Lady Hawks capture consolation title at Altus tournament
The Iowa Park Lady Hawks captured the consolation trophy this past weekend with a 46-30 win over Yukon at the 18th Annual Bulldog Classic in Altus.

Iowa Park went 2-1 in the tournament, losing the opener to eventual-champ Enid 57-43, then defeating Moore 34-25 Friday to place them in the consolation finals.

Tuesday night at home, the Lady Hawks defeated Sanger 50-34 in a non-conference game to improve to 10-4 for the season.

Coach Jacinda Langen’s girls will take a much-needed break through the Christmas holidays, returning to action Dec. 29-31 in the Prosper Tournament.

In the opener of the Altus tournament against Enid – which defeated Wichita Falls Old High in the finals for the second consecutive title – the Lady Hawks kept pace in the first half, ending the first period tied 11-11, and trailing by only two at intermission 23-21.

Enid took control in the third period, outscoring Iowa Park 16-12, and again in the final period 18-10 for the win.

Savanna Braziel led Iowa Park with 13 points, while Presley Gann and Whitney James added eight points each.

“Savanna had a good tournament,” said Langen of her post player. “She’s been playing well the last few games. I’ve been very pleased with her. That’s what we need, her and Alex (Newman) both to play well in the inside to help open up our shooters on the outside.”

The difference in the Enid game, said Langen, was a single player who contributed 30 points, almost as much as the Lady Hawks scored the entire contest. “We just didn’t make the right adjustments to top her,” said Langen. “She hit threes, and penetrated. We have to figure out how to shut down players like that. We’ll see that in district.”

In the second game Friday against Moore – another 6A Oklahoma team with an enrollment of 2,200 – the Lady Hawks controlled from the start, leading 8-5 after the first period, and extending the lead to 16-9 at intermission.

The Lady Hawks outscored Moore 6-5 in the third frame, and 12-11 in the final for the nine-point win.

Braziel again led in scoring with nine points, while James added eight, and Megan Walls six.

“We played well in that game,” said Langen. “We did a lot of good things. Probably shot better than we did against Enid. And we rebounded well.”

In the consolation final, Iowa Park opened up a 12-5 lead in the opening period and never looked back, outscoring Yukon 12-11 in the second period, and 17-8 in the third.

Gann led all scorers in the game with 17 points, while James added 10, with six points each from Amanda Fuhrman and Newman.

“Yukon had lost to Old High in overtime Friday by one point,” said Langen. “We were pleased to come in and play as well as we did.

Asked about playing large Oklahoma schools in the annual Bulldog tournament, Langen said, “You see some speed and heighth and some other different things you don’t see over here. I think a lot of those teams play zone. I think our man-to-man defense frustrated a lot of them ... except for the girl from Enid.”

Tuesday night at home, Iowa Park built a 26-13 lead in the first half and held on for a 50-34 win against Sanger.

The win was made possible with a good night at the charity line, with Iowa Park making 24 of 36 free throw attempts.

Presley Gann led all scorers with 19 points, while James and Newman contributed seven each, and Braziel five.

Sanger rallied in the third period 10-3 with Walls – the starting point guard for Iowa Park – spending most of the period on the bench.

“We couldn’t buy a bucket in the third quarter,” said Langen. “It made me realize how much we depended on Megan last night. She’s such a key because of her speed, quickness, and defense. It’s important to keep her on the floor.”

Langen said the Lady Hawks will practice through the next week, then take seven days off for the Christmas holidays before returning to action Dec. 29 in a competive Prosper tournament.

“We’ve just got to keep it going in the right direction, and keep everyone healthy.”