13.
“When they gather a lead … As disciplined as Memorial is, it’s hard to catch back up because they’re not gonna make mistakes to beat themselves — ever,” Neal said.
NHS shot 19 percent from the field overall and led for most of the first half despite making 5 of 21 shots. That the Tigers hung around as long as they did with the offense struggling was commendable.
It was also puzzling that Memorial made its charge with Washington and Nyah Henderson (four points) — two of the Tigers’ best players — on the floor. Both had sat the entire second quarter with two fouls, watching while their teammates
upheld NHS’ early lead.
Memorial trailed the entire first half until 49 seconds before intermission. NHS guard Christina Shadid — who finished with 11 points — then drew a foul on a 3-point attempt at the buzzer, and hit two free throws to tie it 21-21 at the break.
“We stepped up in the first half, made some shots, kept it close,” Neal said. “We got some stops. We limited them to one shot for the most part. If they made we wanted to slow it down and get a bucket. If they missed, we wanted to push it in transition. I thought we did that for the most part in the first half.”
From there, Neal watched Memorial become the aggressor. NHS was outscored 19-10 in the third quarter.
“They exploited us a little bit,” Neal said.
Taylor Norman and Erin Talbott each scored 15 points, and point guard Erin Erdoes added 12. Talbott was especially effective in the third quarter, scoring seven points and shaking off the mistake before halftime, when she fouled Shadid on the 3.
Memorial won despite 31 percent shooting and 12 turnovers, 10 of which came in the opening half.
“I thought we did what we wanted to do on the defensive end probably for 90 percent of the game,” Neal said. “In the third quarter, we broke down a lot. Credit to them for being disciplined and exploiting some of our mistakes.”
Tyler Palmateer
Transcript Sports Writer @tpalmateer83
