Jerry Oquin Tourney: Game 2

The second game of the Inola Tournament saw No. 6 Coweta (5A) take on unranked Inola (4A). The gym was ice cold as neither team could score in a consistent manner. In the end, the Tigers from Coweta ended up with their second one-point loss of the young season. The Inola Longhorns walked away 31-30 winners after Coweta failed to convert on a final basket attempt. <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 46.1632%; height: 63px;"> <tbody> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 9.23674%; text-align: center; height: 21px;"><strong>Team</strong></td> <td style="width: 6.0699%; text-align: center; height: 21px;"><strong>1Q</strong></td> <td style="width: 5.82626%; text-align: center; height: 21px;"><strong>2Q</strong></td> <td style="width: 5.82623%; text-align: center; height: 21px;"><strong>3Q</strong></td> <td style="width: 6.80071%; text-align: center; height: 21px;"><strong>4Q</strong></td> <td style="width: 12.4036%; text-align: center; height: 21px;"><strong>Final</strong></td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 9.23674%; height: 21px; text-align: left;"><strong>Coweta</strong></td> <td style="width: 6.0699%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">8</td> <td style="width: 5.82626%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">4</td> <td style="width: 5.82623%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">10</td> <td style="width: 6.80071%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">8</td> <td style="width: 12.4036%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">30</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21px;"> <td style="width: 9.23674%; height: 21px; text-align: left;"><strong>Inola</strong></td> <td style="width: 6.0699%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">11</td> <td style="width: 5.82626%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">8</td> <td style="width: 5.82623%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">2</td> <td style="width: 6.80071%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">10</td> <td style="width: 12.4036%; text-align: center; height: 21px;">31</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> &nbsp; <strong>Player of the Game</strong> <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-235250 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/12/DSC_0425-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" />Alexxia Mercer | 6-0 G/F | Coweta | 2021 | <a href="https://x.com/AlexxiaMercer">@AlexxiaMercer</a></strong> Coweta had 30 points on the night. Alexxia Mercer had 18 of them. That just about says it. She was all over the place. She can play as a very big guard or as a good-sized center. She rebounds well. Plays great with her back to the basket. Steps out and hits the three with consistency. She is very vocal with her teammates and could be heard numerous times telling them to focus and keep their heads in the game. Mercer is a college basketball player, I have no doubt. <strong>Other Standouts</strong> <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-235252 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/12/DSC_0926-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" />Addison Mootry</strong> <strong>| 5-5 G | Inola | 2024 | <a href="https://x.com/addisonmootry">@addisonmootry</a></strong> You may wonder why I am highlighting a freshman player who didn’t have any points in the game. Well, you may also wonder why her head coach puts her in in-place of the team’s starting center, a senior. It’s because Addison just has a nose for the ball. She ended up with 12 rebounds on the night. She has stellar handles and is a good distributor who gets the ball to the right player at the right time. Mootry is incredibly smart and reads the play very well. Her head coach can rely on her to do the right thing and it shows in how many minutes she is getting as a freshman on a very good team. Mootry has blossomed in the last year during grassroots events and in the PGH Showcase. Her growth just during her first year of high school ball bodes very well for the future. <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-235253 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/12/DSC_0442-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" />Allyson Mercer | 6-0 G/F | Coweta | 2021 | <a href="https://x.com/AllysonMercer35">@AllysonMercer35</a></strong> Assuming that the Mercer twins come as a package deal for whichever college coach is lucky enough to get them, some fan base is going to be very happy. Though on the night she was outscored by her sister, Allyson is not an "additional prize" for a college coach who signs Alexxia. She is the real deal. Allyson is more fiery than her sister and is vicious on the block - in a good way. She battles hard for every ball and uses her length very well to secure a lot of rebounds. Mercer finished the night with six points including a very big three as time wound down in the 4th quarter. She shows the ability to go inside or outside and is not scared to take the lumps that come with battling under the rim. The Mercer twins are the real deal - college players for sure. <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-235255 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/12/DSC_0645-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" />Madison Courtney | 5-5 G | Inola | 2021 | <a href="https://x.com/madison20nicole">@madison20nicole</a></strong> Madison is an elite shooter. Her jumper is quick and smooth with a nice high release. She is unafraid to shoot. Even when the team as a whole is on a cold-streak, Courtney will shoot if given even an inch of space. Being held to five points against Coweta really seems like an aberration for her. I have seen her make three’s at a very high percentage with the Tulsa Shock and perhaps it could be chalked up as early-season jitters. In the end, she never stopped hustling, never stopped making the Tigers work for every loose ball. It was her diving in on a loose ball near the end of the game that most likely secured the win for her squad. D-II, NAIA and JuCo coaches need to take a look at this Inola squad. Courtney is the kind of player any coach would love to have. All heart and passion with a sweet jumper to go along with it. <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-235256 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/12/DSC_0358-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" />[player_tooltip player_id="151310" first="Linda" last="Brice"] | 5-7 CG | Coweta | 2021 | <a href="https://x.com/lindabrice3">@lindabrice3</a></strong> Brice was the one that Coweta head coach Jade Allison wanted to have the ball down the stretch yesterday in Inola and for good reason. Nobody else on the court - for either team - can create the way that Brice does. She can take her defender off the dribble and does a great job of creating space for her jumper or forcing her way to the hole. Though it didn’t quite work out for her squad on Monday, I don’t think that Allison would regret giving her the ball in the same situation next time. Brice is a winner. Her six points on Monday made her one of only three Tigers to score in the game and just like Allyson Mercer, it was her big three in the fourth that had the Tigers in the game in the end to begin with. Brice is a hustler with very good size for a guard. She averaged 16.7 points per game last season and it is only a matter of time before she gets back there again. Don’t expect six points to be the norm for this superstar.