THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Bixby High School Athletics

The X on Matt Sweeney’s clipboard rarely puts Mya Bhinhar beneath the basket. She gets there on her own, finds her own way. Friday night in a 49-43 win against Bixby inside the Spartans’ Whitey Ford Field House, Bhinhar was once again a terror in the lane. She scored six of her 13 points there or at the free throw line, recorded eight rebounds, and blocked two shots. “She’s owning the lane pretty well,” Sweeney said. Owasso’s girls, ranked No. 4 in the latest Class 6A rankings from the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Athletic Association, improved their record to 16-3 overall, 7-3 in the rugged Frontier Valley Conference. They will likely be granted hosts of a regional tournament. “I think we needed to win tonight,” senior forward Leiloni Culley said, “And if we didn’t need it desperately, either way, we didn’t want to give anything away.” Culley had nine points but played a larger role in the third quarter, as Owasso built a 10-point lead for the first time in the game. Playing with that 10-point lead, Owasso held onto the ball in the final eight minutes. Bhinhar and Terryn Milton had no trouble maintaining possession – they could dribble out of a hurricane if Sweeney asked them to – but when a few free throws missed the mark and Bixby nailed a couple of 3-points shots, the lead slimmed to 44-40 with 1:28 left. Sweeney called a timeout. “I had to tell them, ‘We’re winning,’” he said. “We came down a few times and took quick shots, the rest of the time you need to run some offense and take layups and free throws.” Sweeney went four-out, giving his point guards space to work toward the basket. Milton finished with 13 points, tying Bhinhar, who was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. It was a mature performance from Bhinhar, who is committed to play for Missouri State University. She burst onto the prep scene two years ago as a sophomore who could spot up, handle the ball, and get teammates involved. Since then, she has established herself as a shot blocker, a game manager and a deadly mid-range shooter off the dribble. “A lot of the time, Mya settles for the 3, and I tell her, ‘You’re a great ball handler, use your athleticism to get into the paint and get to the free throw line,’” Sweeney said. “Her and (Milton) gotta have the ball in their hands, making free throws.” Owasso was 12-for-15 from the free throw line. Bixby, facing a three-game conference gauntlet that included Bartlesville and Sand Springs, fell to 13-6, 7-4.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Bixby High School Athletics

OWASSO'S GIRLS SURVIVE BIXBY'S FOURTH-QUARTER SURGE

CHRISTIAN FAVALORA

Tulsa World | 2/2/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Christian Favalora