Final stretch of the schedule

Washington boys coach TJ Scholz is happy with his team’s energy as they enter the last phase of the regular basketball season.

He’s also happy with his team’s defensive output, which is holding teams to 37% from the field and 26% from behind the three point arc.

But he’s ready for his team to start shooting the ball better than they have as of late.

“At the end of the day we’ll have to hit shots to win,” he said. “Our defense can hold people down but we have to score.”

Scoring was a problem during their 45-31 loss to Marlow.

Washington was 3-19 from three point range in the game and only shot 31% from the field.

“We played well enough on defense to win,” Scholz said.

Luke Hendrix and Sam Hedenberg were the leading scorers with seven and six points respectively.

Hedenberg gave the Warriors a spark off the bench and hit two of the team’s three treys in the game.

The next night Washington took on Purcell to make up a previously scheduled match up.

The Warriors came out on the wrong end of a 61-46 final.

It was a one-point ball game to start the fourth quarter but shooting woes down the stretch were costly.

Washington only shot 2-10 from the field in the fourth.

“I’d rather miss shots now than in the playoffs,” Scholz said.

Hayden Hicks (15) and Hendrix (11) were the leading scorers for the Warriors in the game.

The Warriors bounced back Friday for an energetic 60-47 win over Lexington.

“We had good bench energy and they were cheering each other on,” Scholz said. “The guys came out with really good energy after losing two games to rivals.”

Hendrix’s 13 points and Kobe Scott’s 11 paced the Warriors.

Now the team is looking to iron out wrinkles before the playoffs begin.

“This team has a lot of experience,” Scholz said. “We’ll spend this week staying fresh on offense and getting a bunch of shots up.”

Girls

Rocky Clarke’s Washington girls team picked up two critical wins to bring their season record to 9-7.

They have won seven of their last eight games.

Washington defeated Class 3A No. 17 Marlow 36-31 January 25.

The Warriors were led in scoring by freshman Rielyn Scheffe, who had 15 points.

Senior Mattie Richardson added another 13 and Emjay Lucas had seven.

The team defeated Lexington 54-23 January 28.

Kyndall Wells (13), Richardson (12) and Scheffe (10) were all in double figures scoring.

The Washington defense was tenacious and didn’t allow the Bulldogs to score more than eight points in any quarter.

Washington hosts Pauls Valley Friday at 6:30 p.m.