Girls basketball roundup: Gioya Carter shakes off rough start to lead Titans past Millwood

The Oklahoma commitment didn't get many shots and the ones she did get didn't find their way in.

Everything changed in the second half, though, as Carter was dominant in helping the Titans to a come-from-behind 50-37 win over Millwood.

Carter, who had just three points and no field goals in the first half, finished with 21 points.

It wasn't just her scoring, though that helps first get the Titans back into the game and then help them seize control late in the third and early in the fourth quarter.

Carter was dominant on both ends of the floor, picking up several crucial steals and rebounds.

“I was too animated early,” Carter said. “I was rushing the game and didn't let it come to me. I'm still kind of work out (from a cold earlier in the week) and I was trying to do too much.”

Millwood led in the final seconds of the third quarter before Carter drilled a 3-pointer to give the Titans their first lead since the opening minutes of the game.

The basket kicked off a 21-3 run that put the game away.

“Gioya ceases to amaze me,” Carl Albert coach Jay Price said. “She's phenomenal. She played with such a focus and such good leadership.”

DEER CREEK DOWNS ENID WITH FREE THROWS

Before 2010, Deer Creek had never won its own tournament, which debuted in 1995.

But with Saturday night's 42-33 win over Class 6A No. 9 Enid, coach Totsy Manning's Antlers have won the Bruce Gray Invitational three times in the last four years.

Deer Creek, ranked No. 3 in Class 5A, sealed the championship at the free-throw line, hitting 14 of 16 attempts in the fourth quarter while outscoring Enid 18-6.

“That was huge,” Manning said. “We were a little flat from the outside, so we knew we had to get to the line. We basically found our mismatch on the court, so we tried to feed that.”

Senior forward Ashley Gibson was 10-of-12 at the line in the fourth quarter, finishing with 16 points. Alexa Adair added 12, including four at the line in the fourth quarter.