For the first time in program history, the Northside Grizzlies have won the Tournament of Champions on home soil, beating out Lincoln Christian 59-55. Their path to the finals went through Idabel, where they won 59-29, and Brock, where they won 60-41.
Against Idabel, the two teams started off neck and neck, with Idabel keeping pace with Northside in the first quarter thanks to a pair of triples Amya Whitfield and Mercades Lopez. In the second quarter though, Northside took over, out scoring the Warriors 20-8 to take a 35-18 lead. Idabel would only go to score 11 more points in the contest, suffocated by the intense defense of Northside.
Hazley Grotjohn led Northside scorers with 16 while Idabel’s Lopez led all scorers with 18. Grotjohn made Idabel hurt from the line, accounting for eight out of Northside’s ten points scored on free throws. Erianna Gooden also contributed a pair of triples and went 5/9 from the field on her way to a 12 point night.
In the semi-finals, Northside would meet up with the Lady Eagles from Brock, TX, who were a bit of a wild card going into the tournament. Brock came into the tournament 11-3 and competed in the competitive Texas 4A and the Lady Eagles made it to their regional semifinal back in February. Not a whole lot was known about the Brock team going into Friday’s matchup, but with baited breath, Northside fans got settled into Grizzly Arena to see how their girls would stand up to some of Texas’ best.
And stand up Northside did. After an opening three-pointer from Erianna Gooden, Northside would not lose the lead for the following 24 minutes and 24 seconds. That opening three would be Gooden’s first points on the way to a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Grotjohn as well would contribute 15 points in the effort.
Northside would end up winning the game thanks to these efforts, but a glaring 27.3% shooting percentage in the first half kept many fans on edge. That being said, the Lady Bears were great from the line in the first half, shooting 8/11. The Lady Bears would drastically improve their shooting in the second half, shooting 46.4% as a team on the way to their 60-41 win.
Waiting for them in the finals were the Lincoln Christian Lady Bulldogs. Lincoln Christian is a powerhouse in Oklahoma’s 4a conference, and is currently ranked #1. Back in March, Lincoln made it to the finals where they lost to Bethany, who Northside fans will remember playing in the finals of last year’s tournament of champions. Lincoln Christian looked dominant throughout the tournament, putting together impressive wins against Bergman and Broken Bow to get to the finals. Suddenly, two of the best basketball teams in the West Arkansas/East Oklahoma had a date for Saturday afternoon.
From tip-off, this game was an absolute slug-fest, with neither team gaining a significant amount of distance away from each other. Gooden would open scoring with a 2 pointer plus a foul. Both teams started off slow with Lincoln’s Maddi Steward putting together the teams first 5 points and Northside putting together a 12-9 lead by the end of the quarter.
In the second, Lincoln Christian really opened things up, kicked off by a triple from Niya Willoby to tie the game at 12. The Bulldogs and Grizzlies would battle back and forth, with the Bulldogs taking the lead 23-24 by the end of the half thanks to a beautiful shot from Kayli Atkinson.
As Coach Grant points out in our halftime interview with her, the Grizzlies struggled in the first half again, shooting 25.8% on 31 shots. The girls all night struggled to get their three pointers to fall, going 3/17 from beyond the arch.
“We told the kids, your shots are gonna fall,” Coach Grant told our sideline analyst David Little. “We also need to slow down on your shot.. We gotta square up and slow down a little bit.”
Lincoln Christian would start off the second half hot, going on a 5-2 run to make it 29-25. Just as it looked like the Bulldogs were about to extend their lead, the Lady Bears came roaring back. A Kaydence Flemming two-point floater would find it’s way into the basket to give Northside back a 31-29 lead. Northside would end the quarter with a 42-36 lead, the biggest lead to exist thus far.
The Bulldogs began to make their way back, getting the game to 44-40 as Stewart went back to the line after getting fouled by Erianna Gooden. This would be Gooden’s fourth foul and with overtime becoming a looming possibility, a bold decision was made to leave Gooden in for the closing minutes of regulation.
Northside would eventually build their lead back to seven with four minutes remaining on the clock. The lead would not hold though as the Bulldogs put together seven unanswered to take a 50-48 lead. An acrobatic shot from Grotjohn would tie the game back to flush at 50, where it would stay until overtime.
After Northside begins overtime by putting up four points, the Bulldogs answer with a Alexis Leyva three to make it 54-53. With each team scratching and clawing for every inch over their opponent, it was clear to everyone in attendance that we were set up for a spectacular finish. This finish came by way of senior Kaydence Flemming who hadn’t seen much scoring leading into Saturday’s game, only putting together 7 across the two games.
But in a big moment, big time players step up. Kaydence Flemming laces a perfect triple with 2 seconds left on the shot clock to all but seal back to back TOC wins for Northside.
Fouling shenanigans later and Northside picks up a 59-55 win, punctuating an amazing start for the Lady Bears. We can only hope that the energy and good vibes carry over into January when conference play starts.
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