DUNCAN — With the holiday break comes a time for reflection on the first half of the season for area high school basketball teams.

For many of the Stephens County squads, the 2012-13 season has provided pleasant surprises thus far, while others have found the road tough early on.

5A

DUNCAN

Just two games into the season, the Duncan Lady Demons were sitting pretty at a nice 1-1 record under first-year head coach Aaron Minor.

But, then the growing pains hit and the Lady Demons have found visits to the win column few and far between heading into the holiday break.

However, one of the bright spots this season has been the emergence of senior point guard Jamie Carberry who has been turning in solid performances in multiple games for the Lady Demons.

Rainy Sanford has shown to be one of the solid shooters for Duncan, while Kortney Brown will be relied upon to help turn the season around for DHS after Christmas.

Dec. 27-29 will see the Lady Demons participate in the Chisholm Trail Holiday Shootout at Duncan High School, before hosting Ada on Jan. 4.

3A

COMANCHE

For the Comanche Lady Indians (2-5), it’s been an up and down first half. After opening the season with a victory over Wilson, CHS has managed to win just once in its last six contests.

“There’s aspects of the game where we have come real far,” Comanche coach Sean Hushbeck said. “Offensively Baylee (Morgan) and Payge (Graham) have found their way for us. Defensively, it’s taken time for us to adjust. But, the break will allow us to work and fix things were having trouble with.”

One thing the Lady Indians will be hoping for after the break is the return of sophomore Alexis Duran, who suffered a knee injury against Bray-Doyle.

“Alexis is a player that gives us a lot of energy,” Hushbeck said. “She’s a key part of helping defend when we’re in our press. If we can get her more playing time it will be very important to her development as a player.”

Marlow (Jan. 5) and Madill (Jan. 8) will visit Tommy D. Weast Gymnasium to start the 2013 home slate for the Lady Indians. CHS will then travel to Lone Grove for the Lone Grove tournament beginning on Jan. 10.



MARLOW

Even before the Lady Outlaws (2-4) took a shot this season, they were plagued by the injury bug.

But, even with the return of senior guard Avery Walker, wins have been few and far between for MHS.

Picking up the slack has been senior Ashley O’Dell, who has been averaging double-digit point totals in all but one game this season.

After earning a hard fought win over Tuttle, the Lady Outlaws managed to upset No. 18 ranked Washington on the road for victory number two of the season.

However, the momentum was short lived as the Velma-Alma Lady Comets managed to snag a 47-46 victory at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds on Dec. 15.

With a full-strength Avery Walker though, and the return of sophomore Jordan Ridge, the Lady Outlaws could be poised to make a run down the home stretch.

MHS will host Bridge Creek on Jan. 4 before visiting Comanche the next night on the road.

2A

CENTRAL HIGH

One team who has been hanging tough is the Central High Lady Bronchos, who will sport a 7-2 record going into the new year. CHHS’ only losses on the season have been to a one-loss Rush Springs squad, and No. 10 ranked Sterling.

“We have a good record so far this season,” Central High coach Chad Weldon said. “Everyone has been stepping up and playing well. Our girls aren’t leaning on just one player to score for us. We’ve had our seniors step up every night and play extremely well which is what we expected.”

In addition to the balanced scoring attack from the Lady Bronchos four seniors, sophomore Faith Harris has stepped up to be a another weapon in the arsenal for Central High.

“Faith is a really talented player and is only going to get better,” Weldon said. “As a team we just want to improve every game and get better. We feel like we’re good enough to play and beat anyone right now.”

Central High will play Fletcher on Jan. 5 before participating in the Black Diamond Tournament just two days later.                   A

EMPIRE

If winning is a business, then the Empire Lady Bulldogs have been very rich in the first half of the season, collecting eight wins along the way.

After opening the season in blowout fashion over Geronimo, with junior Kaelyn Allensworth scoring 41 points, EHS has managed to keep the success coming.

Convincing wins over Bray-Doyle, Waurika, Wilson, and Fox (2) have many believing head coach Jason Allensworth and his squad are destined for great things in the new year.

Melaina Yearby, Alyssa George, and Ashlie Atkinson are just a few of the players who will be relied upon to lead Empire to success in the new year.

Dec. 27 will see the Lady Bulldogs travel to the Chesapeake Energy Arena for a game against Wilson, before traveling to Big Pasture on Jan. 4.

BRAY-DOYLE

It’s taken some time, but it appears first-year head coach Frank Moser and the Bray-Doyle Lady Donkeys are finally putting it together.

After going 1-4 in its first five games, B-D has managed to go 2-2 since then to put itself at 3-6 overall for the season.

“We’re playing better, but still have a long way to go,” Moser said. “A lot of the games we have lost though, have been due to foul trouble. We’ve just been too over aggressive and we need to learn how to be more disciplined.”

Junior Ashlee Kelly has been one of the emerging stars for the Lady Donkeys, leading the team in scoring during multiple games this season. Seniors Morgan Kovar and Erica Hatfield have been strong staples of the team as well.

“Ashlee has been doing a lot of scoring, which has been impressive this season,” Moser said. “Erica does a lot of things that go unnoticed. She leads our team in assists and has really been trying to work the ball around a lot.”

Rush Springs will provide the opposition this evening at 6:30 p.m. while Velma-Alma will visit Donkey Gymnasium on Jan. 4

VELMA-ALMA

While the weather has been getting colder, the Velma-Alma Lady Comets (6-3) seem to be heating up the past few weeks.

After suffering two tough losses in the Bullet Energy Comet Classic, V-A has reeled off four consecutive victories, including a buzzer beater win over Marlow in Oklahoma City on Dec. 15.

While Kylee Saville, Teddi Southerland and Samantha Moore have been lighting up the scoreboard this season, V-A will be adding a new piece to the puzzle once 2013 begins.

Aria Johnson will be eligible to compete after completing her year-long wait after transferring from Fox High School. The junior will provide an added presence on defense as well as bolster an already solid scoring attack.

V-A will travel to Bray-Doyle on Jan. 4 before competing in the Black Diamond Tournament beginning on Jan. 7.

WAURIKA

This season has not been especially kind to the Waurika Lady Eagles.

Despite getting an early season victory over Temple on Dec. 4, WHS has only managed one win since then, resulting in a 2-7 record heading into the break.

Daley Gay and Karrington Morris will be among the upperclassmen expected to lead the Lady Eagles during the second half of the season.

Fox will provide the opposition on Jan. 4 before the Lady Eagles begin playing in the Big Pasture tournament beginning on Jan. 7.