By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org
In a finish that is frequently seen in the movies, Wyoming senior Aaliyah Ratliff hit a three-pointer in the last 18 seconds of overtime to give the Wolves a 54-51 win over host Potter’s House Christian in the championship of the ‘Battle of Wyoming.’
“It was back and forth, but we never gave up,” said Wyoming Coach Jesse Vasquez. “We didn’t play our best basketball, but the girls never gave up. We fought defensively. We fought on the glass. Aaliyah Ratliff didn’t have her best game, but she came up when it mattered.
“It was just the fight in the girls. We were down 10 with like five to go and they never gave up. They kept going and this is just who we are. You’re going to knock us down and we are going to keep getting back up and keep going after you. I am very, very proud of this team.”
A nail-biter to the end
It was a slow start to the championship game with the Potter’s House Pumas getting on the board at the 5:26 mark. With 2:45 left in the first quarter, Wyoming followed with a bucket. The first quarter ended 5-3 in favor of the Wolves.
In the second quarter, Wyoming turned on the heat, but Potter’s House matched suit and took the edge 18-16.
In the third, it was Potter’s House junior Anyieth Nhial that kept the Pumas on the winning edge with a 35-28 lead.
But Wyoming was not going down without a fight and when the dust settled at the end of the fourth, it was tied 46-46 with fans on both sides going wild and the teams heading into overtime.
Turnovers, fouls and finally Ratliff making the three-pointer would secure Wyoming’s win.
Just a great game
“Man, what a fun atmosphere,” said Potter’s House Coach Jake Hoogstrate. “When we dreamed of this tournament 10 months ago, we never thought it would end like this: A great game.
“Both teams had a lot of chances to win and they made a shot and we didn’t get ours to fall. Props to them. Props to (Ratliff) for knocking them down. (Potter’s House) did everything they could to try and take her out of the game and she made the biggest shot of the game.”
Hoogstrate gave credit to the team’s two seniors, Isabelle Baez, whose calmness helped to stabilize the team and keep them focused, and Joy McClendon, who made several rebounds during the game.
“After that, it was a team effort,” he said. “A steal here, a steal there. A rebound here.”
For Wyoming, Vasquez said it was junior La’Anna Griffin and sophomore Shakya Anderson that kept the team going along with the bench, who were “phenomenal. When things weren’t going our way, they kept positive.”
It was all about Wyoming
Potter’s House Athletic Director Kara Haskill said the reason the school decided to host the event was because their girls basketball team’s schedule was bumped up from 20 games to 22 for the 2022-23 season.
“We thought that a fun way to add in those two games was to have a holiday tournament,” Haskill said. “We wanted to include the teams in our area because they are teams we normally don’t play.”
Potter’s House is in the Alliance League. Godwin Heights and Kelloggsville, which are both in the OK Silver Conference, and Wyoming, the OK Green, signed up to participate.
Teams played an elimination round on Wednesday. From there, Wyoming and Potter’s House advanced to Thursday’s final.
“I never thought a team like Wyoming would come to play here,” Hoogstrate said. “It was a great atmosphere tonight. A big shout out to Kelloggsville, Godwin and Wyoming for helping to make this happen.”
“For me, it has been a lot of fun to be able to play against some of our local teams,” Vasquez said, adding, the turnout was “awesome.”
Honors and other scores
In the varsity consolation game, Godwin defeated Kelloggsville 55-28. The tournament all-star team was Godwin senior KaShari Babb, Kelloggsville sophomore Zariah Hatchet, Potter’s House senior Isabelle Baez and Wyoming junior La’Anna Griffin. Tournament MVP was Wyoming sophomore Shakya Anderson.
The tournament also hosted a JV round that included JV teams from Wyoming, Potter’s House, Godwin Heights and Ottawa Hills, which substituted for Kelloggsville as the school did not have a JV girls basketball team. The winner of the JV tournament was Wyoming, which beat Ottawa Hills 59-29.
