CHOCTAW — A late rally was just enough Thursday afternoon as Tishomingo slipped by Prague, 31-27, to end the Lady Red Devils’ season and their bid for a Class 3A state title.
The game was held at Choctaw High School.
The fourth-seeded Lady Indians took advantage of 13 Prague turnovers — five in the first half and eight in the second — to cut away at the Lady Red Devils’ lead and take over down the stretch. Three turnovers in a row were the most costly.
“We threw it away at a time that was crucial,” said Prague coach Jay Depanion. “That really, really hurt us, because we had the tempo and the pace. The turnovers caught up with us.
We just fell a little short.”
Tishomingo took an immediate 2-0 lead after the tipoff, but the Prague girls shook off the shock and made it 3-2 courtesy of Hillary Dixon’s first of three treys on the day.
The advantage teeter-tottered a couple more times before Prague finally got the upper hand on another deep shot by Dixon, and teammate Brooke Watkins etched a 10-7 first-quarter lead in stone with a pair of foul shots at the 5.6-second mark.
Jessica Stotler put the Lady Red Devils up 12-7 early in the second quarter, but a 4-0 run got Tishomingo within a point with 5:20 left in the half. The Lady Indians stalled there as Watkins hit the backside of a two-shot trip to the charity stripe, and Stotler connected on her own put-back with 2:18 to go to bring up Prague’s 15-11 halftime edge.
A 7-6 run in the third lifted the Lady Indians to a narrow 21-18 deficit to start the fourth, and Kayla Jo Wood’s only successful shot of the contest created an uproar as the 3-point bomb knotted the score at 21 only 15 seconds into the quarter.
That’s when the shootout began.
Prague led 23-21, then shared a 23-all tie, and Tishomingo’s Lacey Dickerson gave her team a 25-23 lead with 4:35 to go. Dickerson ultimately shared high-scoring honors with Dixon at 14 points.
Prague’s Heather Farrill made it 25-all with 3:38 left on the clock, and later fed Dixon a stolen ball to make it 27-25 at the 2:43 mark. This was the Lady Red Devils’ final lead — as well as their final points — of the game.
Tishomingo’s Brittney Treas tied it at 27 with just over two minutes to go, and Dickerson made it 29-27 with 45 seconds left. The Lady Indians were awarded possession in the waning seconds, and Treas visited the free throw line to hit her ninth and 10th points of the game and effect the final.
The Lady Red Devils, unranked in the preseason, finished at 24-4 and were ranked ninth by the end of the regular run.
“You can’t take away what the kids accomplished. I’m very proud of them,” Depanion said. “That’s an incredible season.”
Depanion said the fan support from the community was overwhelming.
“They were amazing,” he said. “Just incredible support.”
Prague connected on four of 10 free throws Thursday, while Tishomingo hit six of 11. Treas was a perfect 4-of-4.
Watkins led the Red Devils individually at 3-of-4.
Prague bids farewell to senior players Stotler, Kate Sprague and Maci Terrell.
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CHOCTAW — A late rally was just enough Thursday afternoon as Tishomingo slipped by Prague, 31-27, to end the Lady Red Devils’ season and their bid for a Class 3A state title.
The game was held at Choctaw High School.
The fourth-seeded Lady Indians took advantage of 13 Prague turnovers — five in the first half and eight in the second — to cut away at the Lady Red Devils’ lead and take over down the stretch. Three turnovers in a row were the most costly.
“We threw it away at a time that was crucial,” said Prague coach Jay Depanion. “That really, really hurt us, because we had the tempo and the pace. The turnovers caught up with us.
We just fell a little short.”
Tishomingo took an immediate 2-0 lead after the tipoff, but the Prague girls shook off the shock and made it 3-2 courtesy of Hillary Dixon’s first of three treys on the day.
The advantage teeter-tottered a couple more times before Prague finally got the upper hand on another deep shot by Dixon, and teammate Brooke Watkins etched a 10-7 first-quarter lead in stone with a pair of foul shots at the 5.6-second mark.
Jessica Stotler put the Lady Red Devils up 12-7 early in the second quarter, but a 4-0 run got Tishomingo within a point with 5:20 left in the half. The Lady Indians stalled there as Watkins hit the backside of a two-shot trip to the charity stripe, and Stotler connected on her own put-back with 2:18 to go to bring up Prague’s 15-11 halftime edge.
A 7-6 run in the third lifted the Lady Indians to a narrow 21-18 deficit to start the fourth, and Kayla Jo Wood’s only successful shot of the contest created an uproar as the 3-point bomb knotted the score at 21 only 15 seconds into the quarter.
That’s when the shootout began.
Prague led 23-21, then shared a 23-all tie, and Tishomingo’s Lacey Dickerson gave her team a 25-23 lead with 4:35 to go. Dickerson ultimately shared high-scoring honors with Dixon at 14 points.
Prague’s Heather Farrill made it 25-all with 3:38 left on the clock, and later fed Dixon a stolen ball to make it 27-25 at the 2:43 mark. This was the Lady Red Devils’ final lead — as well as their final points — of the game.
Tishomingo’s Brittney Treas tied it at 27 with just over two minutes to go, and Dickerson made it 29-27 with 45 seconds left. The Lady Indians were awarded possession in the waning seconds, and Treas visited the free throw line to hit her ninth and 10th points of the game and effect the final.
The Lady Red Devils, unranked in the preseason, finished at 24-4 and were ranked ninth by the end of the regular run.
“You can’t take away what the kids accomplished. I’m very proud of them,” Depanion said. “That’s an incredible season.”
Depanion said the fan support from the community was overwhelming.
“They were amazing,” he said. “Just incredible support.”
Prague connected on four of 10 free throws Thursday, while Tishomingo hit six of 11. Treas was a perfect 4-of-4.
Watkins led the Red Devils individually at 3-of-4.
Prague bids farewell to senior players Stotler, Kate Sprague and Maci Terrell.
