Sales Sets a New Record and Owls Take a Dominant Win
Friday, Feb. 7 at 5:30 p.m. the main gym was set for the West Vs. Free State matchup and the starting girls walked onto the court ready for another win to add to their 9-3 record. The team was hopeful for senior Emma Sales to achieve the most points scored in a career record.
The student section was small but everyone was dressed in red and watching for the tip-off. Coach Hodge was pacing the sideline with her arms crossed while girls on the bench were immersed in the beginning of the action.
By the end of the quarter, the score was 19-4 Owls. This was an exciting lead and Emma Sales had just beat the school record. With this lead, subbing out was extensive and the court was switched out multiple times giving everyone playing time for the rest of the remaining quarters.
The second quarter went by in a flash. By halftime the score was 39-4 after lots of offensive time for West. Defense was working hard using full court man-on-man.
The third quarter was just as impressive with little allowance for Free State’s offense. The score was 53-7 and junior Hannah Lester and senior Laynie Clements were hitting three-pointers relentlessly.
The final score was 63-12 with 76% of points coming from the bench. Not only did Sales achieve a school record, but she was also the top scorer at 13 points. Avery Cogdill followed with an honorable 12-points scored for the owls. The girls have a proud 10-3 record.
The Owls play at 6 p.m. on Tuesday against Shawnee Mission North. SMN is 1-7 in the district and 5-10 overall. They are #13 in the Sunflower Leagues standings.
Woodbury’s 32 leads Owls to close win
After the girls game wrapped up, the boys took to the court to wrap up their week against Free State. The Owls played the Firebirds just days after they blew out the other Lawrence area high school by a score of 77-46.
The Owls got off to a hot start in front of a packed gym. Senior Sherron Woodbury was the driving force for the Owls, scoring 12 out of the first 15 points that the Owls scored in the first quarter.
The other three points were scored at the end of the quarter, sophomore Colton Nichols took an inbound pass with less than four seconds left and heaved in toward the basket. Sure enough, it went straight into the basket. With the shot coming from 65 feet away, it became the longest made shot in school history.
The two teams stayed close together through the rest of the first half, Woodbury got his scoring total up to 17 at half and senior Bennett Warren started to make shots for the Owls, who were struggling to get scoring outside of Woodbury.
Both teams started to heat up from beyond the arc in the second half. Junior Malachi Buckner and Woodbury provided most of the shooting for the Owls. Along With Warren and Nichols, those four provided 70 of the 72 points scored.
With 90 seconds left in the game, the Owls trailed 63-64. After a reverse layup by Warren, the Owls had to get a stop on defense to all but win the game. They did get the stop, and started to drive down the court for a chance to score the dagger.
Woodbury had the ball with less than five second left on the shot clock. Close to the logo at midcourt, Woodbury shot a long three-pointer. Nothing but net. That shot gave the Owls a four-point lead with less than 30 seconds left in the heated contest.
After a missed shot, the Firebirds intentionally fouled. However, the foul was very physical, to the point where the referees called a technical foul against Free State, which gave the Owls four free-throws. Woodbury hit them all. His 11 free-throws without a miss also gave him a school record, as the Owls won 72-64 behind Woodbury’s 32 point outing.
The Owls play next Tuesday at Shawnee Mission North. The Bison are 3-11 on the season and 1-7 in the Sunflower League.
