Oakdale at Midway - Girls' Basketball

KINGSTON, TN –

By Justin Braden 

The Oakdale Lady Eagles made it 5 wins in a row, leading from buzzer to buzzer and opening up region competition with a 67-29 victory over the No.6 Midway Lady Wave on Friday night. 

Addie Armes won the opening tip-off for Midway (5-2, 0-1 in 1A-District 4), sending the ball over to Kyleigh Cawood, who got the ball back into the hands of Armes, but the senior missed a three from the wing. That missed shot along the perimeter set the tone for the reigning district champions’ struggles through the remainder of the game.  

In a rematch from last season’s double-overtime district championship, Oakdale (5-3, 1-0 in 1A-District 4) used a 1-3-1 zone defense to roadblock Midway’s offensive lanes early in the first quarter, but Cawood challenged the defenders, driving and drawing a foul before hitting both free throws. 

After the foul shots, the Lady Wave switched to a full-court press to speed up the Lady Eagles tempo, but the aggressive defense garnered a quick foul call. With shots not falling, Midway could not effectively run the full-court press, and the defensive change resulted in more foul calls than turnovers. 

“Once we get a few (shots) we get rolling, but we’ve struggled getting (shots) these last couple of games. Once we can get those rolling again, we can get our confidence back,” said Cawood of the Lady Wave’s offense. 

Early in the second quarter, Cawood continued driving, hitting a shot, drawing a foul, and finishing the three-point play from the foul line to cut the lead to 3 with 6:41 remaining in the 2nd quarter. It would be the closest the Lady Wave would cut the deficit for the rest of the game. 

Oakdale built on its aggressive offense inside early and put together a 25-4 run that spanned the 1st and 2ndquarters. Where the Lady Eagles had been heavily reliant on point guard Rhylan Hicks for driving and scoring last season, they now have a new offensive scoring threat in place with freshman Sadie Collins, who led Oakdale scoring with 20 points.  

Midway point guard Abbie Parks kept driving against the defense though, and despite not being able to generate much offense with passing, she was able to challenge Oakdale inside and get to the line. The senior finished the night 7 for 8 from the line with 14 points, as she continued to drive and attack inside.

Driving and drawing fouls was not going to beat Oakdale though, and Cawood pointed out after the game that the team’s usual chemistry that has everyone working together, seemed to be missing, and left everyone on their own island against the Lady Eagles. 

“We need to be more positive on our team. Just work more together and pass the ball more. We need to start looking for more open shots, and get our confidence built up more early on,” said Cawood about the Lady Wave getting back on track. 

The Lady Eagles remain undefeated when holding their opponents to 44 points. With their 1-3-1 zone defense fully deployed against the Lady Wave, and underclassmen scoring threats combining for 41 points, Oakdale looked as competitive as anyone in its region. 

Midway only hit 3 three-pointers, and 7 field goals against Oakdale, and Cawood pointed out that a performance like that would not work next week against Coalfield either, who have in the past used a 1-3-1 defense with District 3A Player of the Year McKinlee West as its Center. West averaged 17.3 ppg, 12.2 rpg, and 6.4 blocks per game last season. 

“Coalfield is a tough team. They have a few new players this year who are very good. If we don’t focus and we play how we played tonight again, then it’s just going to be another tough game. We need to work with each other more than we did tonight,” said Cawood. 

MVP of the game – Abbie Parks. Parks was an absolute workhorse in this one, trying to open something up in the lane or around the perimeter, she was able to score inside and around the arc. The senior ended the night with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists. Parks has scored in double digits in all 7 games this season. 

Oakdale  16 15 13 23 - 67

Midway   11   5    4   9 - 29

Leading Scorers

Oakdale (5-3):

Sadie Collins 20, Rilee Goodson 19, Coryna Soberal 9, Rhylan Hicks 5, Ava Smith 5

Midway (5-2):

Abbie Parks 14, Kyleigh Cawood 11, Chloe Jarnigan 3, Kiersten Ruffner 1

Follow Justin Braden on X @jkbradenco for more prep sports coverage and an opportunity to comment on this article and others. 

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