Tahlequah girls basketball had a good stepping stone game prior to Christmas break.
Taking on the Stilwell Lady Indians for the second time this season, the Lady Tigers had a strong game to head into the break with a win. THS opened the season with a win over the Lady Indians, but then hit some speed bumps with five straight losses.
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However, the Lady Tigers played their most complete game, according to head coach David Qualls.
“It’s always good to get the win going into a break because a loss kind of lingers with you for a couple of weeks, so any road win is a good win,” Qualls said. “We came outready to go, ready to turn the page on kind of how the season has been going, as far as just us not being able to finish games. And that was the key for tonight, to be able to finish the game, and we outscored them 26 to 6 in the second half, so it was good to see us finish the game and hopefully something we could build on.”
The offense and defense worked in tandem for the Lady Tigers to lead the way to a 46-15 win. It was the best performance of the season from a team looking to have a defensive-first identity in 2025.
“I thought they were just really playing to their roles,” Qualls said. “The top, you know, we played a lot of D tonight, and we were really active. We showed a lot of hands, got a lot of deflections. And early on, especially, we held them to just one shot.”
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Taking on the Lady Indians, THS had a big focus on the paint. On opening day at Tahlequah, the Lady Indians won the rebounding game, so the Lady Tigers were looking to have a better showing down low.
Normally a strong shooting team, the Lady Tigers didn’t have their first 3-pointer until the third quarter and only had two makes from deep. Instead of focusing on taking deep shots, there was an emphasis on scoring in the paint.
Focusing on the paint presence also helped the Lady Tigers have a better rebounding night, with Lauren Stephens leading the way with a double-double.
“[Our presence in the paint] was very important,” Qualls said. “That was one of our keys to victory was to be able to kind of dominate the paint. Give credit to Lauren Stephens and Raylee McCarter, not only getting her shots in the paint, but also going to offensive rebounding. Really, the whole group offensive rebounded really well tonight. I know the first game, we played them at our place; we gave up a lot of rebounds, and I thought early on, if it was just one and done for them, we would have a chance.”
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The Lady Tigers are set for a two-week break from games over the Christmas holiday. THS will practice over the break, but won’t return to the court until Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, at Pryor for a district contest. After that, the Lady Tigers hit the court for three days in the Verdigris Tournament.
“Right now, we just want a little bit of a mental break,” Qualls said. “We have been going pretty strong since early November, with preseason, so giving them several days off to kind of clear their heads. We really just want to keep improving and it’ll start on the offensive end for us. Just continue to become more patient, get the shots we want, and hopefully we get some shots to fall in the second half of the year.”
