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.
Class B Girls
#1 Dover vs #15 Turner
Wednesday at 12:00pm
Last appearance: Dover (2007) Turner (2016)
Turner’s road to the big house
We won district beating Bray-Doyle and Caney. Regional tournament was at Alex and we had to beat Alex. Losing to #4 Hammon in the regional final put us in a tough place. Having to win three games in three days was a tall task. Our kids did a fantastic job beating Roff, #14 Buffalo Valley and #6 Geronimo. Beating Geronimo in the area consolation final was an amazing win for our program. Going into that game I felt our kids were really confident and ready. Getting to the state tournament is very exciting for us. It was one of our top goals this season. We had been to Area two of the last three yrs and lost on Thursday. This year we finally got it done! said Turner coach Bruce Keatts.
#8 Arnett vs #5 Lookeba-Sickles
Wednesday at 1:30pm
Last Appearance: Arnett (2012) Lookeba-Sickles (Fifth consecutive appearance since 2020)
Arnett’s road to the big house
The Arnett Lady Wildcats are back at the big house for the first time since 2012, They started their road to the gold ball by defeating Cimmaron 79-20 and Timberlake 68-28, Defeated Shidler 52-36 but fell to #10 Frontier 50-42 in regionals but would win three in a row against #13 Leedey 46-44, #16 Kremlin-Hillsdale 56-50 and #10 Frontier 65-42 to advance back to the state tournament for first time since 2012. They will be looking for their first trip to the championship since 1999
Lookeba-Sickles road to the big house
We’ve had a tough road going through Varnum and MVG and got out unbeaten so hopefully that will give us confidence going forward. We’re extremely excited to be back at the big house and are hoping to make some noise. We’ve been fortunate to get here for a fifth straight year but don’t take it for granted, we still have won it yet said Lookeba-Sickles coach Lance Scales. Lookeba-Sickles began their road to the big house defeating Gracemont 105-34 and Geary 75-25, Defeated Maysville 67-32 and #9 Varnum 41-32 to advance to area and defeated Caddo County rival #3 Mt. View-Gotebo 51-49 in overtime to advance to the state tournament for the fifth consecutive season.
#4 Hammon vs #3 Mt. View- Gotebo
Wednesday at 9:00am
Last Appearance: Hammon (Third consecutive appearance since 2021) Mt. View-Gotebo (2001)
Hammon’s road to the big house
We hosted districts vs Erick and won 81-8, played Granite first round of regionals and won 75-15, played Turner regional finals and won 57-31, then had Geronimo in the area tournament final and punched our ticket by winning 54-34. The anticipation is filled with tons of excitement, some good nerves, and looking forward to getting to play in the big house, Hammon has had a good stretch of making the state tournament and having some success in recent years winning a title in 2018, runner up in 2019, then winning it again in 2023. I think the reaction was more “hey we proved everyone wrong that thought we wouldn’t get back (because we graduated 4 really good players and only returned 2 players that had any previous playing experience) so now let’s go keep proving people wrong and see what we can do!” We expect to make the state tournament every year that’s our goal just like everyone else, but as a coach it means a lot to see my players hard work payoff. And to make it two years in a row last year in boys and now this year in girls it’s a blessing and I’m happy I get to live the life I do! said Hammon coach Clay Conley.
Mt. View-Gotebo’s road to the big house
Forming a winning attitude started this summer. This being my first year here and bringing two daughters to the team was an easy transition. Making it to state in fastpitch for the first time in school history carried over to basketball. Defeating great teams in Cyril, Lookeba, and Geronimo amongst others allowed us to know our potential and that a run was possible. 23-0 into the playoffs was a awesome task, but a loss in the area finals was a heartbreaker. The girls responded the next day beating a very good Varnum team to punch their ticket. We were the only class b girls team to lose Friday and come back Saturday to win. We probably had the roughest loss in overtime amongst the 4 teams. Shows the grit these young ladies have. They are extremely excited and the fans are following us everywhere we go. It is great for this small southwest community. We are fortunate and feel blessed to be along the side of the 2001 team! said Mt. View-Gotebo coach Richard Carney. Mt. View-Gotebo began their road to the big house by defeating Corn Bible Academy 64-33 in districts, Defeated Ryan 75-38 and #12 Chattanooga 42-23, Lost to Caddo County rival #5 Lookeba-Sickles in overtime 51-49 but bounced back big against #9 Varnum 71-53 to advance to the state tournament for first time since 2001.
#11 Kiowa vs #2 Lomega
Wednesday at 10:30am
Last Appearance: Kiowa (2021) Lomega (Sixth consecutive appearance since 2019)
Lomega’s road to the big house
We have played pretty well during the playoffs. Have had a lot of different girls step up and make plays. Defensively we are playing pretty well right now. It’s always fun to make it to the state tournament but our goal is the same every year and that is to win a gold ball. We are not satisfied with just being here. I think this year the field is wide open and there are a bunch of different teams that are capable of winning. It should be a really good tournament said Lomega coach Kevin Lewallen. Lomega began their road to the big house with defeating Vici 90-31, Defeated Balko 69-21 and #20 Boise City 64-47 in regionals and defeated #10 Frontier 72-31 in area to advance to the state tournament for the sixth consecutive season in a row.
Kiowa’s road to the big house
The Kiowa Cowgirls are back at the big house for the first time since 2021 when they finished as state runner up. The Cowgirls began their road to the big house by defeating Milburn 58-14 and Ft. Towson 62-20 in districts, Defeated Midway 65-34 but lost to #7 Pittsburg 43-42 in regionals but would bounce back and win three in a row against Leflore 62-22, Whitesboro 48-43 and #7 Pittsburg 41-33 in Area to advance to the state tournament.
The OKPreps Rundown 
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