It is that time of season and we have finally reached the State Tournament and congratulations, You have made it to the big house! Follow along as I preview the State Tournament matchups and hear from the coaches as they give their thoughts.
#1 Seiling vs #5 Allen
Thursday at 9:00am
Last Appearance: Seiling (Fourth consecutive since 2021) Allen (2003)
Seiling’s road to the big house
It’s been a great road so far, we are definitely looking forward to this week, can’t wait to be in the big house. Going to be a quick week of practice, and hopefully we can be prepared to find a way to beat Allen on Thursday said Seiling coach Brady Hamar. Seiling began their road to the big house with a 76-18 win over Mooreland in districts, Defeated Thomas-Fay-Custer 74-27 and #15 Texhoma 89-44 to advance to area and defeated #7 Oklahoma Bible Academy 90-55 to go back to state for the third consecutive season. The Lady Wildcats will be going for the three-peat this season.
Allen’s road to the big house
The road for the girls started long before I knew them. This is my 5th year at Allen and they were all preparing since they were small. A large portion of them have played together since they were five and six years old said Allen coach Dottie Slabaugh. Allen began their road to the big house defeating Verden 57-28, Defeated Union City 84-39 and #19 Waukomis 49-41 in regionals, Lost to #4 Cyril 44-35 but bounced back against #9 Canute 44-36 to advance to state for first time since 2003.
#3 Quinton vs #13 Empire
Thursday at 10:30am
Last Appearance: Quinton (2023) Empire (First in school history)
Empire’s road to the big house
Our road to the Big House has been a long one!” I’ve been at Empire 5 years now and have made some really good runs in the playoffs with some really solid teams. I’ve felt each year we gained experience, and gained the mental and physical toughness that is required to get there. This team is just on a different level of competitiveness and desire than any I’ve ever coached before. It’s a credit to the kids and their parents. The anticipation is building. We knew we had the pieces to make a deep run since last year but there is always that little bump in the road sticking in your mind “can we win the big games when we have too?”Especially at a school lacking the tradition of winning those games But after we came back from a 12-0 deficit to beat #2 ranked tradition rich Caddo in regional championship, the anticipation really began to ramp up We proved to ourselves and others that we deserved a seat at the table. The reaction has been great. Our parents, fans, and school has been very supportive and very excited. Our team is obviously very excited, but to be honest I don’t think that as a team we are surprised. We are very mature team that expects success, I know it’s cliche but this team is just full of winners whether it’s softball, rodeo, pageants, FFA, track, dance, etc. they are just the type of kids that are successful. They understand what it takes and they thrive on the challenge. And they love each other, team nights at my house are full of high school girls playing spoons or uno talking about boys and having a good time. As a coach it’s just been refreshing to be around!! said Empire coach Jaicee Powers. Empire began their road to the big house with a 51-21 win over Waurika in districts, Defeated Binger-Oney 55-22 and #2 Caddo 41-38 to win regionals and defeated #14 Tushka 43-34 to advance to the state tournament for the first time in school history.
Quinton’s road to the big house
The Quinton Lady Savages are back at the big house for the second consecutive season and they began their road to the big house with a 77-38 win over Dewar in districts, Defeated Depew 56-34 and #16 Stonewall 44-26 to win regionals, Lost to #8 Red Oak 39-34 but bounced back against #10 Ripley 49-30 to advance to the state tournament. The Lady Savages are looking for their first state tournament win in school history.
#4 Cyril vs #7 Oklahoma Bible Academy
Thursday at 12:00pm
Last Appearance: Cyril (2023) Oklahoma Bible Academy (2023)
Cyril’s road to the big house
The Cyril Lady Pirates are back at the big house for the second consecutive year and they began their road to the big house with a 51-29 win over Snyder in districts, Defeated Sentinel 65-49 and Cheyenne-Reydon 63-36 to win regionals and defeated #5 Allen 44-35 to advance to State for the second consecutive year. The Lady Pirates are lead in scoring by sophomore Hadley Gibson averaging around 17.8 points per game and the team has been well battle tested having played 3A #10 Luther in the Minco Tournament closely and also having played tough teams in Class B #5 Lookeba-Sickles, Class B #3 Mt. View-Gotebo twice, Class B #11 Chattanooga, Class A #1 Seiling and Class A #5 Allen, The team has been without one of their stars in Whitney McHugh for a majority of the playoffs but it’s been next girl up throughout Regionals and Area and freshman Chloe Goombi has been one of many step up in McHugh’s absence said Cyril coach Shane McLemore.
Oklahoma Bible Academy’s road to the big house
Oklahoma Bible Academy’s road to the big house began with a 54-29 districts win over Hominy, Defeated Okarche 44-39 and #11 Garber 64-39 to win regionals, Lost to #1 Seiling 90-55 but bounced back in a close rematch with #11 Garber 41-39 in area to advance to the state tournament.
#8 Red Oak vs #2 Caddo
Thursday at 1:30pm
Last Appearance: Caddo (Third consecutive since 2021) Red Oak 2019
Red Oak’s road to the big house
We are 22-5. we have played 14 ranked teams. We have played Quinton and beat them by two. We have played Hammon and they beat us by one point and we have played Kiowa and beat them by four said Red Oak coach Luke Broadbent. Red Oak began their road to the big house with a 67-41 win over Canadian in districts, Defeated #20 Summit Christian 74-47 and #10 Ripley 42-40 in regionals and defeated #3 Quinton 39-34 to advance to state for first time since 2019
Caddo’s road to the big house
We’ve had lots of kids step up after losing three starters from last years team. Freshman Kayden prince and Harlee Taylor have really had big years and help fill roles. Jordyn Nichols and Rylan Peevyhouse moved into starting roles and have came up big also said Caddo coach Kolby Johnson. Caddo began their road to the big house with an 83-31 win over Ringling in districts, Defeated Amber-Pocasset 38-20 but fell to #13 Empire 41-38 but would win three in a row against Talihina 52-20, #6 Wright City 47-34 and #14 Tushka 51-30 to advance to state for the third consecutive year in a row.
The OKPreps Rundown 
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