Lady Indians roll

By BEN JOHNSON

WAGONER – Laci Marsden may be new to the Oklahoma high school basketball scene. But she is no stranger to the importance of playing well as postseason play nears.

The senior move-in from Ketchikan, Alaska, scored a game-high 25 points as Class 3A No. 7 Sequoyah wore out Wagoner in a 63-47 triumph at the Hughes Event Center.

“I’m not real familiar with any of the teams around here because it’s all new to me,” said Marsden, who scored 22 of her points between the second and third quarters. “I just go out every game like it’s the same.”

Marsden went 10-of-17 from the floor while senior teammate Nikki Lewis was 7-of-17 for 20 points in the Lady Indians’ third straight victory – and second straight on the road. Sequoyah will wrap up the road portion of its regular-season schedule at Oktaha on Friday night.

Sequoyah (14-6) knocked down 24-of-61 field goal attempts, including 10 3-pointers. But it was the constant defensive pressure that made the Lady Bulldogs crack.

“This is what we do,” Sequoyah coach Bill Nobles said talking about his team’s defense. “We’re not tall, we’re not big, we’re not extraordinarily athletic, so we have to turn it into a full-court game, and we got good pressure.”

The Lady Indians turned up the heat defensively after they found themselves down through most of the first quarter and a half. Wagoner (11-7) led 13-9 through one quarter and held a 20-19 advantage midway through the second frame.

But from there, it was all Sequoyah.

The Lady Indians forced Wagoner into nine second-quarter turnovers, which Sequoyah used to propel itself on a 13-2 run, which turned into a 32-22 edge going into the locker room.

“We try to make people worry for 94 feet,” said Nobles, whose team went through three ties and seven lead changes before putting the game away in the second quarter. “And the kids did a great job of that tonight.”

Sequoyah continued to torment Wagoner in the second half by forcing six more turnovers in the third quarter, which led to the Lady Indians’ largest lead of the game at 22.

With the win, the Lady Indians became only the second team to beat Wagoner on its home floor this season. The Lady Bulldogs first loss at home was to Vinita (47-40) on Jan. 12.

“Wagoner is a good basketball team,” Nobles said of the Lady Bulldogs, who are ranked 12th in Class 4A. “And we have to happy – coming to Wagoner and beating a top-15 team.”

Wagoner, who was 17-of-49 from the field, was led by Jennifer Monk, the only Lady Bulldogs’ player in double figures with 10 points. The Lady Bulldogs’ leading scorer, Janae McJunkins, was limited to five points – all in the first quarter – thanks to a 2-of-14 night from the field.

“We didn’t do anything real special,” Nobles said of guarding McJunkins. “We just concentrated on her because she is a dangerous player, who is really, really good. I’m just exstatic on how we played defense against her.”

As for Marsden and Lewis, who were joined by Lynsey Dry in the double-digit scoring column with 10 points, Nobles said they becoming quite the force to be reckoned with.

“They are really coming into their own and becoming quite the tandem,” said Nobles, who is in his seventh season at Sequoyah. “It makes it really hard [for other teams] when you have two kids that can go inside-out. And tonight for example, when they are shooting the ball well, we’re going to be hard to beat.”

Sequoyah 63, Wagoner 47 (girls)

Sequoyah 9 23 22 9 – 63

Wagoner 13 9 13 12 – 47

Sequoyah (14-6): Laci Marsden 25, Nikki Lewis 20, Lynsey Dry 10, Taylor Johnson 6, Courtney Jones 1, Dee Adair 1.

Wagoner (11-7): Jennifer Monk 10, Julie Fender 9, Landyn Fulps 8, Reel 7, Janea McJunkins 5, Jones 3, Freeman 3.