Thursday night at the Leflore County Tournament was full of exciting events ranging from power outages to water spills. The talk of the town at the beginning of the night was, of course, the Howe Lady Lions. No conversation about the Leflore County Tournament is complete without mention of the red and white.
Fast forward to the end of evening and all eyes and ears were on the Heavener Lady Wolves.
Being from Sequoyah County, I never paid much attention to Leflore County sports until the last couple of years. I always knew the talent that ran deep through Spiro. I knew Poteau was loaded for bear this year in football season. What I did not know is the fact that the Heavener Lady Wolves are stacked to the rafters with talent and they're not graduating too many girls any time soon.
I'll break down the players of the game for last night's semifinal so we can all learn this together before the finals on Friday. A game against Howe that's guaranteed to fill every seat in Spiro.
If the newspaper is correct, there's a young lady who came off the bench last night and she's only a freshman. Most people reading this probably know who wears #10. Her name is McKinley Alexander. The name caught my eye because one of the few assassinated Presidents in American history was named McKinley. Anyway, back to basketball.
A very unsuspecting character, Alexander entered the game and her expression never changed. She weaved through traffic like nobody knew she was there. What was fun to watch about #10 was her ability to throw up a three-bomb from way back in downtown Pocola and it dropped nearly every time. There were a few struggles but she's only a freshman. McKinley Alexander is a name to keep an eye out for in the coming years.
The next name on my list is also interesting to me because I take pride in my service to my country and I appreciate the fact that we're all free.
Kinlee Free. A Junior. She wears #4. She also played some tricks on the Leflore Lady Savages before halftime that put her on the map after some key steals. Fouled on a three-point shot before buzzer, Kinlee had an opportunity for a four-point play but couldn't connect. I only mention the missed shot because I know for a fact that the roof would've blown off the Spiro gymnasium if she had put a little more icing on the cake before the girls hit the locker room.
The third player I kept my eye on Thursday night was the show-stealer/pass-stealer extraordinaire, with split-second rips like you only see on old Larry Bird highlights. When I played sports in school, I wore #22. Last night's #22 in purple was a young lady named Carly Watkins. Only a sophomore?! Talk about a talented nose for basketball. She saw her name on every pass thrown by the Lady Savages. She also stripped the ball when people were in trouble and opened many doors for many points in the Heavener route with minimal fouling.
Milaya Riddley was particularly quiet for most of the night after some early foul trouble but she showed a lot of flashes from the warnings I was given by Heavener play-by-play announcer Mark Couch. Riddley eventually came back into the game and orchestrated a few big plays of her own.
Sammie Jo Taylor and Morgan Smith were two other names that stood out to me throughout the course of the game, but one thing that never changes in a Heavener Lady Wolves basketball game is the intensity from their very own Statue of Liberty.
Shaelena Bacon did on Thursday night what Shaelena Bacon always does best. She was hot from the free throw line, she was hot under the bucket, and she was a force to be reckoned with in the paint on defense. I'm pretty sure we lost count of the rebounds somewhere in the second quarter.
What I learned last night is more of what I've been learning all week. Basketball in Leflore County is the real deal. The intensity is unmatched in any county tournament I've been to. This is the 88th year for the Leflore County Senior High Tournament but it's the first one for me.
And I can promise you, it won't be the last.
The Heavener Lady Wolves sent the Leflore Lady Savages back to the drawing board on Thursday night by a score of 57-31. Heavener gets a break on Friday but will return to action against the Howe Lady Lions on Saturday night, January 25th, in the finals of the 2020 Leflore County Championship.
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Coverage presented by Old West Trading Co. and Wholesale Motors on Highway 64 between Roland and Fort Smith with Clint Davis on play-by-play and Dennis McCaslin on color commentary.
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