
Another great week of state tournament basketball in the books and we saw a lot of great action at the Jim Norick Arena the last two weeks, We had some great finals matchups in Class 2A-4A and even saw OKPreps history in the Class 3A boys championship.
All Tournament Team (Class 2A)
MVP: Brook Rutland (Dale)
Brook Rutland, Sr., Dale, 13.7
Makenzy Herman, Sr., Dale, 12.3
Gracie Lute, Sr., Howe, 10.3
Abby Huie, Sr., Howe, 10.0
Abbie Savage, Sr., Amber-Pocasset, 18.0
MVP: Dayton Forsythe (Dale)
Dayton Forsythe, Jr., Dale, 16.7
Deken Jones, Jr., Dale, 10.0
Trayden Chambers, So., Dale, 9.3
Ca’Ron Banks, Sr., Oklahoma Christian Academy, 12.7
Carson Thomas, Sr., Oklahoma Christian Academy, 20.3
All Tournament Team (Class 3A)
MVP: Boston Berry (Jones)
Boston Berry, Sr., Jones, 16.3
Jaelen Maples, Sr., Jones, 11.3
Kelby Beller, Fr., Washington, 13.0
Rielyn Scheffe, So., Washington, 14.7
Hannah Coons, Jr., Kiefer, 27.0
MVP: Zyhir Fisher (Millwood)
Zyhir Fisher, So., Millwood, 15.3
Jaden Nickens, So., Millwood, 15.3
Mario Darrington, Sr., Tulsa Metro Christian, 15.0
Wyatt Powell, Jr., Tulsa Metro Christian, 14.3
Daevion Hill, Sr., Crooked Oak, 18.5
All Tournament Team (Class 4A)
MVP: Keziah Lofton (Bethany)
Keziah Lofton, So., Bethany, 16.0
Zya Vann, Jr., Bethany, 15.7
Audrey Hopkins, So., Tulsa Lincoln Christian, 15.0
Maddi Stewart, Fr., Tulsa Lincoln Christian, 14.0
Landry Allen, Sr., Tuttle, 20.5
MVP: Terry McMorris (Douglass)
Terry McMorris, Sr., Douglass, 15.3
Landry Ballard Jr., So., Douglass, 11.0
Tate Sage, So., Weatherford, 14.0
CJ Nickson, So., Weatherford, 17.3
Xavier Ridenour, Sr., Kingfisher, 18.0
Millwood 56 Metro Christian 53

This matchup would be an exciting one to start out the morning. The Millwood Falcons was looking to make OKPreps history, With a win they would pass Booker T. Washington for most state titles, They was tied with 16 titles, On the other side of things the Metro Christian Patriots was looking for their first title in school history after reaching the finals for first time since 2003. This game would be high scoring all around especially the first half, The third quarter would be much slower paced with both teams having nine points even but the fourth quarter would feature another run by the Falcons, Late in the fourth the Patriots would be knocking on the doorstep by only trailing by one but the clutch free throws from Zyhir Fisher to make it a three point game would be enough to seal the game and the Falcons would make history by passing Booker T. Washington with 17 titles. The Falcons trio of Zyhir Fisher, Chance Davis and Jaden Nickens would lead all scoring with 17pts, 15pts and 12pts respectively. The Patriots would be lead in all scoring with Mario Darrington with 17pts and Wyatt Powell with 14pts.
Dale 48 Howe 23

This matchup would feature two girls basketball powerhouses in Class 2A, The Dale Lady Pirates was looking to get their first title since 2010 while the Howe Lady Lions made it to the championship for the fourth consecutive year and was looking to replicate what Kingfisher boys did last season which was win the title with a completely new starting five. The Lady Pirates would get off to a hot start in the first quarter quickly jumping out to a 18-6 lead and expanded the lead in second quarter. The Lady Pirates defense would be on full display in this game as they would hold the Lady Lions to 23 points all together. The fourth quarter would be relatively quiet on offense for both teams but the Lady Pirates would come out on top and win their first title since 2010. The Lady Pirates trio of Makenzy Herman, Brook Rutland and Ava Bell would lead scoring with 13pts, 12pts and 10pts respectively. Slatey Jo Free lead all scoring for the Lady Lions with six points.
Bethany 48 Lincoln Christian 36

This matchup would feature two teams looking for their first title in school history and both teams was in the championship for the first time as well. The PG matchup of Ellie Brueggemann and Keziah Lofton would be some must see action. The first quarter would be all Lady Bronchos as they would jump out to a big run but then the Lady Bulldogs would quickly adjust and go on a run to answer back and make it a close game. Third quarter would be a tight one as it came down to defense throughout, Late in the fourth quarter would come the run to seal the win for the Lady Bronchos. The Lady Bronchos duo of Keziah Lofton and Kayten Donley would go off for 20pts and 17pts respectively. The Lady Bulldogs were lead in scoring by Maddi Stewart with 12pts and Adyson Roberts with nine points.
Jones 39 Washington 33

This matchup would feature two teams very similar but different, On one side of things there was the Jones Lady Longhorns with an experienced veteran core looking to win their third straight title, They had made history last season being the first Jones team to win back to back titles in school history, Then you have the Washington Lady Warriors who was the youngest team in the field with only one senior and the core being all freshman and sophomores. All throughout the game this would be a chess match between two veteran coaches in Jenni Holbrook and Kale Simon, The defense in this game would be some of the best I would see between both teams. The first half would be back and forth and despite Washington star freshman Kelby Beller going down in the first quarter with injury, The young Lady Warriors team never gave up, Third quarter the Lady Longhorns would go on a run to take the biggest lead of the game at 12 points but the Lady Warriors would battle back, Fourth quarter the Lady Longhorns would go on another run to seal the game and win their third consecutive championship. Zoe Tucker lead all scoring for the Lady Longhorns with 10pts. Rielyn Sheffe lead all scoring for the Lady Warriors with 16pts.
Dale 78 OK Christian Academy 52

This matchup would be the third time these two teams have matched up, Both the Dale Pirates and the OK Christian Academy Eagles matched up twice in the regular season and both being on similar paths in a way. The Pirates was coming into this game 31-0 and having a really great season having been the first team 2A and below to win the Tournament of Champions since 1978 and the core of the team is still really young, While on the other side of things, The OK Christian Academy Eagles was having a historic season for the team, They not only made State for first time in school history but also reached the finals for first time in school history after an overtime win against Preston the previous night and this senior lead group was on a mission. The first half would be very back and forth and the Eagles would even lead a couple times and the defense would hold Pirates star Dayton Forsythe to four points but then in the second half the Pirates would go on a huge run and Forsythe would go off in the midst of a 14-3 run for the Pirates and they didn’t look back as they would win their second straight title and complete the undefeated season. Dayton Forsythe lead all scoring for the Pirates with 29pts. Carson Thomas and Carter Owens both with 15pts and Ca’Ron Banks with 14pts to lead all scoring for the Eagles.
Douglass 48 Weatherford 44

Two young teams, One goal in common and that was to hoist the gold ball. The Weatherford Eagles was back in the finals for first time since 1998 and was looking to win it for first time in school history while the Douglass Trojans was looking to win it for first time since 2017 when they won seven titles in a row in that stretch from 2010-17. The big man matchup of Terry McMorris and CJ Nickson would be on full display in this game. The first quarter would be very back and fourth but the second quarter the Trojans would go on a 15-0 run to crack the lead wide open at the half, Going into the fourth quarter the Eagles still found themselves trailing by 13 but would go on a 13-2 lead to bring the deficit to three, Late in the fourth quarter the Eagles would trail by one but free throws by the Trojans would extend the lead to four and the Trojans would win their first title since 2017. Terry McMorris lead all scoring for the Trojans with 20pts. CJ Nickson lead all scoring for the Eagles with 20pts.
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