Jerry Oquin Tourney: Game 3

The second day of the first round in the Jerry Oquin Tournament in Inola saw the No. 4 Verdigris Cardinals (4A) face off with No. 10 Victory Christian in what ended up being a very one-sided affair. Victory’s top player, [player_tooltip player_id="211920" first="Jessa" last="Gilyard"], scored the balance of their first quarter points as Verdigris jumped out to a 19-4 lead that they would never relinquish. In the end, the Cardinals walked away 59-20 winners, remaining undefeated and handing the No. 8 Conquerors their first loss. <strong>Player of the Game</strong> <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-235295 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/12/DSC_0062-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" />[player_tooltip player_id="151311" first="Lexy" last="Borgstadt"] | 5-7 G | Verdigris | 2021 | <a href="https://x.com/borgstadt_lexy">@borgstadt_lexy</a></strong> Borgstadt did it all on Tuesday afternoon in Inola. Along with her 13 points, she pulled down four boards and had several steals. She uses her outstanding size to do everything a coach could ask. She fights hard inside for points and rebounds. She has a tremendous first step which she uses to blow by any defender that gets a little too close out on the wing. She can hit from seemingly anywhere which makes her an absolute nightmare for defenders. Victory tried several different things to help cool her off, but in the end it was only when the lead got big enough for her to rest that she stopped scoring. The older of the Borgstadt sisters, Lexy is committed to Division-II Oklahoma Christian where she will play for outstanding head coach Steohttps://x.com/borgstadt_lexyhanie Findley, now in her 35th season. <strong>Standout Stars</strong> <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-235296 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/12/DSC_0140-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" />[player_tooltip player_id="211920" first="Jessa" last="Gilyard"] | 5-9 G | Victory Christian | 2022 | <a href="https://x.com/Jessagilyard">@jessagilyard</a></strong> Gilyard had a tough day. Verdigris did a lot of things to contain her and it definitely worked. Jessa was coming off a triple-double (29 pts, 15 reb, 10 stl) in her first game and most recently a 47 point effort against Cascia Hall. Holding her to 10 points was no easy feat, but the Cardinals managed it. Scoring aside, Gilyard still did a lot of good things. The Verdigris shooters started to get nervous shooting anywhere within 10 feet of her after she used her outstanding leaping ability to rack up several blocks that sent the ball into the seats. Even Cardinals fans had to applaud when she blocked a shot out of bounds, landed in bounds and launched herself over the baseline, gathering the ball and turning to pass it to a teammate before crashing to the floor. She is a superior athlete and currently holds an offer from Seward CC, with A LOT more to come. <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-235297 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/12/DSC_0050-1-scaled-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" />[player_tooltip player_id="201707" first="Jordan" last="Chancellor"] | 5-9 G | Verdigris | 2021 | <a href="https://x.com/jodontdoit">@jodontdoit</a></strong> Chancellor is long and lean and uses her length extremely well. She was a big part of what verdigris did to contain Gilyard defensively, shadowing her up the court and using her quick hands to disrupt any pass out of the inevitable double-team. Chancellor is one of the better track athletes in the state and uses her speed to great effect on the court. As she threatens to fly by her defender with very good handles, she has an amazing ability to stop and pop from 10-12 feet away. In the game she had 11 points, tied for second most. Chancellor has steadily improved over the last few years and has now placed herself into position to earn a college scholarship with her abilities. She currently holds basketball scholarship offers from University of the Southwest and Oklahoma Wesleyan. She also has a track offer from Northwestern Oklahoma State. <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-235298 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/12/DSC_0091-scaled-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" />Tessa Edwards | 5-5 G | Victory Christian | 2022 </strong> Edwards is one of those people that takes losing personally. In a good way. Perhaps that is why she is also one of the top soccer players in the state. She is tough and has a very quick first step. Several times she blew by her defender  like they were standing still with a tremendous first step. Though she only scored four points in the game, she is a big reason that the Conquerors have fared so well otherwise this season. She is a tenacious defender with quick hands. She reads plays very well and cuts off passing lanes. As Verdigris brought the ball up the court with very good ball-handlers, Edwards was able to force them to the sideline several times causing them to step out or pass into danger. She is a heady player that, if she chooses, could play basketball at the NAIA or JuCo level. <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-235299 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/12/DSC_0030-1-scaled-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" />Makenzie Blackwell | 5-9 G/F | Verdigris | 2021</strong> Blackwell has very good size, as do a lot of the Verdigris players. They are all very strong, relentless and tough. The Borgstadts and Blackwell lead the charge in that area. Blackwell also scored 11 on the day and even stepped out to nail a three for good measure. Verdigris is a dangerous team and Blackwell is a big part of that with her constant defensive pressure and willingness to do the little things that help a team win. Makenzie is one to watch this coming season. If she hasn’t signed anywhere yet, college coaches need to get a closer look. Blackwell can ball.