WELCH—Welch will host the Lucky 7 Conference All-Star Game tonight, with the girls tipping off at 6:30 p.m. and followed by the boys’ game. Your Welch Wildcats were well represented on the all-star rosters, announced last week. On the boys’ side of roster, all five starters for the Wildcats, which advanced to the area semifinals last week, were named. Seniors Grant Bullard, Gabe Moore, and Joey Powers were joined by Sophomores Jacob Mount and Austin Buchanan. The team will be completed by the best players from other conference teams.

The Lady Wildcats also had two on the girls’ all-star team. Senior Sierra Hankins and freshman Tylor Dodson will represent the Lady Cats in the All-Star Game.

Some all-stars will sit the bench for tonight’s game, as they are competing later this week in the state playoffs. The boys from Fairland are still alive in area play, as well as the girls teams from Wyandotte and Quapaw.

Boys All-Star Team

• Jordan Alexander, Jacob Bryant, Jesse Drosche and J.C. Morrow of Fairland
• Luis Arizpe and Kyler Ng of Commerce
• Curtis Bacon of Quapaw
• Austin Buchanan, Gabe Moore, Grant Bullard, Jacob Mount, and Joey Powers of Welch
• D.J. Burleson, Zach Butterfield, Derek Durborow and Dakota Sparks of Wyandotte
• Skyler Humble and Josh Williams of Bluejacket, and
• Brandon Jones and Matt Wisdom of Afton

Girls All-Star Team

• Ashlee Davis and Suezann Pascoe of Fairland
• Tylor Dodson and Sierra Hankins of Welch
• Kristen Enyart, Kirsten Leppla, Jennifer McCloud, Felicia Stone and Kayla Oleman of Wyandotte
• Jacy Grimes and Shelbie VanPielt of Afton
• Cheyenne Hall and Samantha Williams of Bluejacket
• Halie Judd, Caitlin Miller and Paige Radford of Quapaw, and
• Jacey Knight, Taylor Stevenson, Courtney Watson and Mandy Watson of Commerce

Patrick Hankins contributed this report.

Your 3rd-place Lady Cats

MIAMI, Okla.—The 65th annual NEO High School Basketball Tournament is now history, and what a contest it was for your Welch teams! Your Lady Cats suffered a heartbreaking loss to Bluejacket Friday, but they overcame it and thoroughly dominated the Foyil Lady Panthers Saturday, winning 57-45, and securing their spot as third-place winners of the girls’ blue bracket. Your Wildcats drew large crowds for each game they played in the boys’ round robin bracket. Their defeat of Roland may have been the high point of the tourney, but their defeat of Miami in the final game of the tournament was a final feather in their respective caps. A capacity crowd at the NEO College Gym Saturday night watched with rapt interest as the Wildcats schooled Miami, defeating the Wardogs 42-39 when the final buzzer rang out. Each of the four teams in the round robin bracket finished with a 2-1 record, save Miami, which went 0-3. Roland lost to Welch, Welch lost to Lincoln Christian (incidentally, Welch was the only team in the tournament to hold LC under 40 points, allowing them only 32), and Lincoln Christian lost to Roland; Miami lost to everyone.

Welch Lady Cats v. Foyil Lady Panthers

The Welch Lady Cats put the bad taste of a loss out of their mouths as they took on the Foyil Panthers at the Student Activity Center at NEO A&M College in Miami Saturday. Sierra Hankins started the game by winning the opening tip and a sinking quick bucket. The Lady Cats got a great first-quarter start and found the offensive groove early, racing to an early lead with all as five Lady Cats adding to the score. Then the Lady Panthers rallied and came back to narrow the gap from a nine-point deficit, closing the first quarter four points behind the Lady Cats. The fouls came fast and furious as 13 total fouls were called in the first eight minutes, six against the Lady Cats and seven against Foyil.

The second quarter saw more Lady Cat dominance, as they pushed their lead to eight, three minutes into the quarter. The remainder of the second quarter turned into a foul shooting contest, with both teams in the double bonus with over 5:00 left in the half. On a basket by Megan Carpenter, the Lady Cats extended their lead to 10 with just over four minutes left in the half.  Made free throws by the Lady Panthers kept them in the game. At the close of the second quarter, the Lady Cats led 38-27. Hankins led the Lady Cats with 14 first-half points.

The Lady Cats started the second half sporting an 11-point lead and went back to work attempting to extend their lead. With three minutes left in the quarter, the Lady Cats expanded their lead to 18 on a bucket by Hankins. The end of the third quarter found the Lady Cats leading by 16 points, 45-29.

In the fourth, the Lady Cats stood firm and continued to run their offense, getting good shots at the bucket. Tylor Dodson and Kelsie Smith bucketed points for the Lady Cats down the stretch, increasing their lead to 19 with under two minutes in the game. The Lady Cat bench was emptied, all the Lady Cats who dressed participating in the contest. In the end, the Lady Cats were victorious and claimed the third-place trophy with a 57-45 victory. Sierra Hankins led the way with 20, and Kelsie Smith joined her in double figures with 10. Erin Snedden added eight, Tylor Dodson and Krystin Marlow bucketed seven each and Megan Carpenter added five.

Tylor Dodson gets ready to make a move

Sierra Hankins prepares to send the ball home

Erin Snedden puts it to two Lady Panthers

Welch Wildcats v. Miami Wardogs

Gabe Moore flies over the competition

The Welch Wildcats made their last trip to Miami Saturday night for the NEO Tourney. On the main gym at the NEO Fieldhouse, the Wildcats were looking to get back on the winning track after coming up just short against Lincoln Christian the previous night. Once again looking to upset a larger school in the round robin format, the Wildcats were dressed in their road blues and ready to face the host-town Miami Wardogs.

Jacob Mount once again put the Cats on the board first, sinking an offensive rebound. Joey Powers then got an “and one” to fall, converting the gimme to put the Cats ahead 5-3 early in the first. Jacob Mount buried a 12-footer to increase the lead to 7-3, forcing a Wardog timeout. Powers bucketed a floater to extend the lead to 9-3 with 2:30 left in the first. Mount scored again off a Miami turnover on an assist from Brenton Hale to push the lead to eight at the 1:49 mark, forcing Miami into another timeout. The Cats capitalized off another Miami miss, and Powers scored in transition to put the Cats ahead by ten, 13-3. Welch drained the remainder of the first quarter clock on a long miss from Powers at the buzzer. The Cats must have been happy with their performance, ending the quarter up 13-3.

Miami started the second quarter completing a pair of free throws to cut Welch’s lead. They followed that up with an unsuccessful “and one” attempt, which showed the score 13-7, Welch,  with two minutes elapsed in the quarter. The Wardogs narrowed the gap to five with 4:35 left in the half before a bucket and a foul put Powers at the line for the extra, which he sank, to push the Cat lead back to eight. A basket by Mount and a pair of free throws by Powers extended the Cat’s lead back to 10 with 1:33 left in the half. A pair of free throws and a made basket at the end of the quarter pulled the Wardogs back within 6 at the half with the Cats leading 24-18.

The Wildcats started the second half with the ball, but a jumper by Mount rattled out, and a Miami turnover could not be converted by Powers on the Cats’ second possession. The third time was the charm, as Mount made a baseline jumper for the Cats’ first points of the second half, extending the lead to eight. A slashing bucket by Powers off an assist by Gabe Moore put the Cats up by double digits again, 28-18. The teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter to end up third with Welch leading the Wardogs, 36-25.

Miami scored first in the fourth, cutting the lead to nine, on a tip in, and after a Cat turnover, hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to six. The Cats went cold from the field, going almost four minutes before a free throw by Mount added to the Cats’ total and pushed their lead to seven with under four minutes to play. A baseline jumper by the Wardogs again shaved the lead to five with 2:37 to play, and Coach Schertz called a time out to try to thaw the Cats’ frozen shooting. A Cat turnover after the timeout resulted with a Miami bucket in transition, cutting the lead to three, 37-34, in favor of the Cats. Powers was fouled on an attempt with 1:29 left, but the first freebie rattled out and the second was short, emphasizing the Cats’ struggles from the charity stripe and giving Miami the ball—one three-pointer away from a tie. A Wardog turnover gave the Cats back the ball with a three-point lead. As the announcement of one minute left to play was resounding from the speakers, Powers converted a reverse layup, and Gabe Moore was fouled on a layup attempt. He converted one of his two free throws, to extend the lead to 40-34 with 32.3 seconds remaining. A two-pointer by Miami rattled home cutting the Welch’s lead to four, and Grant Bullard was intentionally fouled to stop the clock. The Wardogs had not committed enough fouls to put the Cats on the line, so a restart of play was ordered, and Powers was fouled on the inbound and sent to the line to shoot a one-and-one with 14 seconds left. He swished both shots, increasing Welch’s lead to six, 42-36. A successful Miami three-pointer at the buzzer resulted in a final score of 42-39, Wildcat favor.

Joey Powers led the way with 22 points, and Jacob Mount added 15 to join him in double figures. Gabe Moore contributed three, and Austin Buchanan added two for the Cats.

With the loss of Lincoln Christian to Roland earlier in the evening, the Wildcats tied for the best record in their division finishing with two wins and one loss. Based on point differential, first place was awarded to Roland, which defeated Lincoln Christian and Miami by a combined 36 points. Lincoln Christian defeated Welch and Miami by a combined eight points. Welch defeated Roland and Miami by a combined five points.

Grant Bullard drives it down the court

Joey Powers easily rises above the competition

Austin Buchanan has his eye on the prize

Jacob Moore concentrates on his jumper

WHS & OSU alumnus Stacy Satterwhite was selected for the halftime shooting contest. For the record, he sank his free throw.

If you think these pics are good, you should see all the great, high quality shots in our Flickr feed. Click here for NEO Tourney Day 1. Click here for NEO Tourney Day 2. Click here for NEO Tourney Day 3.

Special thanks to Patrick Hankins for contributing this and all recent WHS basketball reports. He helps make WelchOK.com available for free. If you appreciate his reports, why not leave a comment saying thanks? And don’t forget, you can also be a WelchOK.com contributor. Email your news, info, and pics to info :at: WelchOK :dot: com. Patrick emails his reports from his Blackberry (or his wife’s iPhone).

MIAMI, Okla.—Your Welch Lady Cats and Wildcats made the short trip to Miami today for the 65th annual NEO High School Basketball Tournament. As the day came to a close, both Welch teams had added a mark to their win column. The Lady Cats defeated the White Oak girls this afternoon, 48-35, and the 1A #14-ranked Wildcats topped the 4A #10-ranked Roland Rangers, 45-43.

Welch Lady Cats v. White Oak Lady Ranchers

Your Lady Cats began their quest to add an NEO Tourney title to their résumé Thursday afternoon at the NEO Fieldhouse. First up for the Lady Cats were the Lady Ranchers from White Oak. The Lady Cats, wearing their home whites, came out looking to get a much needed win after taking their lumps against the Lucky Seven Conference’s larger schools the last couple weeks. The Lady Cats had a balanced scoring attack the first quarter, which capitalized on an aerial assault from the outside and some well-timed put backs around the bucket, to secure a 12-10 lead at the end of the quarter. Rachel Seigel paced the Lady Cats with five first-quarter points, and four of the five starters added to the point total during the opening period.

The Lady Cats continued their balanced scoring attack all the way to halftime. Pressure defense yielded quick baskets off turnovers for the Lady Cats, but the Lady Ranchers fed off the Lady Cats turnovers, and the teams slugged it out to a 23-21 halftime score, Lady Cats’ favor.

The second half started with back-to-back buckets by Sierra Hankins and Tylor Dodson and a 3-pointer from Krystin Marlow, which gave the Lady Cats a 30-21 lead just two minutes into the third quarter. The rest of the third quarter was a draw and, at the buzzer, the Lady Cats led 39-30 heading into the final stanza.

The Lady Cats outscored the Lady Ranchers 9-to-5 in the final quarter and preserved a well-earned victory, with a final score of 48-35. Sierra Hankins led the Lady Cats with 15. Joining her in double figures was Tylor Dodson with 12. Krystin Marlow and Erin Snedden added seven each, Rachel Seigel had five, and Kelsie Smith bucketed two.

The Lady Cats continue their quest on Friday with a 4:30 p.m. tip-off against perennial rival Bluejacket at the Miami Civic Center.

Welch Wildcats v. Roland Rangers

Your Welch Wildcats kicked off their NEO Tourney play at the Student Activity Center on the campus of NEO A&M College. Awaiting them on the hardwood were the 4A #10-ranked Roland Rangers, dressed in their orange and black playing the role of Goliath. The Wildcats welcomed their own giant Jacob Mount back into the starting lineup after his recent bout with illness, and he didn’t waste any time, drawing first blood with a put back of his own miss to start the game. An old fashioned “and one” by Joey Powers and a bucket by Austin Buchanan off a nifty feed from Powers put the Cats ahead 7-3 midway through the first quarter. But the Rangers came driving back with a couple of buckets of their own and evened the score just before the end of the first quarter. A steal by Roland’s point guard and a couple aced free throws found the Cats trailing for the first time, 9-7, with less than 30 seconds in the quarter. Then a trey by Chance Harris catapulted the Cats back into the lead, ending the first quarter 10-9.

The Rangers quickly scored on a floater from the baseline and retook the lead at the beginning of the second quarter. Missed free throws stymied the Cats at the beginning of the second quarter as they missed a two-shot foul opportunity and the first shots of a couple one-and-ones to fall behind, 14-12. The Rangers also capitalized on the offensive glass, adding a couple of buckets on second-chance opportunities and threatened to pull away. But a soaring dunk by Joey Powers brought the partisan Welch crowd to its feet, and a reverse lay-in on the ensuing possesion evened the score at 20 each. The Cats continued to allow Roland to clean the offensive glass, which allowed the Rangers multiple opportunities for second—and even third— chances, which they often converted. Roland missed a three-pointer at the buzzer to end the half leading the Cats, 24-22. Powers powered the Cat attack with nine points in the first half.

After a halftime performance from Welch’s Lexi Baker and Riley Chenoweth, which drew enthusiastic applause, the Cats strode onto the court ready to take care of business. A quick bucket by Powers off an assist from Gabe Moore evened the score to start the second half. Both teams traded hard-earned baskets throughout the remainder of the third quarter, and both defenses asserted themselves. Roland scored on a short bucket to end the quarter with a 36-35 lead.

Heading into the final period of play, the Cats continued to get victimized on the offensive glass, giving up easy put-backs while having to work for their baskets on the offensive end. A Roland three-pointer with 3:50 left to play extended their lead to four. But the Cats responded with their own glass cleaner, as Powers secured an offensive rebound, scored, and was fouled on the play. After the made free shot, Roland led by one, 43-42. Welch’s Jacob Mount was fouled while shooting and sank both free throws to put the Cats ahead by one, 44-43 with under two minutes left in play. On a miss by Roland with 32 seconds remaining, the Cats finally got an over-the-back call, which sent Grant Bullard to the line for a one-and-one. The normally reliable Bullard missed the first gimme, giving the Rangers the ball with under 30 seconds left. After a strong defensive effort, the Cats forced a turnover with just under four seconds left in the game, holding onto a 44-43 lead. Mount was fouled almost immediately and made one of two free throws to extend the the Wildcat lead to 45-43 with 1.6 seconds left in the game. After a desperation heave from the backcourt fell harmlessly short, the Welch fans and players erupted in joyous celebration, feeling very much that they had slain a giant. Final score: 45-43, Welch. Powers paced the Cats with 18, Mount added 13, Austin Buchanan scored six, Gabe Moore and Chance Harris had three apiece, and Grant Bullard contributed two.

The Cats play again Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the NEO College Gym against Lincoln Christian.

To see photos of the Welch teams in action at the NEO Tourney, check out our Flickr photo set here.

Click here for more information about the 65th Annual NEO High School Basketball Tournament.

Patrick Hankins contributed this report. You, too, can be a WelchOK.com contributor. Email your news, info, and pics to info <at> WelchOK <dot> com.

AFTON, Okla.–Your Welch teams traveled to Afton Friday night for a rematch of the Lucky Seven Conference’s only 1A teams. After great efforts by both teams, the Lady Cats couldn’t quite best the Lady Eagles, but the Welch Wildcats handily dismissed the Afton Eagles.

Welch Lady Cats v. Afton Lady Eagles

The last time these two teams met, the game went down to the buzzer, with Afton spoiling the Lady Cats’ home opener when the Lady Cats missed a last-second shot to fall in defeat. This time, the Lady Cats hoped to spoil the Eagles’ homecoming by saddling them with a loss on their home floor.

The first half wasn’t a pretty one for the Lady Cats, as they fell behind early and couldn’t buy a bucket on the offensive end. On the other end of the floor, they seemed out of sync, as well, and gave up easy points to the Lady Eagles and found themselves down 11 at the half, trailing 35-24.

Coming out for the second half, the Lady Cats couldn’t seem to get a defensive stop, as they traded baskets with the Eagles. The Lady Cats battled back to cut their deficit to nine with a three-pointer by Kristyn Marlow with 4:23 left in the game, but the home team Lady Eagles proved too tough down the stretch and pulled away when two Lady Cats fouled out.

At the end of the fourth quarter, the final score was 66-49, giving the Lady Eagles a homecoming win. Sierra Hankins led the Lady Cats with 23 points, Erin Snedden added 11, and Tylor Dodson and Krystin Marlow contributed seven each.

Welch Wildcats v. Afton Eagles

Your Wildcats held Afton scoreless the first four minutes of Friday’s game. The Eaglesthen scored two, and they were only able to double that production the rest of the quarter. Putting intense pressure on the Eagles, the Cats feasted off the turnovers they created on the defensive end.

The three ball was hot in the first quarter, as Brenton Hale knocked down a pair of threes and Gabe Moore bucketed a trey, as well.

Joey Powers started the second quarter with a offensive rebound and put-back to extend the Cat lead to 17-4. Back-to-back old-fashioned three-point plays by Powers and Austin Buchanan midway through the second quarter extended the Cats’ lead. A breakaway Powers’ dunk with less than a minute left in the half lifted the visiting crowd to its feet and catapulted the Cats to a 31-14 halftime lead.

The second half started the same as the first, with the Cats holding the Eagles to just one goal the first four-and-a-half minutes. The end of the third quarter found the Cats sitting out most of their starters and leading 45-22.

The Wildcats apparently caught a little of what was ailing the Eagles, and the Cats went over three minutes into the fourth quarter without a field goal. Then a pair of free throws thawed their cold shooting. The reserves maintained Wildcat dominance, and played until the final buzzer, when the scoreboard showed the Wildcats had topped the Eagles, 53-30.

Joey Powers led the way with 23 points, Brenton Hale poured in nine, Gabe Moore had six, Austin Buchanan added five, Chance Harris and Dakota Chenoweth each had three, and Jordan Dry and Billy McClintick had two each.

Your Welch Lady Cats and Wildcats host the Commerce Tigers, in what is sure to be a very physical set of rematches, Saturday, when homecoming festivities commence at the Welch Wildcat Gym.

Patrick Hankins contributed this report. You, too, can be a WelchOK.com contributor. Email your news, info, and pictures to info [at] WelchOK [dot] com.