Michelle Obach Leads Tyler T.K. Gorman Past No. 1 Martin’s Mill For Great East Texas Shootout Title

BROWNSBORO -- There was only one thing on the minds of the Tyler T.K. Gorman girls Saturday night in their Great East Texas Shootout championship final with Class A Division I No. 1 Martin's Mill.

Revenge.

After losing to Martin's Mill (12-2) at home three weeks ago, T.K. Gorman returned the favor, defeating the Lady Mustangs, 54-48, to win the championship of the Great East Texas Shootout on Saturday.

After squandering a 15-point lead, the Lady Crusaders found themselves losing for the first time in three quarters when Martin's Mill guard Haily Jenkins drove to the hoop, hit the bucket and drew the foul for a three-point play at the 1:31 in the fourth.

Then Michelle Obach took over.

The Merrimack College (Mass.) signee hit a jumper in the lane with 44 seconds left, then nailed two clutch free throws to give T.K. Gorman the upset of the top-ranked Lady Mustangs.

When asked if the early season loss to Martin's Mill had any added motivation to her girls' squad, T.K. Gorman head coach Katie Robertson said emphatically, "absolutely."

"After that game, we saw that we played a great second half, and that we were capable of beating them," Robertson said. "We came out scared of them because of their reputation. So our goal was to come out and win that first quarter, and we did, and we kept that trend for the rest of the game. It was going to be a battle of who does the little things right because they are so fundamentally sound."

Obach led the way with a team-high 22 points, six assists and two steals.

"She's the heart of the team," Robertson said. "She plays hard and sets the example for the team to play hard. We know she's a big-time player. She doesn't always get the credit she deserves but she can hit those big shots. She's the one we want to have the ball at the end of the game."

Martin's Mill sophomore post Cheyenne Brown had a game-high 25 points, 14 rebounds (five offensive) and two blocks. She led the comeback for the Lady Mustangs, scoring 10 straight points to start the fourth quarter. Her bucket in the lane at the 5:53 mark made it 40-37, T.K. Gorman. After an Allie Buzbee three-pointer gave the Lady Crusaders a 43-37 lead, Brown answered with a jumper on the block after an assist from Taylor Munns. That sparked a 6-0 run that gave Martin's Mill the lead back temporarily.

Martin's Mill's Jenkins got the Lady Mustangs going early with couple of nice assists, one to Munns for a jumper, then another to Madison Daniel for a layup making it 8-6, Martin's Mill early. The Lady Crusaders' Courtney Fergerson pulled down a rebound, started a fast break and hit Buzbee for the jump shot as T.K. Gorman led 10-8 after one.

Obach opened the second quarter with a nice dribble-drive to the hoop for a layup, then Danielle Smith's steal and bucket gave the Lady Crusaders a 14-8 margin.

After Brown sank back-to-back shots in the lane, Obach drew a charge on the McNeese State-bound Jenkins with 2:28 remaining in the first half. It provided a spark as the Lady Crusaders finished the half on a 5-0 run thanks to an Obach jumper and a Brooke Lee three-pointer. Eleven first-half turnovers from Martin's Mill put the Lady Mustangs in a bind.

Lee started the second half the same way she finished the first, draining a long-range trey. Obach followed with a hustle play where she stole the ball, saved it from going out of bounds, hit Susannah Williams for a layup at the 4:34 mark, then drove and made a spectacular pass to Lee for the layup gave T.K. Gorman the 34-24 advantage late in the third.

Both teams will be on the road Tuesday, when T.K. Gorman travels to Elysian Fields and Martin's Mill goes to Harleton.

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Great East Texas Shootout

At Brownsboro
Thursday-Saturday

GIRLS BRACKET
Thursday's Games
Game 1 -- Kerens 64, Tyler Grace 36
Game 2 -- Neches 50, Bullard 49
Game 3 -- Martin's Mill 28, Tyler All Saints 10
Game 4 -- Tyler Lee 45, Harmony 34
Game 5 -- Athens 51, Palestine Westwood 39
Game 6 -- John Tyler 66, Gladewater 38
Game 7 -- Jacksonville 41, Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill 20
Game 8 -- Alba-Golden 43, Pine Tree 37
Game 9 -- Brownsboro 40, Gilmer 34
Game 10 -- Emory Rains 40, Van 32
Game 11 -- Canton 42, Anna 35
Game 12 -- Chapel Hill 44, Pittsburg 37
Game 13 -- Sunnyvale 42, Kaufman 15
Game 14 -- Tyler T.K. Gorman 63, Huntington 34
Game 15 -- Martin's Mill 68, Athens 25
Game 16 -- Snook 47, Jacksonville 46 (OT)
Game 17 -- Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill 58, Tyler All Saints 12
Game 18 -- Alba-Golden 33, Canton 26
Game 19 -- Pittsburg 50, Harmony 43
Game 20 -- Sunnyvale 48, Brownsboro 41
Game 21 -- John Tyler 70, Emory Rains 60
Game 22 -- Tyler Lee 65, Chapel Hill 56
Game 23 -- Tyler T.K. Gorman 70, Neches 42
Game 24 -- Van 46, Gladewater 41
Friday's Games
Game 25 -- Jacksonville 34, Palestine Westwood 21
Game 26 -- Anna 49, Pine Tree 35
Game 27 -- Bullard 42, Huntington 30
Game 28 -- Chapel Hill 41, Canton 32
Game 29 -- Gilmer 46, Kaufman 36
Game 30 -- Neches 46, Brownsboro 23
Game 31 -- Gladewater 50, Tyler All Saints 43
Game 32 -- Harmony 45, Pine Tree 42
Game 33 -- Palestine Westwood 46, Huntington 39
Game 34 -- Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill 49, Jacksonville 44
Game 35 -- Martin's Mill 60, Snook 35
Game 36 -- Pittsburg 40, Anna 29
Game 37 -- Tyler Grace 49, Van 45
Game 38 -- Alba-Golden 43, Tyler Lee 26
Game 39 -- Bullard 47, Gilmer 38
Game 40 -- Athens 52, Chapel Hill 40
Game 41 -- Gladewater 36, Kaufman 33
Game 42 -- Emory Rains 35, Neches 34
Game 43 -- Kerens 75, John Tyler 71
Game 44 -- Tyler T.K. Gorman 49, Sunnyvale 21
Saturday's Games
Game 45 -- Harmony 44, Palestine Westwood 41
Game 46 -- John Tyler 69, Sunnyvale 47
Game 47 -- Tyler T.K. Gorman 58, Kerens 30
Game 48 -- Snook 44, Tyler Lee 29
Game 49 -- Jacksonville 38, Anna 25
Game 50 -- Gilmer 47, Van 29
Game 51 -- Martin's Mill 53, Alba-Golden 39
Game 52 -- Pittsburg 43, Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill 41
Game 53 -- Bullard 51, Tyler Grace 29
Game 54 -- Gladewater 33, Harmony 19
Game 55 -- Emory Rains 47, Athens 44
Game 56 -- John Tyler 58, Snook 48
Game 57 -- Jacksonville 27, Gilmer 15
Game 58 (Consolation) -- Pittsburg 40, Bullard 27
Game 59 (Third-place) -- Kerens 60, Alba-Golden 54
Game 60 (Championship) -- Tyler T.K. Gorman 54, Martin's Mill 48