ENID — The Weatherford Lady Eagles won both regional games this past week, beating Clinton, 54-31, and Cleveland, 67-27.
Coach Grant Givens said the bench played a huge role in winning regionals and stressed how important everyone is.
“There were some girls who got into the game who usually do not get in,” Givens said. “They are good players, amazing athletes and eventually will be great players soon, because of all this experience. The girls on the bench are fortunate they get to practice against one of the best teams in the state. Because of this, they can come into a game like this and be fine when the starters get into foul trouble. I do not like going this deep, but am fortunate to have such great players and be fine when I have to.”
Weatherford 54, Clinton 31
In the first quarter, Addy Hoffman scored 10 points. Weatherford was ahead 15-8. Clinton responded in the second quarter, and, the game was tied, 22-22, at halftime.
“We needed to move the ball better in the second half,” Givens said. “The ball was sticky in the first half and we only passed the ball once or twice then we shot it. Clinton passed the ball several times. We did not force them to play defense, because of this. Defensively, we also needed to move the ball more. All of our offense generates on ball movement. If the ball does not move, the offense is not living. If the ball stops moving, then it makes it easier for teams to defend us.”
Weatherford moved the ball much better in the second half and really built their lead in the third quarter. Weatherford’s defense only allowed nine points the rest of the game. Addy Hoffman scored 11 points in the quarter and Weatherford was ahead 42-27 going into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Weatherford maintained its lead and won the game 54-31. Givens said they played a lot better in the second half.
“We did not play well in the first half,” Givens said. “Defensively, we were sluggish and offensively, we did not move the ball well. Hopefully, this is because we have not played in a week. However in the second half, we played much better. We moved the ball more, hit more shots and defended better. We played like we are capable of playing in the second half.”
Along with the better play, Givens said the bench played well too, which is key making a run at the state title.
“We will need to go eight or maybe nine deep later in the playoffs,” Givens said. “We will need girls to play well off the bench. We have gotten this from our girls, but we will for sure need it.”
Weatherford 67, Cleveland 27
Weatherford’s offense outscored Cleveland in the first quarter and was ahead 13-7 going into the second quarter.
Weatherford outscored Cleveland 22-6 in the second quarter and Weatherford was ahead 35-12 at halftime.
Hunter Bayless hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter and she scored 12 points in the first half.
Addy Hoffman scored 11 points in the first half, 2-2 from the free throw line.
“Addy is one of the best players in the state of Oklahoma,” Givens said. “She is very tough to defend and guard. She is a matchup problem because teams do not know whether to put a guard or post on her. She is tricky and can post you up. She also has a great midrange game, which has helped us several times.”
Weatherford made plays and was ahead 49-22 going into the fourth quarter. The rest of the game saw some good play from the reserves and Weatherford won the game by 40 points, 67-27.
“We were not working well in the first half,” Givens said. “We were not quick enough on offense. We did have a lead early, but we for sure can play better. I thought we played well on defense in the first half. We just made some uncharacteristic mistakes. Some of this was nerves, as some girls have never played in a regional final. Our age did show up as the game went on. The second half was much better and I am very pleased with how we played better as the game went along.”
Addy Hoffman scored 15 points and Bayless scored 14 points. Weatherford improves to 22-3 and advances to the area finals for the third straight season. That game was played Friday night in Enid at the Stride Bank Center against Woodward.
“We have to do a better job of adjusting to the officiating of the game,” Givens said. “If they call the game tight, we have to be ready. We got into foul trouble early and we need to be better at adjusting as the game goes along.”