Sophomore guard Summer Ralston (22) drains a basket in the paint for Freedom at Aline-Cleo on Tuesday in Aline. Ralston led the Lady Eagles with 14 points in their 36-22 road win.
Nicole Hughes (10) swings a pass to the left side in the first quarter on Tuesday. The Lady Eagles were victorious over Aline-Cleo for the second time in as many games as they topped the Lady Cougars in the Medford Tournament Consolation Championship last Saturday.
ALINE, Okla. – Fresh off a consolation championship at the Medford tournament last weekend, the Freedom High School girls traveled to face Aline-Cleo for the second time in as many games. The Lady Eagles never looked back after a quick lead as they defeated the Lady Cougars, 36-22.
The Lady Eagles will be in action tonight at home as they host Waynoka at 6:30 p.m. On Tuesday, they will have a tough test on the road at No. 8 Burlington, before the closing the week at the Buffalo Tournament.
Freedom held the home team scoreless in the first quarter of play, making good on second chance opportunities to hold on to a 7-0 lead after one. A little over a minute and a half into the game, Katlynn Galemore put back an offensive rebound, as did Linsy Weber two minutes later.
Nicole Hughes closed the first quarter scoring at the 1:24 mark, knocking down a long jumper from the left side, assisted by Galemore.
Both squads struggled on their respective offensive ends throughout the first half, pulling down a combined 40 rebounds, with Freedom recording 20 boards.
The Lady Eagles continued to stretch the lead through the early moments of the second quarter. Emily Reed took a pass out of the air near mid-court and took it to the house to make it 9-0. With 5:24 to go in the half, Summer Ralston picked up a loose ball underneath the Freedom basket and put it in for two to extend her teams lead to 12-2.
As the second quarter went along, the Lady Cougars began to claw their way back into the ball game. Lillian Ingraham pulled a rebound down and took it the length of the floor, followed by free-throws from Krista Edwards and Morgan Hamen to help the home team cut the Lady Eagle lead to 12-6.
However, with time running down in the half, Ralston knocked down a jumper in the paint to make it 14-6 at the break.
Just as she closed the first half with a basket, Ralston started the third quarter with a jumper over a defender on the block to give Freedom another 10-point lead. Following a pair of Lady Cougar baskets, Ralston struck again with a jumper from the right side, and a free-throw on the next possession. The sophomore, Ralston, led all scorers with 14 points.
Galemore added on to the Lady Eagle lead with 1:47 to go in the third with a layup off an offensive rebound to give her squad a 21-10 advantage. Galemore finished the game with eight points.
After Galemore's layup, Hamen knocked down a three from the top of the key on the Aline-Cleo end of the floor, only to be answered by Freedom as Ralston kicked the ball out from the high post to Emily Reed for a three.
With the Lady Eagles leading 24-13 at the start of the final period, Ingraham started the quarter off running for the Lady Cougars, taking the ball coast-to-coast after a defensive board. Three minutes into the quarter, Shannon Corbitt put in a second chance layup to cut the Lady Eagles lead to 24-17.
Freedom wouldn't allow the home team to take momentum of the game through, outscoring the Lady Cougars 10-5 in the final five minutes of the contest.
Rounding out the scoring for the Lady Eagles was Hughes with four points, Weber and Reed logged three points and Link finished with two points.
Consolation Champs
A big second half by Ralston in the consolation championship game last Saturday lifted the Lady Eagles over Aline-Cleo 36-25 in Medford. Ralston finished with 11 points, all coming in the final two quarters, to lead the Lady Eagles.
Nicole Hughes scored eight points in the final game of the tournament, including a third quarter three-pointer, Galemore finished with seven points, Weber added six points, Reed scored four points and TamLynn Link added a second quarter free-throw to round out of the balanced scoring for Freedom.
The Lady Eagles fell into the loser's bracket after suffering a tournament opening 33-22 loss against Drummond. The young squad, with Hughes being the lone senior on the team, stepped up in the second game last Friday, defeating Deer Creek-Lamont 48-41 to set up the tournament matchup against Aline-Cleo.
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