BASKETBALL

RAY-PEC AND SAINT PIUS FALL TO SPEEDY CELTICS Having two basketball games postponed due to weather conditions with Smith-Cotton and Center, the O’Hara boys varsity team won handily against Raymore-Peculiar 55-51 and Saint Pius 72-49 last week. The Ray-Pec Panthers scored only three points in the first quarter of their game while the Celtics poured in 20 leading by halftime by the score of 36-11. The Celtics with such a large advantage eased up in the second half but it was much too big of a margin for the Panthers who eventually came as close as four points. None of the Celtics scored in double figures, but it wasn’t necessary with the score so one-sided for most of the game. The Saint Pius Warriors fared well for one quarter, behind by a single point, before the Celtics executed a 23-11 second period to put that game out of range. Four O’Hara players made double figures with TJ White and DJ Jackson each contributing 12 points. Dominique Fields and Mark Braden also had at least ten points. O’HARA GIRLS WIN THREE GAMES BY LARGE MARGINS The O’Hara girls varsity won three games against three West Central Conference opponents last week, all by convincing scores. Center fell to the Lady Celtics 63-33, Smith-Cotton followed suit with an identical score, and Clinton was overwhelmed 83-25. Patrice Jackson paced the Celtics in the Center game with 15 points while Hailey Houser tagged on 10 more. After the Celtics were up by a 22-9 score in the first period, the tempo slowed down a bit but the Yellowjackets were unable to score more than nine points in any of the quarters. The Smith-Cotton Tigers played a closer game for three quarters, but in the fourth period the Lady Celtics put together a 23-5 quarter to complete the romp. Hailey Hauser and Ashley Clark led O’Hara with a combination of 26 points and Paulina Pengelley was good for 9 more. The Clinton Cardinals were completely outmatched in the next game. The 43-14 halftime score made that overly obvious. Not only did five Celtics emerge in double figures, the team as a whole only missed on two of their free throws. Players that could boast of double figures were Cameron Randle, Alex Smith, Paulina Pengelley, Tori Hurtt, and Hailey Houser.