Hydro-Eakly basketball has not lost a basketball game all season and they won the West Central tournament at SWOSU last week.
In the first round, they defeated Corn Bible Academy, 66-23. In the semifinals, they defeated Thomas-Fay-Custer, 57-25, and in the championship game, they played Calumet and won, 55-37.
“I was really pleased with our effort,” coach Jeremy Tharp said. “I know we are not quite in the shape we want to be, but we will play our way back in. Our chemistry has grown a lot and we definitely will be working hard on this before the playoffs come.”
Hydro-Eakly 66, Corn Bible Academy 23
Hydro-Eakly played really well to start the game, as they were ahead 17-4 going into the second quarter.
Both sides of the basketball were working for Hydro-Eakly, as they only allowed three points in the second quarter. Hydro-Eakly was ahead 40-7 going into halftime.
Corn Bible doubled its point total in the third quarter. Hydro-Eakly was ahead 58-14 going into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Bobcats maintained their lead and won the game 66-23. They won the game 79-24. Corn Bible’s Elle Bitte scored 21 points and Emalia Lind scored two points.
For Hydro-Eakly, Kira Berkey scored 18 points and Rees Berkey scored 13 points.
Tharp said the defense played well and forced Corn Bible to panic during the entire game.
“We guarded really well and we did not let Corn Bible get into any offensive set at all,” Tharp said. “We kept forcing them to take shots they were uncomfortable with. We sped them up and they got hardly any good looks at all.”
Hydro-Eakly 57, Thomas-Fay-Custer 25
It was low scoring in the first quarter, but the Lady Bobcats kept Thomas-Fay-Custer scoreless until the 2:20 mark of the first quarter. Hydro-Eakly was ahead 9-2 at this point, but the Lady Terriers outscored Hydro-Eakly 5-0 to close the quarter. The Lady Bobcats were ahead 9-7.
Hydro-Eakly struggled to score early in the second quarter, but managed to build a seven-point lead going into halftime, as they were ahead 24-17.
“Thomas usually plays zone, but they came out in a man defense, which surprised us,” Tharp said. “We made the adjustments at halftime. One thing we also struggled with in the first half was getting our chemistry, but we picked it up in the second half.”
The Lady Bobcats defense kept Thomas-Fay-Custer from scoring early in the third quarter, as Hydro-Eakly outscored the Lady Terriers 14-0 to open the quarter. They only allowed four points in the third quarter. Hydro-Eakly was ahead 43-21 going into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Hydro-Eakly continued to score points and defend well. They won the game 57-25. Rees Berkey and Kira Berkey each scored 17 points.
“We did not have the best chemistry in the first half, but we picked it up in the second half,” Tharp said. “We played really well and started off great in the third quarter. Thomas is a good team and had a good plan, but am happy with our effort to overcome some adversity and win going away.”
Hydro-Eakly 55, Calumet 37
The first quarter was a close one. Both teams defended well, but Hydro-Eakly had a 12-10 lead going into the second quarter.
The Lady Bobcats outscored Calumet 8-1 early in the second quarter, before Calumet battled back. Hydro-Eakly was ahead 32-19 at the end of the second quarter.
Hydro-Eakly was ahead by more than 20 points late in the third quarter and was up 50-24 going into the fourth quarter.
Hydro-Eakly won the game 55-37. Kira Berkey scored 17 points and Rees Berkey scored 16 points.
“We played really well on defense,” Tharp said. “We handled their post well and this was the first post girl we have seen. Tessa York did a great job containing her. One thing we can work on is getting more rebounds. We played very well against a good team.”
Rees Berkey and Kira Berkey both made the All-Tournament team. Rees Berkey was the All-Tournament MVP.
“Both girls have been in lots of big games,” Tharp said. “When we need them to step up, they do. Whether it is a slow start or not defending, they help us and help us find our chemistry.” Hydro-Eakly improves to 16-0 and played Lookeba-Sickles Monday. They played Minco Tuesday night and will host Calumet, 6:30 p.m. Friday night and it is senior night for Hydro-Eakly.
“We just want to focus on our chemistry,” Tharp said. “This group has been very good at buckling down and the level of competition is going to force us to get our chemistry back. We are excited for the playoffs.”