OCA Girls Fall Short Despite Impressive Comeback Bid

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  • Sydney Duncan at the free throw line
    Sydney Duncan at the free throw line
  • Caton Adair (2) and Kristen Beaver (30)
    Caton Adair (2) and Kristen Beaver (30)
  • Mollie Francis (20) and Amanni Peterson (11) stand ready to defend
    Mollie Francis (20) and Amanni Peterson (11) stand ready to defend
  • Brianna Wietelman shoots a free throw
    Brianna Wietelman shoots a free throw
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The long-range shot swished through the basket just before the buzzer sounded, but it was simply too late.

Junior forward Sydney Duncan’s last second 3-pointer probably left the Oklahoma Christian Academy girls’ basketball team wondering what could have been as an intense comeback bid fell just short in a 57-55 loss to Stroud on Tuesday night.

OCA (3-1) trailed 53-40 in the fourth quarter, and the Lady Tigers seemed to have the game in hand.

Stroud (2-1) did not score from the field the rest of the way as the Lady Eagles came roaring back.

OCA coach Brandon Collins said while it is disappointing to lose, he loved the way the Lady Eagles fought to the end.

“I think a lot of teams would have crumbled seeing the scoreboard like that with four or five minutes left, but it just shows the maturity and that they’re starting to buy in,” Collins said. “We’re going to be a team to watch out for in the future, I really believe that.”

Senior forward Brianna Wietelman scored 9 fourth-quarter points as she led the comeback bid. The Lady Tigers tried to run as much of the clock out as they could to preserve the lead. They forced a late foul, and Kileigh Mixin hit two clutch free throws. Those 2 points were the difference.

OCA could not score quickly enough. The Lady Eagles called timeout with 7.7 seconds left, but it was not enough time trailing 57-52. Duncan’s shot was an exciting moment, but the buzzer sounded right after Stroud inbounded the ball.

Wietelman said the Lady Eagles need to keep their heads up and know what they can accomplish.

“We didn’t play as good as we wanted to at the beginning,” Wietelman said. “But I feel like we really fought back at the end, even though we came short… In the long run we could do better, but I feel like in that game, whenever we were down, the way we fought to get back up was really good.”

The Lady Eagles suffered from a slow start. OCA did not hit any field goals in the first quarter and trailed 15-3. The Eagles came to life in the second quarter and came within a point twice. Sophomore Mollie Francis gave the Lady Eagles their first lead early in the third quarter, but the Tigers responded well to retake the lead.

Duncan led OCA with 18 points. Wietelman finished with 14 despite scoring only a pair of free throws in the first half.

Collins was complimentary of their performances.

“I think Sydney Duncan showed why she is one of the best players in her class, and one of the best players in the state in my opinion,” Collins said. “A lot of people don’t know about (Wietelman), but I think they’re going to hear about her pretty soon. She’s a very, very talented player, and when she chooses to dominate, I don’t think there’s anybody in the state that can guard her, in my opinion.”

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