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SportsJanuary 25, 2024

Jacob Blassingame
Oak Ridge Sophomore, Reese Morrison, shoots a jumper on Wednesday, January 24 at Kelly High School.
Oak Ridge Sophomore, Reese Morrison, shoots a jumper on Wednesday, January 24 at Kelly High School.Jacob Blassingame ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian

By defeating Scott County Central 55-54 on Thursday, Jan. 25, in Benton, Mo., the Oak Ridge girls basketball team not only won the consolation title at the Scott-Miss Conference Tournament but also set a new program record for wins in a single season.

Reagan Howe (15) and Makayla Rangel (13) combined to score 28 points to push the Blue Jays to their 11th win on the season.

“It was such an intense and wild game right down to the end,” Oak Ridge head coach Julie Ward said. “We fouled a SCC player with .04 seconds to go and she went to the line to shoot three and we were up two, it was so exciting. We managed to get the win and SCC is such a well coached team that is very scrappy.”

Oak Ridge tied the season record on Wednesday when it took down Charleston 44-9 in a defense-driven battle of the Blue Jays in the consolation semifinals.

"They worked hard (Wednesday) and to be able to tie the most wins in program history with (Wednesday’s) game was something pretty special,” Ward said. “We still have plans to hopefully win a few more games this season and continue with our team goals of getting more than 10 wins and also having a winning record for the season. I am very proud of this team and everything they have accomplished these past two years."

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From tip-off, Oak Ridge took charge by shutting down Charleston’s offense and managing to take the lead early, ending the 1st quarter with a score of 11-0. Madalyn Schemel, Reagan Howe, and Madyson Ruehling of Oak Ridge were all contributors to the team's success early on with Schemel being extremely efficient with rebounding their opponent's shots and getting the ball back up the court to her teammates, and Howe and Ruehling scoring six of the teams 11 thus far into the match.

Charleston would not back down despite Oak Ridge's pressure and got on the board in the second quarter thanks to a three-pointer made by Gabriell White. Oak Ridge’s scoring in the second quarter was limited compared to the first, but it was not enough to break the momentum and the lead grew to 33-8 after the third quarter.

A huge factor in Oak Ridge’s success came from their meticulous and precise ball movement throughout the match. Howe was the top scorer during the game putting up a total of 15 of her team's points. While teammate Madyson Ruehling scored an additional 12.

“We hustled really hard, but we’ve got a lot to work on to keep the momentum for the rest of the season,” Howe stated while discussing the team's performance on the court tonight.

Oak Ridge will take on Meadow Heights on Senior Night, Feb. 1. Charleston will look to bounce back on Jan. 29, in a home matchup with Kelly.

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