Asia Roper has been Claremore’s leading scorer all season, but on Thursday night, she took a backseat to her sister.
Autumn Roper had one of her best games of the year, leading the Lady Zebras with 15 points — including three 3-pointers — as Claremore outlasted Guthrie 48-37 in District 5A-3 action at the Doug K. Mosier Athletic Complex.
“Steals and fast breaks were most of her stuff,” said Claremore coach Lynn Roper, father of Asia and Autumn. “She was just slicing in there and driving and got some layups. We were doing full-court pressure, so that allowed her to get some easy layups, which is always nice.”
Despite cruising to a 59-34 win over Guthrie on Jan. 31, this rematch proved to be a much tougher battle.
The Lady Zebras (8-16, 5-8) started strong with a 15-8 first-quarter lead, but the Lady Bluejays fought back, outscoring Claremore 16-8 in the second quarter to send the teams into halftime tied at 23. After a back-and-forth third quarter, the teams entered the fourth deadlocked at 36, setting the stage for a tense final period.
“We just played really sloppy and didn’t execute what our game plan was,” coach Roper said. “We were still able to pull out a win, which is nice, but it’s very frustrating at this point in the season to not be able to execute like we want. But it’s always something that can be fixed — it’s fixable if we’re willing to do so.”
That is when Asia Roper and the Lady Zebras’ defense took over.
Roper erupted for six of her 12 points in the fourth quarter, leading a 12-1 closing run as Claremore locked down defensively and smothered the Lady Bluejays’ offense.
Guthrie’s only point in the quarter came from a single free throw by Ally Carey, as the Lady Bluejays shot just 1-of-6 from the line in the period and 6-of-13 overall.
Autumn Roper’s early shooting helped Claremore establish control, draining two first-quarter 3-pointers to jumpstart the offense. Addison Reavis also played a key role, scoring eight points while spreading out her production with a basket in each quarter.
For Guthrie (2-16, 2-8), Lily Rechlin led with 10 points, scoring four in both the first and third quarters, while Peyton Read added six points, all in the first half.
