ENID —



The 16th-ranked Enid Pacers (12-7) won their second game in a row Friday, holding off the pesky Oklahoma City Storm 52-49 when a potential game-tying three point shot with two seconds remaining by the Storm’s Laura Ward bounced harmlessly off the rim.

Junior Courtney Chelf poured in 30 points for Enid and the Storm (21-12) were led by Mariah Haxton’s 14 points in the paint.

“We’ll take a win any night,” said Pacers head coach Robb Mills. “OKC is a good team and I’m proud of the girls for holding on and getting the win.”

In the boys game, the home-schooled Storm beat the Plainsmen, 73-57 handing the EHS boys (7-11) their second straight loss.

Enid trailed 6-4 midway through the opening quarter when Pacers’ senior Esther DeClerck sank two free throws at the 3:12 mark and a 10-2 EHS run ensued, giving the locals a 14-8 lead. However, the Storm responded and closed the quarter with four straight, narrowing the gap to 14-12.

 The Pacers eased out to a 19-15 lead with 6:10 remaining in the second quarter, but junior Karley Heidelberg shot the Storm into a 21-21 tie at the 3:18 mark, draining five points in just under two minutes of play. Chelf, though, sparked a Pacers’ rally with a long 3-pointer and two free throws to ignite the Pacers to a 32-24 margin at halftime.

The Storm came out hot and reeled off 10 straight points as the second half got under way, until two free throws by Haven Bay gave Enid a 37-34 lead with five minutes left in the stanza.  The Pacers' defense then delivered, harassing OKC all over the floor, giving up only one free throw in the final five minutes for a 41-35 margin after three.

“We started to get tough-minded and battled them,” Mills said. “The game became up-and-down when the officiating didn’t go our way, but we hung in there.

“We battled through and didn’t react to it and as a result, we were able to hold the lead most of the game.”

OKC stayed at it and trimmed the Enid advantage to 49-45 with 2:46 to play, but Chelf sank a free throw and Bay hit a runner in the lane to push the Pacers out front 52-47 with 44 seconds left. McKae Mitchell made a bucket for OKC with four seconds left, cutting the deficit to  52-49.

The Storm called a quick timeout. On the Enid inbounds set, the ball was mishandled and OKC got the turnover with two seconds to play. However, Ward’s 3-point attempt carommed off the front of rim and Enid claimed the victory.

“We lost a close game against Grove (43-39) and it was real good to win a close one at home,” Mills said.

OKC STORM 57, ENID 57 (B)

In the boys game, OKC Storm (21-11) blitzed out to a 22-8 first quarter lead and never looked back in defeating the Plainsmen in the nightcap.

“They (OKC Storm) are a real good team,” said Plainsmen head coach Ryan Wilkinson. “They have proven that all year long.”

Jacob Hammond led the Storm with 24 points, Allonzo Trier had 18, Kole Talbott pitched in 14 while Landon McGee had 13.

Tim Atkins had a career-high 16 points for Enid and Aaron Austin added 10 in the loss.

Hammond, six-foot-9, poured in 20 points in the first half and freshman Allonzo Trier added 12 in the first half onslaught that left Enid reeling, and down 45-24 at intermission.

“Early on, we didn’t have an answer for the big guy,” Wilkinson said. “That was the difference in the game.”

In the third frame, the Plainsmen manufactured an 11-4 surge to trim the deficit to 58-40 with one quarter left to play.

“We won the third quarter, but we had guys worrying too much about the scoreboard and not even about doing the little things,” Wilkinson said.

“We played a little tight early and could not find a way to take away their post game.”

The Storm led by as many as 22 points in the final quarter, building up a 69-47 lead with 3:07 to play. Both teams emptied their benches as the Storm cruised to the win.

Enid will be back at the Mabee Center Monday to take on Stillwater with the girls scheduled for a 6:30 p.m., tip followed by the boys game at 8.

Both games can be heard on KGWA (960 AM).