ONEIDA | The Lady Indians hoisted the district championship trophy for a fourth consecutive year, and for the sixth time in nine years, after holding on for a 72-68 win over Coalfield at OHS Gymnasium Monday evening.
In defeating the Yellow Jackets for the third time this season, Oneida built a 15-point first half lead, then held on for dear life down the stretch.
Kelsey Pike finished with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Braelyn Russ had 18 points and Raylie Bush added 10 points, as Oneida wrapped up a perfect season in District 3-A play.
Grace Shoemaker had a team-high six steals. Rachel Elmore led the team with six assists.
Coalfield never led in the game, but really cranked up the intensity in the second half to make things interesting. The Lady ‘Jackets shot an incredible 69% from the field in the second half, scoring 48 points in the third and fourth quarters after being limited to only 20 points in the first half. Alexis Morrison finished with 21 points and 18 rebounds. McKinlee West also had a double-double, with 12 points and 13 boards. Kadence Jackson scored 25 points to lead all scorers.
The Lady Indians’ defense set the tone early, limiting Coalfield to only seven points in the opening period, as Oneida opened a double-digit lead.
The lead grew to 15 points at halftime, but Coalfield was able to close it to single digits going into the fourth quarter.
Oneida went without a field goal for the last three minutes of the game, but went 8 of 12 from the free throw line in the second half.
Coalfield was able to keep itself in the game with a dominating performance on the glass, doubling up Oneida in the rebounding column with a 32 to 16 advantage. But the biggest statistic of the night: Turnovers. Oneida forced Coalfield into 26 of them, while committing only nine of its own. The Lady Indians teamed up for 20 steals. In addition to Shoemaker’s six take-aways, several Oneida players had multiple steals, including Elmore, Bush, Pike, Russ, Lydia Kline and Elli West.
With the win, Oneida will host the No. 4 seed from District 4-A in the region quarterfinals on Friday. The opponent will be Greenback, which fell to Oakdale, 29-21, in the District 4 consolation game on Monday. Tipoff for Friday’s game is slated for 7pm, and the IH Sports Network will have the broadcast.
ONEIDA (72): Pike 22, Russ 18, Bush 10, West 7, Kline 5, Elmore 4, G. Shoemaker 4, A. Terry 2.
COALFIELD (68): Jackson 25, Morrison 21, West 21, Byrd 7, Chamblee 3.
