FORT GIBSON – With all of the success Fort Gibson girls basketball team has enjoyed this season, one aspect gets overlooked.

It’s the Lady Tigers’ defense and they used it to clamp down against Keys, holding the Lady Cougars to eight points in the second period on the way to a 64-44 victory in their regular season home finale at Harrison Field House on Friday night.

“Defense is definitely our strong suit,” senior Taryn Dunn said. “It’s something we rely even if we’re scoring big or small. We practice on it a lot, but all of us are smart defensively.”

Keys coach Leon Ashlock could only watch as his Lady Cougars (10-11) struggled offensively, committing 27 turnovers including eight in the second quarter.

“They did a good job the whole game,” he said. “We didn’t shoot well or take care of the ball.”

“We really cut the floor down on them with our defense and that played to our advantage,” Fort Gibson coach Jerry Walker said. “We increased our pressure in that second quarter.”

Ranked No. 1 in the Okrankings.com Class 4A poll, the defending state champions improved to 21-1 and won its 13th straight game. The 3A No. 16 Lady Cougars drop to 10-11.

Offensively, the Lady Tigers had 10 players score at least a point and led by Jodi Glover’s 14. Julia Hill had 11 and Brooke Palmer added 10 points.

C.J. Alsenay led the Lady Cougars with 11 points.

Both the Lady Tigers and Lady Cougars are on the road for their final regular season game on Monday as Fort Gibson plays at Coweta and Keys travels to Kansas.

Boys:

FGHS 50, Keys 23

Steven Lanham may be the Tigers’ sleeper as the postseason looms.

Lanham doesn’t get much attention, especially with 6-foot-5 Thomas Keith playing inside and Jordan Hill shooting from outside. But it was Lanham’s game-high 13 points that powered the Tigers to their 13th win in 22 games this season. He doesn’t crave the spotlight.

“I play my part and whenever I need to step up in big games, I like to do that,” he said. “It’s not frustrating to not be in the limelight. It’s all about hard work and team. If I keep working hard, I’ll get the recognition that I might want.”

Lanham was 5-of-10 from the field including a 3-pointer.

Fort Gibson coach Gary Hendrix described Lanham as a solid player.

“He has worked hard and spends a lot of time at it,” Hendrix said. “He’s not flashy or draws attention to himself. He just does his job.”

Meanwhile, Hill finished with 11 points and Keith had a game-high eight rebounds with his eight points. Preston Releford led the Cougars (11-10) with nine points.