Lady Buffs fall in overtime thriller in Tulsa

Feb. 6—TULSA — A game so intense, it needed extra minutes to decide a winner.

McAlester hit the road to face Will Rogers Tuesday night at Daniel Webster High School in Tulsa, where the Lady Buffs fought but fell 66-59 in overtime to the Lady Ropers.

Will Rogers got a hot start offensively, and paired it with stifling full-court defense to jump into an early 13-1 lead. Katie Allen struck with the first field goal of the game for McAlester, sinking a pair of treys to cut into the deficit.

Madi VanDorpe later found Tori Kilburn for a transition bucket, with Kilburn next hitting a pair of free throws the next trip down the floor on the way to a 17-11 Will Rogers lead after the first quarter.

VanDorpe struck first in the second period with a transition triple, with McAlester also getting points from Allen and Kilburn has they brought the game within a single point. But the Lady Ropers struck right back, using a 12-2 run to end the half and take a 33-22 lead into the locker room.

Kilburn got McAlester moving to start the second half, with Rylan Lesnau following with a swishing wide-open triple. The Lady Buffs then rattled off a 6-2 run courtesy of Kilburn to trim the deficit down to four points.

A six-point swing by Will Rogers extended the lead to double digits once more, but McAlester punched right back with a triple from Avrey Alberson and a three-point play from Kilburn to make it a four-point game with under two minutes to play.

Kilburn added a bucket, and VanDorpe rattled in a hard-earned three-point play to make it a one-point game heading into the fourth period.

McAlester used a post-up bucket by Kilburn to take its first lead of the night to begin the final period of regulation. That set off a back-and-forth as both teams looked to find an edge over their opponent. It'd be a late-quarter bucket by Kilburn tying things up at 55-55, sending the game into overtime.

In the free basketball period, the Lady Ropers got a quick 4-0 start. Kilburn answered with four points for McAlester, but a huge triple by Will Rogers created enough distance to hold off the Lady Buffs and seal away the win.

Kilburn led the way for the Lady Buffs with 29 points, followed by Allen with 18 points, VanDorpe with six points, Alberson with five points, and Lesnau with four points.

Next up for McAlester, the Lady Buffs will return to the McAlester Activity Center on Friday as they host Holland Hall.

This story will be updated.