By Bruce Campbell, Staff Writer
Enid’s boys won’t be lacking for motivation when arch-rival Stillwater comes to the Mabee Center for the second half of a 6:30 p.m. girls-boys Centennial Conference basketball doubleheader tonight.
The Pioneers have eliminated the Plainsmen from the playoffs the last two seasons and beat EHS 61-58 in two overtimes at the Mabee Center last season.
“We would like to get some of those back,’’ said Enid coach T.J. Scholz. “We’re going to play as hard as we can and try not to turn the ball over as much as we have the last few games.’’
Chris Fitzpatrick, the team’s leading scorer (31.0) will be coming off a week-long suspension which forced him to miss four games last week.
Enid (3-2) were 2-2 in those games.
“Chris is our best ballhandler so our turnovers should be down,’’ Scholz said.
Scholz was pleased with how the Plainsmen picked up the scoring slack last week. Guards Alex Patterson (14.0) and Gibson Rose (10.8) averaged in double figures during Fitzpatrick’s absence.
“We have some other scoring options,’’ Scholz said. “Alex Patterson shot the ball well at Bartlesville. We knew he had the capabilities of doing that. It was good to see up take up some of the scoring load.’’
The week, Scholz said, showed the Plainsmen needed to work on cutting down turnovers.
“They need to work harder on the drills we do in practice so when it comes down to a game situation, we won’t make the same mistakes.’’
The Pioneers are 1-4 overall with two losses to No. 4-ranked Edmond Santa Fe (70-56) and (71-51) and another loss to No. 14 Lawton MacArthur (75-74).
Guard Jordan Pounds, who hit the winning shot at the Mabee Center last season, has been hobbled by an ankle injury.
Stillwater has solid shooters in Connor Lamb and Alex Budke.
“Their record doesn’t indicate how good a team they have,’’ Scholz said. “It’s going to be a good challenge for us.’’
Scholz considers Stillwater the favorite for the Centennial title. The Pioneers are 1-0 in league play with a 58-42 win over Bartlesville.
“Their kids always play hard and can put the ball in the basket,’’ Scholz said.
The Plainsmen are No. 13 in the latest Class 6A OkRankings.com poll. Stillwater is ranked No. 16.
Scholz said he was undecided about his starting lineup.
No charity for Pacers
Pacers coach Layne Jones just has to look at his stat sheet to determine the key for the 2-3 Enid girls against the 1-4 Lady Pioneers.
Enid was 9-of-37 from the foul line in a 47-44 loss to Altus in the third-place game of the Altus Tournament Saturday. The Pacers are shooting only 36 percent overall from the line.
“It’s a mental deal,’’ Jones said. “We’re making them in practice, we’re just not making them in games. It’s something the girls have to work on their own.’’
Enid, Jones said, has done an excellent job of drawing fouls. They are averaging 25 free throws a game.
“If a team gets to the line 12 times, that’s pretty decent,’’ Jones said. “I don’t know what else they would want.’’
The Lady Pioneers are coming off losses to three ranked teams at the Edmond Open Tournament — No. 4 Edmond North (60-50), No. 11 Jenks (49-30) and No. 15 Southmoore (50-39).
Neither the Pacers or Stillwater is ranked in the top 20 in Class 6A.
Guard Emma Gade has been the Lady Pioneers’ top shooter lately. EHS beat Stillwater 50-32 and 49-41 last season.
“We will have to play well because they are better than what they were last season,’’ Jones said. “They shoot a lot of 3s and they are a little bit streaky. If we play well, we’ll have a good chance. If we don’t, we have a chance to get beat.’’
The Pacers are starting to cut down some on turnovers.
Courtney Chelf, an all-tournament selection at Altus, is Enid’s leading scorer with a 12.0 average. Rani Melvin had 26 points coming off the bench in the tournament.
Jones said Melvin appears to be playing better coming off the bench. She will remain the team’s sixth player.
Chelf will be joined in the starting lineup by Regan Crowl (5.2), Jayci Wehrenberg (3.0), Ty Washington (5.6) and Haley Rasp (6.0).
KGWA (960 AM) will air both games.
