When the Skiatook Lady Bulldogs matched up with the Sperry Lady Pirates for the third place game of the Sperry tournament, the friendly rivalry was full of excitement and a thrilling fourth quarter finish where Skiatook held on to win 38-29.

A clutch and-1 from Rylee Massey and followed by big free throws from the upper classmen down the stretch helped secure the win for the Lady Bulldogs.

After a decisive victory in the first round of the 2017 Sperry Tournament, the Skiatook girls were defeated by Okmulgee in the second round, sending them to the third place game.

This set up the Lady Bulldogs and the Lady Pirates for a battle for 3rd place in the tournament.

The game started slow, with both teams struggling to score in the first quarter, but an Anna-Bonham led Skiatook scored 10 in the second to go up 17-10 at halftime.

The Bulldogs extended the lead into the third, up 24-16 before the final 8 minutes.

The fourth quarter was full of excitement, however. Sperry cut the game to 4 points with three minutes, and it seemed they were on the verge of a comeback.

Sperry’s gym is one that, given both the size and how full it can be, can become wildly loud, and this was the case in the closing minutes of the game.

With Skiatook up four points with 1:17 on the clock, things were not looking good for the Lady Pirates. But, when Skiatook mishandled an inbounds pass, Sperry managed to tie up a jump ball and regain possession.

Sperry, still down 4, called a timeout and set up a half court play, which provided them a look for an uncontested corner three. The shot went up, the stadium hushed, and the ball rattled halfway through the rim before popping out.

Skiatook secured a rebound and went the other way. All five Lady Pirates had crashed the boards to rebound, which set Skiatook up for a transition lay-up. Bonham hit Riley Massey streaking down the court, and Massey was fouled as the lay-up went up and in. She converted the and-1, extending the lead to 7.

The persistent Lady Pirates answered with a lay-up on a backside pass, and then fouled Anna Bonham to force Skiatook to shoot one-and-one free throws. Bonham made both, and the Sperry girls came up empty on their next possession.

With no other choice, the Lady Pirates fouled Hanna Dysart, putting the junior on the line with a chance to ice the game. She was clutch, knocking both free throws down and extended the lead out of the Pirates reach with only seconds left on the clock.

Skiatook held on to win 38-29 and claim third place in the tournament.

For Skiatook, Bonham scored 13, Taylor Hight added 9, and Dysart scored 6 to lead the Bulldogs.

Only four Lady Pirates scored: McCause led with 9, Emery and Robinson had 8 each, and Barnett added 4.
