GIRLS BASKETBALL: Hartshorne falls in area, will play in consolation finals

Mar. 6—SEMINOLE — The Lady Miners will get one more shot.

Hartshorne fought tooth-and-nail with Howe during the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association Class 2A Area IV finals on Friday, with the Lady Miners falling 66-39 and moving to the consolation finals on Saturday.

Defensive efforts took over for the opening of the game until Howe hit a bucket nearly three minutes into the ballgame. The Lady Miners would respond with a pair of free throws from Ashton Hackler to get things started offensively for Hartshorne.

After a pair of Howe scores, Hackler would complete an old-fashioned three-point play to bring the Lady Miners back within three points. But the Lady Lions hit three triples in a row to cap off a scoring run to lead 20-8 after the opening quarter.

In the second period, Hartshorne responded by attacking the basket with a new fervor. Hackler, Jaylee Moore, and Alaina Williams combined to give the Lady Miners a 13-4 run to end the half and trail 36-22.

On the other side of the locker room, Moore nailed a swishing three to get things going for Hartshorne. Howe answered with one of their own, and followed that up with another three-point play to try to create more space.

But the Lady Miners stayed focused on the task at hand and kept working to chip away at the Lady Lion lead. But another scoring run by Howe would put them ahead 55-33 after three quarters.

Hartshorne fought throughout the game until the final buzzer, but would not be able to overcome the deficit as Howe would ride its momentum to the win.

Next up for the Lady Miners, they will have one more chance at punching their ticket to the state tournament as they face off against Oklahoma Christian — who the Lady Miners previously defeated in the regional tournament finals 48-39 — in the Area IV consolation finals.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday in Seminole.

Contact Derek Hatridge at dhatridge@mcalesternews.com.