HYDRO — The Hydro-Eakly Lady Bobcats defeated Calumet 69- 33 on senior night.
“I thought this was the best chemistry and this was the best game we have played since Christmas,” coach Jeremy Tharp said. “We played very well on both sides of the ball and really moved the ball. Lots of the younger girls really got involved with the defensive rotation and were much more confident. This is great, especially since the playoffs are right around the corner.”
The seniors for Hydro-Eakly are Kira Berkey, Rees Berkey, Kira Berkey, Kenzie Rodriquez and Paisley Vickery.
“I am so proud of all my seniors and everything they have done,” Tharp said. “It is great for the boys too, as I have one of my own, Kolsen Tharp. Everyone gets along well on both teams and are all lifelong friends. The girls work their tails off and are such great people in every aspect of their lives. The best part is they have set such a good example of what it takes to be successful not just in basketball. It is sad, but it is great and they will be successful in their next step of life.”
It was a slow start on offense for Hydro-Eakly, but they defended very well. Kenzie Rodriquez hit a 3- pointer, which made it 10-0 midway through the first quarter. The only points Hydro-Eakly gave up was a pair of free throws and the Lady Bobcats were ahead 17-2 going into the second quarter.
“When we first played Calumet, we felt like we had a slow start,” Tharp said. “This time, we played much quicker and realized this helped us, because their guards struggled with pressure. I bet Calumet thought seven to eight girls were playing defense.”
Hydro-Eakly outscored Calumet 13-0 to begin the second quarter with plays like Katey Buss hitting a 3-pointer. Hydro-Eakly kept pressing hard and was ahead 38-10 at halftime.
“I kept subbing girls in and out and the result was the same,” Tharp said. “We played very well and our defense was solid, no matter who was in. This makes it really hard for teams to defend us.”
The Lady Bobcats gave up some buckets, but still were in front, with a 52-25 lead going into the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Lady Bobcats continued to play hard and remained unbeaten, with a 69-33 win.
Rees Berkey scored 13 points. Kira Berkey, Dillyn Coe and Lotti Parker each scored 11 points.
Hydro-Eakly improves to 20-0 and played at Thomas-Fay-Custer Tuesday. Hydro-Eakly will play its next game, 6:30 p.m. against Lookeba-Sickles Friday at SWOSU in the Washita Valley Conference Finals.
“I just want to see us continue to clean up our game,” Tharp said. “There are some times when we get a bit sloppy. Sometimes, we get in a hurry because of how fast we play. If we can push and attack while staying calm and in control, we should be just fine.”