Claremore Daily Progress

Sports

Related Photos

  • Claremore freshman post Bailey Steckline (31) applies pressure on Pryor guard Meighen Woods (10) during an early-season game at Pryor. On Tuesday, Steckline tallied 11 points to lead the Lady Zebras past Tahlequah, 48-46. TIM RITTER

    DSC_0046web.jpg

  • Claremore head girls basketball coach Stephanie Shaw energizes her team during the fourth quarter of an early-season game at Pryor. On Tuesday, Shaw and the Class 5A No. 19 Lady Zebras held off No. 5 Tahlequah, 48-46 at Claremore High School Gymnasium. TIM RITTER

    DSC_0031web.jpg
January 17, 2013

‘Taming the Tigers’

Steckline’s 4th-quarter spark lifts No. 19 Lady Zebras past No. 5 Tahlequah

Tim Ritter Sports Editor

CLAREMORE — Just a freshman, Claremore forward Bailey Steckline came off the bench and performed like a seasoned veteran during the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s Metro Lakes Conference showdown with No. 5 Tahlequah.

Steckline scored a team-high 11 points to lead Class 5A No. 19 Claremore past Tahlequah, 48-46 at the Claremore High School Gym.

The win improved Claremore to 6-5 overall and 5-1 in conference. Tahlequah dropped to 7-6 overall and 4-2 in conference.

“Oh, my gosh, I thought Bailey was huge for us in the fourth quarter. She never panicked and when she had an open look, she knocked it down,” Claremore head coach Stephanie Shaw said. “That’s huge for a freshman to step up when the team needed her.  She stepped up offensively and defensively with some huge rebounds.”

Steckline entered the fourth quarter with 7:26 left after Claremore starter Ashlyn Glenn picked up her fifth personal foul. In the fourth quarter alone, Steckline scored seven of the Lady Zebras’ nine points.

Back-to-back baseline jumpers by Steckline put Claremore ahead 43-37 with 3:56 remaining in the game.

Tahlequah rallied from a 4-point deficit, 47-43, to a 1-point game at 47-46 on a three-pointer by Alissa Hadley with 1:03 left.

Steckline, however, drained 1-of-2 free throws on the ensuing possession to put Claremore up 48-46 with 47 seconds.

“Give Tahlequah credit, they are very well coached and they never panicked and hit some big 3’s at the end,” Shaw said. “If we can start putting together second halves with our first halves, we could be pretty dangerous. But, we have a lot of things we still need to work on.”

Claremore carried a 34-17 lead into halftime after an explosive effort from the perimeter, led by a pair of treys from Alex Crews. Claremore drained four three-pointers in the first 16 minutes, and also applied a suffocating press defense on Tahlequah.

“In the first half, I thought we played hard on defense and that showed in holding them to 17 points,” Shaw said. “But, in the second half, we let off the gas and didn’t play very hard defensively.”

Claremore junior point guard Kaleigh Cox tallied seven points and had several timely steals in the second half that were critical to the Lady Zebras’ success down the stretch.

Glenn also recorded nine points before fouling out, and was helped on the offensive end by Anna McGuire and Crews with six points each.

Monica Taylor knocked down a first-half three pointer, and contributed with four assists; while Morgan Johnson, Tristin Reynolds and Cherokee Gott chipped in two points each.

“The great thing about this team is on any given night, someone new has stepped up when we needed it,” Shaw said.

Jhonett Cookson led Tahlequah with a double-double performance with 10 points, 13 rebounds and two assists.

The Lady Zebras continue their quest toward a Metro Lakes Conference championship at 6:30 p.m. on Friday against Coweta at the Claremore HS Gym.

 

Text Only
Sports
  • Practice_051web.jpg ‘All-State Brace’

    All the hours and hard work of keeping the Claremore Zebra athletes injury-free in order to reach their dreams at the highest level helped graduate Averey Brace fulfill a huge accomplishment in her athletic training career.
    Brace, a recent 2013 graduate of Claremore High School, received All-State honors from the Oklahoma Coaches Association earlier this month for her three-year commitment to the Claremore High School athletic training program.

    May 17, 2013 1 Photo

  • Sign up now for OSU Baseball Camp

    Oklahoma State Baseball will be holding a pair of camps in June for players in grades 1-8, and registration is now open.
     
    Session I of the camp is June 17-19, with Session II set for June 24-26, and cost for each camp is $200. Camp runs from 9 a.m.-noon each day.

    May 17, 2013

  • Lady Zebra volleyball camp set for May 20

    The Claremore Lady Zebra volleyball camp will take place on May 20-23 at the Claremore High School gymnasium.
    Under the direction of Lady Zebra head coach Lindsey Renfroe, campers will receive instruction in fundamentals — passing, setting, hitting and serving.

    May 17, 2013

  • Green Country All-Star Games start May 23 in Catoosa

    Area senior all-star athletes from 21 schools in northeastern Oklahoma will lace up their high tops, hoist their bats and dust off their pom-poms in preparation for the 2013 Green Country All-Star Games held May 23-24 in Catoosa.

    May 17, 2013

  • SEC BASEBALL: Auburn blanks No. 13 Arkansas, 3-0

    Conner Kendrick and Terrance Dedrick combined on a five-hit shutout as Auburn defeated No. 13 Arkansas, 3-0, in the series opener on Thursday night at Plainsman Park.

    Arkansas drops to 34-18 overall and 17-10 in Southeastern Conference play, while Auburn is now 32-21 and 12-16 in league play.

    May 17, 2013

  • GOLF: Bradley gets course-record 60 at Byron Nelson

    Keegan Bradley had no thoughts of a course record, or the possibility of a 59, after consecutive bogeys in the middle of his opening round at the Byron Nelson Championship.

    Until his 136-yard wedge shot on his final hole Thursday.

    “It was going right at it. (A 59) crossed my mind for a second, and it would be unbelievable if I buried this,” Bradley said. “But I had 3 feet to shoot 60. I was actually very nervous, uncomfortable over it and thank God I made it.”

    May 17, 2013

  • Cowboys rock Mountaineers, 7-4

    Oklahoma State showcased its offensive ability in its series opener against West Virginia on Thursday at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.

    Whether it’s small ball or the long ball — both of which came into effect — the 16th-ranked Cowboys are proving they can find a way to win here late in the season with a 7-4 mauling of the Mountaineers.

    May 17, 2013

  • OU baseball closes out regular season play at K-State

    Moods were light as Oklahoma boarded a bus for Manhattan, Kan., Thursday afternoon. What they’ll be like by Sunday depends on what transpires over the next three games.

    The Sooners’ season hinges on the outcome.

    May 17, 2013

  • Westbrook's injury hinders Thunder's playoff run

    The way Kevin Martin describes it, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost the “vision” of a potential championship run the morning they learned All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook would be out for the rest of the postseason.

    May 17, 2013

  • NSU women's golf in 8th place at NCAA Division II Championship

    The Northeastern State women’s golf team sits in eighth place after Thursday’s second round of the 2013 NCAA Division II Championships on the par-72, 6,228-yard Legends Course at LPGA International.

    May 17, 2013