Zebras, Lady Zebras record season opening wins Skiatook

By Larry Larkin, Sports Correspondent

December 3, 2009 — SKIATOOK - Claremore teams suffered no ill effects from turkey leftovers Tuesday night here as both Zebra teams opened their 2009-10 basketball season.

Knocking off Skiatook in high school roundball action.

In both cases the games were actually not as close as the final score.

Zebra boys coach Tim Stewart saw his squad take a commanding 15 point first half lead on the way to a solid 85-74 victory.

During the earlier girls’ outing coach Mark Campbell’s Lady Zebras were overbearing in the first quarter. After the home team showed some signs of life during the middle two frames, Claremore responded by slamming the door shut. The end result was a 53-37 win.

The season opening games served as a tune-up for the rest of the schedule. Claremore now has a week to regroup and work on the parts of the game that caused a few concerns that may need to be worked out.

The next Claremore game will be Tuesday, December 8, against Bixby at the Frank Mobra Field House.

Boys

Skiatook’s Eric White and Coinor Appelberg combined for 51 points, but their gun slinging could not match Claremore’s overall arsenal of weapons.

Dakota Caudill led the Zebra attack with 22 points while Robert Boyles and Ben James each fired in 14. Of the 11 Zebras that entered the game 10 registered points.

Stewart had to be pleased with his bench as it supplied 36 points. This compared to four for Skiatook.

The Bulldogs took only one lead and it came in the opening seconds. Boyles put Claremore on the board with a lay-up off the opening tip, but Jo Jo Staires answered with a 3-pointer.

That edge lasted only until Taylor Shisler’s bucket flip-flopped the score again. Getting points from six different players in the first quarter, the Zebras started pulling away. Twenty-eight points went on the boards in the second quarter.

Up by 19 to start the final frame, Claremore held its cool as the Bulldogs tried to rally. Their effort was good enough for a 14-4 run that closed the gap to nine, 70-61, with 4:12 left in the game.

Claremore bounced right back as Caudill rebounded for a basket, Dakota Beller hit a trey, Caudill tallied another two, and James stole the ball on one end of the court and raced to the other for a lay-up.

Suddenly Claremore was back in front by 17 and for all practical purposes the game was over.

Skiatook’s White led all players with 30 points. Eighteen came in the second half.

(Boys)

CLAREMORE85,SKIATOOK 74

Claremore 18 28 20 19 --- 85

Skiatook 12 19 16 27 --- 74

Scoring

Claremore – Dakota Caudill 22, Robert Boyles 14, Ben James 14, Dakota Beller 8, Dylan Jordan 7, Taylor Shisler 6, Brad Janzen 4, Nathan Breshears 4, Michael Skimbo 3, Alex Rounds 3.

Skiatook – Eric White 30, Coinor Appelberg 21, Jo Jo Staires 10, Brett Cooper 9, Dyan Crase 4.

Girls

Without an inside six-foot tall player for the first time since most Claremore fans can remember, the Lady Zebras simply went to other sources during their premiere season performance.

As a result the victory went into the books with four different Zebras reached double scoring figures. Jordan Schultz used the fourth quarter to get half of her game high 16 points. Right on her heels came Taylor Swift with 15, Sierra Barnwell with 11, and Megan Martin’s 10.

Working the ball around the perimeter with a passing drill that involved all five players, the Lady Zebras kept Skiatook confused at the start. That was at one end of the court. At the other the Claremore defense looked like an iron curtain during the opening quarter.

Skiatook’s Cheyenne Battles claimed her team’s only two points in the period with a bucket at the 4:07 mark. All the remaining 14 points in the frame belonged to the Lady Zebras.

Skiatook, playing its second game of the young season, managed to right the ship and recovered slightly. The Lady Bulldogs recovered to outscore Claremore over the second and third quarters…but just barely. The 12-point Zebra advantage at the start was cut to nine as the contest entered the fourth quarter.

When Kiley Pedigo started the period with a basket Skiatook trailed by a 38-31 count. The two sides exchanged buckets again and then it was all over.

Claremore rattled off the next six straight and claimed 13 of the final 17 points scored.

Correy Moyer, a 6-0 freshman, led the Lady Bulldogs with 15 points. She was the only Skiatook player in double figures.

(Girls)

CLAREMORE 53, SKIATOOK 37

Claremore – 14 - 9 – 15 – 15 --- 53

Skiatook - 2 – 10 – 17 - 8 --- 37

Scoring

Claremore – Jordan Schultz 16, Taylor Swift 15, Sierra Barnwell 11, Megan Martin 10, Jordan Harris 1.

Skiatook – Correy Moyer 15, Caitlin Coody 9, Kiley Pedigo 7, Demi Jackson 2, Cheyenne Battles 2, Kristin Canady

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