It is that time of season and we have finally reached the State Tournament and congratulations, You have made it to the big house! This is the last year at the big house before the new arena is open so let’s make this the best one yet! Follow along as I preview the State Tournament matchups and hear from the coaches as they give their thoughts.
Seiling vs Canute
Tuesday at 4:30pm
Last Appearance: Seiling (Fifth consecutive) Canute (First since 2020)
Seiling’s road to the gold ball began with wins over Laverne 69-37 in districts, Wins over Mooreland 63-32 and Okarche 57-47 in regionals and Red Oak 54-47 in the area tournament to advance to the state tournament. Canute’s road to the gold ball began with wins over Arapaho-Butler 56-37 in districts, Apache 70-35 and Cheyenne-Reydon 39-26 in regionals, Fell to Quinton 43-36 but bounced back against Cheyenne-Reydon 29-27 in the area tournament to advance to the state tournament.
SEILING head coach Brady Hamar
It was a great and fun exciting road to the Big House. Teagan Hamar and Keirsten Briggs have done a great job as Seniors leading us through Districts, Regionals, and then Area. We played some great teams through this run so it was extremely exciting for us to win last night. We are looking forward to next week, but know that we have to get focused again right now with the short turnaround, with Class A playing on Tuesday.
Best Memory of Being at The Big House
Best memory from last year is just seeing our girls celebrating with a dog pile in the middle of the Big House floor!!
#2 Caddo vs #8 Allen
Tuesday at 6:00pm
Last appearance: Caddo (Fourth consecutive) Allen (Second consecutive)
Caddo’s road to the big house began with wins over Rock Creek 73-15 in districts, Navajo 48-26 and Alex 68-31 in regionals, Fell to Amber-Pocasset 48-38 but bounced back against Alex 50-43 to advance to the state tournament. Allen’s road to the gold ball began with wins over Clayton 93-15 in districts, Weleetka 91-33 and Wellston 60-26 in regionals and Wright City 64-31 in the area tournament to advance to the state tournament.
CADDO head coach Kolby Johnson
The road to the big house is never an easy one. Our hard work the past season, as well as the years before, has given us an amazing opportunity yet again. Our boys have really showed determination this season, which I am extremely proud of. Our girls continue to work hard every game. That’s just a testament as to how good of players these girls are and how they put 100% into everything they do.
Best Memory of Being at The Big House
Winning a big game vs Red Oak in overtime.
ALLEN head coach Dottie Slabaugh
This team knew when they walked out of that locker room in the State Fair Arena last March that they wanted to get back this season. We started working toward this goal in May with summer team camps and open gyms. These girls have a true heart for the game and will put everything we’ve learned along the way this season into the next few days.
#20 Okarche vs #5 Amber-Pocasset
Tuesday at 7:30pm
Last Appearance: Okarche (First since 2022) Amber-Pocasset (First since 2022)
Okarche’s road to the gold ball began with wins over Cherokee 50-38 in districts, A win over Garber 40-35 but fell to Seiling 57-47 in regionals but won three straight over Porter 53-38, Mooreland 23-18 and Red Oak 57-45 in the area tournament to advance to the state tournament. Amber-Pocasset’s road to the gold ball began with wins over Coyle 44-13 in districts, Wins over Thomas-Fay-Custer 59-40 and Empire 49-25 in regionals and Caddo 48-38 in the area tournament.
OKARCHE head coach Brett Tahah
Our road to the big house has been one to remember! The girls have left everything on the court to earn their spot in the state tournament. The Okarche Lady Warriors have a very rich tradition of making it to state consistently and I am so proud of everyone on the team for finding a way to make it back for the last dance in the BIG HOUSE!
Best Memory of Being at The Big House
With it being the 60th year of teams playing in the big house, I love to look back at all of the great teams and players that have played there. For my team to play there this year, it will be a moment that I and the girls never forget.
#6 Quinton vs #3 Cyril
Tuesday at 9:00pm
Last Appearance: Quinton (Third consecutive) Cyril (Third consecutive)
Quinton’s road to the gold ball began with wins over Davenport 57-20 in districts, Okay 67-31 and Waukomis 33-31 in regionals and Canute 43-36 in the area tournament to advance to the state tournament. Cyril’s road to the gold ball began with wins over Wayne 78-16 in districts, Ringling 69-30 in regionals but fell to Wright City 52-49 but won three consecutive in the area tournament over Rattan 56-36, Wellston 52-29 and Wright City 67-37 to advance to the state tournament.
CYRIL head coach Shane McLemore
We played seven top five teams and won four of them. We have struggled will injuries and sickness all year but have fought hard. Record 21-5 and Hadley Gibson has passed the 1500 pointt mark. Our two leaders are senior Hadley Gibson and Averi Carlson. Averi has led us in rebounds and has set a record for most charges taken.
Best Memory of Being at The Big House
Winning state with my son and him being player of the year in 2019.
The OKPreps Rundown 
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