Class 4A girls: Fort Gibson wins second title in three years

St. Mary opened the game with three consecutive 3-pointers and hit 6-of-12 in the first half to open 25-19 lead at halftime, but the Lady Rockets were only 4-of-15 from 3-point range in the second half.

“You live by the three, sometimes you die by it,” said St. Mary coach Rory Hamilton.

Meanwhile, Fort Gibson opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run, getting two quick buckets by its 5-10 post player Brooke Palmer.

“We knew we had to win inside the paint,” Palmer said.

The Lady Rockets couldn't keep Palmer out of the paint in the second half, scoring 14 of her game-high 21 points in the second half. She also had 13 rebounds in the game.

“We got back on our heels a little bit,” Hamilton said. “We gave up 39 points in the second half. A lot of offensive rebounds we got in the first half we didn't get in the second half.”

Fort Gibson rolled in the second half, outscoring St. Mary 39-18. Lady Tigers coach Jerry Walker counted on the Lady Rockets to get tired in the second half and start missing more shots from long range.

“That's no secret what we were trying to do, pound it inside,” Walker said. “We knew they weren't deep off the bench. We felt we had a size advantage, a strength advantage.”