Larry Larkin
Monday, Feb. 8, 2010 — COWETA — Riding the coat tails of Dakota Caudill’s 28-point performance Claremore had no trouble coasting to a 97-66 high school basketball win here Friday night. By knocking off Coweta the No. 6-ranked Zebras won their 13th straight while improving to 15-1 for the season.
It was a bumpy ride for the No. 4 Lady Zebras, however. The shorthanded Claremore girls couldn’t match No. 10 Coweta in the fourth quarter and fell 57-41 to the No. 10 Lady Tigers.
This came on a night when 14 players reached double scoring totals and 3-point attempts rained from all corners on the court.
Boys
It was another typical night at the office for the Claremore boys. They came out in all business fashion. Only the suits and ties were missing. As Zebra fans have come to expect, their team took an early lead and continued to pad an increasing lead.
Caudill wasted no time in showing he was there to score. He hit nine of his first 10 inside shots and had 18 points before half time. He cooled down somewhat in the third quarter, but still claimed 10 more points before it the period ended.
The Tigers (7-10) saw five players with 10 or more points, but the top total was 13 by Quantad Jones. Coweta’s lone lead came at 4:20 in the opening quarter. Trevor Sumpter hit the first of the team’s seven treys and the Tigers were on top, 7-5.
Claremore’s answer was a trey by Dakota Beller and an 8-7 lead reversal. The Beller bomb exploded to start an 18-2 Zebra run during the remaining time in the quarter.
It was another double-double performance by Caudill. As Claremore out rebounded Coweta 27-21, the 6-5 junior post player grabbed 13 for his side.
Backing Caudill on offense were Michael Skimbo with 14 points and Ben Jones with a season high 10.
Claremore’s shooting percentage was a lofty .620. This included 12 of 23 treys. The Zebras also made good 18 of 24 free throws.
Coweta tried to keep up by launching 17 3-point attempts. The Tigers converted seven.
With the outcome for the most part being settled back in the first quarter, the main question remaining was would Claremore reach 100 points?
The century mark appeared well in reach when Claremore had 87 with over four minutes remaining. By this time, however, Zebra coach Tim Stewart had floored the court with mostly junior varsity players.
Thanks to Alex Rounds’ five late points on back-to-back buckets, the Zebras still came within an inch or two of scoring the 100. A 3-point final shot from the right corner hit the top of the rim and bounced away.
Girls
The Lady Zebras (12-4) picked the wrong night to revenge a December 15, 56-41 setback to Coweta.
Maybe the dismissal of their head coach and a leading player quitting the team had rocked Coweta a few weeks ago, but all evidence of problems was missing Friday night.
The Lady Tigers (12-5) scored their first 21 points on 3-point baskets. They hit eight of 12 from long range. Then after missing one early in the second half, the decision was made to abandon the aerial attack and use muscle under the net.
This move allowed Coweta to jump in front 27-26 with 2:08 remaining in the third quarter. One final trey followed to give the home team their biggest lead of the game to that point.
The margin continued to grow. In the fourth quarter Coweta made seven of eight 2-point attempts and dropped in 11 of 12 free throws.
Four Tigers scored in double figures with Katelyn Duncan and Katie Harsen leading the team with 15 each.
Claremore’s Jordan Schultz once again captured the top score with 24 points. Taylor Swift backed her up with 12, but that combo provided the only Zebra scoring threat.
The remaining five Claremore players shot only four times from the field. Rebecca Campbell and Katelyn Ward sank their lone attempts and Sierra Barnwell made one of two foul shots.
Sophomore starters Miranda Taylor and Megan Martin both were out with injuries. Taylor missed her second game in as many nights. A hit in the mouth while playing in a junior varsity game Friday resulted in stitches being required. Martin suffered a broken finger also Friday night. She still managed to finish the game and didn’t knowledge the injury until afterwards.
Claremore entered the Coweta contest knowing only seven players would compete.
Boys
CLAREMORE 97, COWETA 66
Claremore - 23 - 27 - 24 - 23 --- 97
Coweta - 9 - 22 - 22 - 13 --- 66
Claremore - Dakota Caudill 28, Michael Skimbo 14, Ben James 10,Alex Miller 9, Brad Janzen 8, Dakota Beller 7, Taylor Schisler 6, Robert Boyles 6, Alex Rounds 5, Dylan Jordan 4.
Coweta - Quantad Jones 13, Kruz Lynch 12, Zach Norris 12, Spencer Murphy 11, Trevor Sumpter 10, Dillan Burchett 5, Donavan Dumay 2, Cole Dunn 1.
Girls
COWETA 57, CLAREMORE 41
Claremore - 9 - 9 - 14 - 13 --- 41
Coweta - 12 - 6 - 10 - 25 --- 57
Claremore - Jordan Schultz 24, Taylor Swift 12, Rebecca Campbell 2, Katelyn Ward 2, Sierra Barnwell 1.
Coweta - Katelyn Duncan 15, Katie Harsen 15, Katie Kelley 13, Lindsey Nowlin 12, Cheyenne Ivy 2.
