Balanced scoring, adaptability, defense keys to BHS Lady Bruins' hoops success
Bartlesville High School’s Sami Sheaffer (15) looks to pass the ball during earlier season action. The Lady Bruins (4-2) return from Christmas break with a trip to Broken Arrow on Jan. 7, 2025. (Photos are available for purchase at https://beckyburch.zenfolio.com. All proceeds go to support Bartlesville Area Sports.)
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Justyn Shaw did not grab a bright gold ring in 2021 when he took charge of the Bartlesville High School girls basketball program.
Just three seasons earlier (2017-18), Lady Bruin hoopsters had plowed unbeaten (23-0) through the regular season and made the team’s first appearance in the state tournament in 25 years.
The 2018-19 squad had followed up with a very respectable showing (18-8).
But starting with the 2019-20 campaign, Bartlesville’s fortunes plummeted the following four seasons — 6-17 in 2019-20, 3-15 in 2020-21, 4-20 in 2021-22 (Shaw’s first season) and 7-16 in 2022-23.
The Lady Bruins made a big push forward last season (2023-24) with a 12-13 record.
Six games into this season, the Lady Bruins appear ready to improve on that — maybe by a whole bunch.
Floating into the Christmas break the Lady Bruins owned a 4-2 mark, including two crucial wins in the Frontier Valley Conference.
Among their signature victories was a 38-point drubbing of Ponca City, 70-32, and a hard-charging 64-55 conference triumph against Sand Springs.
They come out of the break with a lulu of a test on Tuesday (January 7) — taking Highway 75 south to face nearly-undefeated Broken Arrow (6-1, 4-0) on its homecourt.
Following that, Bartlesville will be busy all that weekend (January 9-11) at the ConocoPhillips/Arvest Tournament in Bartlesville.
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Bartlesville High School’s girls coach Justyn Shaw speaks with referees during a timeout in an earlier season game. Shaw has led the Lady Bruins to a post-Christmas break 4-2 record.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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Shaw has assembled a powerful starting five — complemented by a relatively short rotation — led by returning veterans Alayah Lunn and Kennedy Nubel and junior newcomer Sami Sheaffer.
Lunn leads the team in scoring at 11.5 ppg, followed by the 6-foot Sheaffer at 11.0 ppg and Nubel at approximately 9.0 ppg, Shaw said.
Adrianne Flick has made all-around contributions on offense, defense and rebounding. Emma Zimmerman also has been a clutch performer.
Emma Zimmerman and Cadence Gray also have played strong off the pine.
Gray — who saw very little varsity time last season — has stepped up as a key weapon on the boards.
In a competitive loss against Sapulpa, Gray pulled down seven rebounds while Nubel seized 10.
Nubel finished December strong on the glass, grabbing 17 rebounds the last two games.
In addition to these seven players, “everybody who has been playing has been contributing,” Shaw said. “What we’ve focused on is the girls knowing their roles … and asking themselves ‘How can I star in my role to make the team be successful.’”
The December finale — a probably closer-than-it-should-have-been 42-39 win against Enid, Bartlesville made 22 turnovers, which is an area Shaw looks for to be improved in January.
“We shot ourselves in the foot with our decision-making,” he said.
Bartlesville’s growing maturity manifested itself in how the players adjusted themselves to adapt to the style other teams threw at them.
In the first three games Bartlesville averaged scoring 60 ppg. That number fell to 46 ppg the last three games, largely because of how other teams went to a zone defense to try to neutralize Bartlesville’s up-tempo offense.
“I think when they got film on us they found out if they played us man that favored us very well,” Shaw explained. “Other teams don’t have the footspeed to guard these girls (Lady Bruins) and they had to slow our girls down.”
That meant Bartlesville had to play more half-court offense.
“The good thing for us is we’ve found a way to adjust,” Shaw said.
The two main keys going forward is to stay solid on defense and take care of the ball, Shaw emphasized.
The best news is the Lady Bruins have yet to unleash their full potential.
“We’ve done things in spurts,” Shaw said. “We’ve been nowhere near putting a full game together.”
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W (H) — Bartlesville 70, Ponca City 32
L (A) — Edmond North 70, Bartlesville 37
W (H) — Bartlesville 64, Sand Springs 55
W (H) — Bartlesville 46, Muskogee 38
L (A) — Sapulpa 55, Bartlesville 41
W (H) — Bartlesville 42, Enid 39