Bixby girls continue roll, get payback against Tulsa Union; Union boys pull away from Bixby with pivotal fourth-quarter run

The Lady Spartans used some big fourth-quarter baskets to earn separation from Union.

By Buck Ringgold | File photo by Karen Schwartz

TULSA — Tulsa Union's girls went to Bixby in December and handed the Lady Spartans a defeat.

In fact, the Lady Redhawks stymied the Lady Spartans that night, holding them to 25 points.

Tuesday night in the rematch between the two, Bixby got enough points to administer payback.

The Lady Spartans used some big fourth-quarter baskets to earn separation from Union as Bixby continued its winning ways of late with a 38-31 win at the Union Multipurpose Activity Center.

"Both of us are very defensive, hard-nosed oriented and we are both pretty patient on offense for the most part," Lady Spartan coach Tina Thomas said. "We even tried to up the tempo a little bit, but it was kind of hard to get cranked up."

Until the start of the fourth quarter, with Bixby hanging on to a 29-27 advantage.

In the early moments of the quarter, Bixby point guard Gentry Baldwin launched a 25-footer from the right wing, which hit nothing but net.

"That was kind of like a nail in the coffin; a statement shot like, 'I'm not going down,'" Thomas said. "She's like a little terrier; she gets her teeth in something and like, no; you don't want to mess with our Gent."

For her part, Baldwin mentioned her pivotal 3 gave her team a much-needed momentum boost.

"I was struggling a little bit at the beginning of the game, and they started to pick up some momentum a little bit and it was kind of just like, 'This is not happening,'" Baldwin said. "We got the momentum and I think that gave us some momentum to build back off of, and then we kind of just got in our groove from there."

Then on the Lady Spartans' next possession following Baldwin's 3, they attempted another 3 but it missed. However, junior Meredith Mayes was right there underneath the basket to grab the rebound and stick it back through, giving Bixby a 34-27 lead.

Union got no closer than four the rest of the way.

Baldwin split the Union defense in the paint for a driving layup for a 36-30 lead, and Mayes later had another basket inside with less than three minutes left for the final seven-point margin.

The Lady Spartans (15-3) were able to avenge a 29-25 loss to the Lady Redhawks in Bixby on Dec. 14. That dropped Bixby to 3-2, but since then, the Lady Spartans have won 12 of 13 ballgames, including a current seven-game win streak.

"Our team chemistry has been really good, and I just feel like we pick it up every single time," Bixby junior guard Gracy Wernli said. "There's no break-off when we sub or we switch players. It's just very good."

Tuesday, the Lady Redhawks led just once all night, which was 9-8 late in the first quarter on a 3-pointer from freshman Vanessa Coleman.

The score eventually was tied at 10-all after the opening quarter. In the second quarter, it was even at 12 before Wernli knocked down a 3, and the Lady Spartans remained up by three at the break, 19-16.

Mayes scored consecutive baskets to start the second half, as Bixby extended its lead to seven. Union (12-5) answered, and was able to pull even at 27-all after senior TK Pitts made consecutive baskets.

But right before the third quarter ended, Bixby untied it as Baldwin found frontcourt player Alyssa Nielsen inside, and Nielsen finished it to put the Lady Spartans ahead to stay.

Nielsen had all six of her points in the third.

"That's what's so special about this team, depending on the night," Thomas said. "Alyssa kind of gave us a little shot in the arm, but it could be any of six or seven kids that we have."

Mayes led the Lady Spartans with 14 points and seven rebounds. Baldwin and Wernli each had nine points.

Pitts ended up leading all scorers with 16 points.

The Lady Spartans return home Friday to take on Broken Arrow. They are home for three of their final four regular-season games.

"We're not overconfident, but we're confident that we're getting better and we're heading in the right direction," Thomas said.

Tulsa Union 85, Bixby 75 (BOYS)

 Five Redhawks reached double figures as Union used a pivotal fourth-quarter run to pull away from the Spartans after momentum swings from both squads.

"It's kind of been how this team has played this year," Union coach Rudy Garcia said. "We go on runs, we'll get a lead and I don't know; I guess it's our youth at times, we just make some mistakes that end up hurting us.

"Obviously, Bixby's got some guys that can shoot it; they knocked some shots down. ... But in the fourth quarter, we were able to put another run together and in some of the games we lost earlier in the year, we've not done that."

Union (10-8) led at the half, 44-40, and was also up by three after the third quarter, 64-61. Bixby tied it at 64-all to start the final quarter when Tristan Driver knocked down a 3-pointer.

But the Redhawks proceeded to score 11 of the next 12 points to finally get some breathing room. Trent Pierce, a 6-foot-9 junior, hit a 3-pointer from the right corner to put Union up by six, 71-65. 

"(The 3) was a great rhythm shot; it was a good pass from my teammate, and it was right in the rhythm to help get us momentum," Pierce said.

Pierce also capped the pivotal 11-1 run by hitting a pair of foul shots, which gave Union a 10-point advantage, 75-65, with 4:58 remaining.

Bixby (7-11) got no closer than six the rest of the way before Union eventually went back up by double digits. Pierce proceeded to put the exclamation point on the night as he drove the baseline to throw down a dunk in the final seconds.

"It was a great dunk," he said. "I love the energy in the stands and had them kind of hyped, so it was a great game and a good win."

Pierce scored half of his 16 points in the final quarter.

"It was a great team win; it was one that we needed," Pierce said. "Everyone contributed, so it was a good game to have."

Sophomore Dalen Fuller led the Redhawks with 19 points, 14 coming in the first half. He also made three 3's.

Cedric Dixon, a junior, added 17 points and also converted three treys. Chris Mason added 14 points, going 7-of-8 from the line, and Erik Madrid had 12 points as well for Union.

"(Five in double figures) is what we preach," Garcia said. "We've got a lot of guys that can score, and we feel like if we can get all five of our starters in double figures, that makes it hard for other teams to defend us.

"We've shown at times that we are as good as anybody, but we can also get beat by anybody. I think if we can keep going, trending up, I think we'll have a chance here late."

Bixby junior standout Parker Friedrichsen led all scorers with 31 points. He was 5-of-6 from the foul line and made four 3's.

Also for the Spartans, Driver had 21 points and three 3's, and Sam McCormick added 12 points.

Union is home again on Friday night to take on Bartlesville.