Sports

Three local women will be competing in the 2019 Granite Games National Championship, after placing first on the national leaderboard for the Granite Throwdown held last month. Haley Larsen, Jacy Bryant, and Madison Donihoo beat out 20 other teams in Edmond to qualify for the championship, to be held May 30 - June 2, 2019, in St. Cloud, Minn.

The teams compete in five different CrossFit-related workouts, ranging from cardio to lifting. Larsen, Bryant, and Donihoo train at Code Blue CrossFit in Cordell.

Candace Dudgeon, one of the team’s trainers at Code Blue, commended the ladies for their exceptional work ethic and commitment.

“Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally,” she said. “It comes from what you do consistently.”

The Blue Devils fought a valiant fight on the road Saturday night, Feb. 2, against Hobart, but in the end fell just a point short, losing 64-63.

The Blue Devils fought from behind for most of the game, but always stayed within striking range. At the 6:30 mark in the fourth quarter they put themselves in a position to take command, cutting Hobart’s lead to just one point at 57-56. After a strong defensive stop that consumed more than a minute of the clock, Cordell jumped into the lead with another bucket, 58-57.

The teams played back and forth for the rest of the game. As the clock was winding down, Drayton Maddox drove the lane for what seemed sure to be the go-ahead bucket, or at least the opportunity to tie it up or take the lead from the foul line, but the shot didn’t fall and no whistle blew. The Devils were unable to sink a half-court buzzer beater to take the win.

The Lady Blue Devils delivered one of their best performances of the season on the road against Hobart last weekend, ripping the Lady Bearcats 41-16.

The Lady Bearcats got on the board first, but that was as close as they were going to get to Cordell’s girls, who responded with a 9-point run to grab control of the game. After fighting back and forth through a very low scoring second quarter, the teams went to the locker room at the half with Cordell leading 15-10.

The second half belonged to the Lady Devils, on the back of Megan Brown, who dropped in 17 of her game-high 20 points. The Lady Devils opened up a 31-16 lead by the the end of the third quarter.

The Cordell Blue Devils got off to a rough start at the Great Plains Bank Tri-County Tournament in Altus last Thursday, narrowly escaping a firstround defeat at the hands of Snyder, but went on to defeat Mangum in arguably their best-played game of the year to earn a spot in the championship round against Luther.

Cordell’s offense came out flat in the opening minutes of the game, going scoreless in the fist three minutes of play. Fortunately, their defense was solid and they held Snyder to just one bucket. Paxton Switzer broke the Cordell drought from the charity stripe, hitting two to tie the score up at 2-2. The Blue Devils woke up in the closing minutes of the first quarter and ran off seven quick points to take a 9-6 lead at the end of one.

The Cordell Lady Blue Devils started off strong at the Great Plains Bank Tri-County Tournament in Altus over the past weekend, but couldn’t maintain the momentum and ended up finishing fourth in the eight-team field.

The ladies’ first match pitched them against a tough Navajo squad that had defeated them by 15 points just two nights previously. Both teams played tough and aggressive defense early on, each scoring just four points in the first quarter. But Cordell’s ladies opened it up in the second quarter, sparked by two quick three-pointers from Megan Brown to propel the Lady Devils to a 10-4 lead. Lacey Burch added more fuel to the fire with a trey of her own, extending the lead to 13-4 before the Lady Indians managed to find the scoreboard. The half ended with the Lady Devils holding a five point lead at 15-10.

The Cordell Blue Devils put up a good first quarter against the Wildcats of Carnegie, but couldn’t maintain the effort and fell in Hoop City, 56-38.

The Blue Devils started strong, matching a tough Carnegie team basket for basket during the first quarter, but by the end of the first half it became apparent they had no answer for the Wildcats’ aggressive defense and fast-paced offense. The second quarter belonged entirely to Carnegie, as they blew open a lead from which the Devils just couldn’t recover.

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bob henline can be reached at editor@cordellbeacon.com.

It was a case of deja vu all over again as the Sayre Lady Eagles came to town to play the Cordell Lady Blue Devils. Sayre handed Cordell their first round defeat during the Western Equipment Classic just a week before.

The game went very much like the earlier installment of this rivalry, characterized by tough, aggressive defense from both teams and very limited scoring. In the end, the Lady Eagles held the edge, taking the victory 26-21.

bob henline can be reached at editor@cordellbeacon.com.

The Cordell Blue Devils found their way back onto the winning path Friday night, Jan. 18, 2019, as they defeated the Sayre Eagles 49-35.

After dropping the final two games of the Western Equipment Classic and falling on the road to Carnegie, the Blue Devils found their rhythm against visiting Sayre. Cordell jumped out to an early lead, running up a 25-9 lead after the first half.

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After dominating Cheyenne-Reydon in the opening game of the Western Equipment Classic last weekend, the Cordell Blue Devils dropped two in a row to end the tournament in fourth place.

The Blue Devils started off with a flurry of offense against Cheyenne, running up a quick 8-0 lead and never really looking back. The Devils’ early performance provided ample opportunity for coach Brandon Gallagher to get his younger players quality time on the court, and those younger players made the most of the opportunity, not only holding their own, but adding to Cordell’s lead during the game.

In the end, the Blue Devils walked off the court with a 61-44 opening round victory.

After a tough fight and a hard loss to the Sayre Lady Eagles in the opening round of the 2019 Western Equipment Classic basketball tournament, the Cordell Lady Devils battled their way over host team Arapaho-Butler and then Erick to claim the consolation championship.

The Lady Devils opened the tournament against Sayre in a game of tough defense and struggling offense - from both teams. Despite scoring only seven points in the first half of play, the Lady Devils went into the locker room down by just six points.

During the second half the Lady Devils had several opportunities to claim the lead, but were beset with turnovers and shots that just wouldn’t fall. The low-scoring affair ended at 28-21, with the Lady Eagles on top.