Locals advance in playoff basketball action

Feb. 17—STRINGTOWN — The Lady Panthers took hold of the lead, and refused to let go.

Pittsburg faced Kiowa in Saturday's regional consolation game of the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association Class B Area II regional playoffs, where the Lady Panthers defeated the Cowgirls 43-42 in a nail-biting win.

"I knew they wouldn't quit," Pittsburg coach Jim Jenson said after the game.

"We got off to a great start. Kind of let our guard down, (Kiowa) hit some big three's," he said. "We hit enough free throws to get by."

Both teams exploded with good defense right out the gate. Pittsburg's Akiera Hawk was the first to put points on the board with a layup, setting the tone of the offense for the Lady Panthers the remaining of the quarter.

Kiowa took opportunities to shoot, but the shots just wouldn't drain — with Pittsburg taking a 15-5 lead at the end of the first.

Defense from both teams continued into the half, but back-to-back three pointers from Kiowa's Emma Roberts kept the Cowgirls in play.

The second half of the game was a physical, defensive fight to the finish.

Kiowa kept battling back, slowly eating Pittsburg's lead. But foul trouble came into play, as Pittsburg took those opportunities to make their free throws to hold to the lead.

Kiowa shot a last second triple to cut Pittsburg's lead down to one point, but that's all Pittsburg needed when the final buzzer rang — holding on for the win.

Hawk led Pittsburg with 16 points, followed by Mady Heffley with nine points, Chuck Couch with eight points, Aspen Duvall with five points, Karis Miller with three points, and Colby Burchfield with two points.

Emma Roberts led the Cowgirls with 19 points, followed by Maccie Bain with eight points, Ella Roberts with six points, Paige Igou with five points, Alison Wolfenbarger with three points, and Morgan Darrell with one point.

Up next for Pittsburg, the Lady Panthers will play Friday in the area tournament championship against Dover at 6 p.m. in Henryetta — with the winner advancing to the state tournament.

For the Cowgirls, they will also play next week in the area tournament at Henryetta, facing off against Leflore Thursday at 6 p.m.

QUINTON 44, STONEWALL 26

QUINTON — When Quinton met a wall, they ran through it to the area finals.

A-No. 3 Quinton hosted No. 16 Stonewall Saturday in the Oklahoma State Secondary Schools Activities Association Class A regional tournament final, where the green and black used a second-half surge to win 44-26 and advance one win away from the state tournament.

Coach Brad Davis said he was proud of his team's effort, especially in the face of adversity. He credited Stonewall and coach Dillon Monday on a hard-fought game as well.

"He did a phenomenal job," he said. "They kind of took us out of it in the first half."

But once his team got rolling, there wasn't much they were going to let stand in their way — with Lila Gragg providing a huge spark of offense with a game-high 17 points.

"Lila was just huge," Davis said. "We're not in the position we are going to play in Area on Friday to go to the state tournament without her. Lila was just huge, I'm really proud of her."

Defensive efforts took over early, with the first few minutes of the game remaining scoreless — until a post score followed by a triple from Gragg gave Quinton the early lead. Stonewall found an answer, tying up the game at 5-5 at the end of the first quarter.

Aliviah Daniels and Gragg got Quinton moving once more, later followed by a bucket from "the Batman" Alexis Purdom — in her return to the lineup with a dark mask matching her black uniform — to lead 13-9 at the half.

Out of the locker room, Quinton shifted its offense into another gear.

Triples from Gragg and Purdom alongside Gragg shedding a defender for a wide-open layup extended the lead. Haddie Lindley and Daniels later added a few score, putting Quinton up by nine.

With the momentum shifting its way, the Quinton girls took firm hold of the game — lighting up the scoreboard to run away with the win.

Gragg led the way with 17 points, followed by Purdom with 12 points, Daniels with 11 points, and Lindley with four points.

Next up, Quinton will face off against No. 8 Red Oak in the Class A Area IV finals at the Mvskoke Dome in Okmulgee Friday at 6 p.m., with the winner advancing to the state tournament. And Davis said he expects that one to be an instant classic.

"I don't know if I would call us a 'rival' because we don't play very much during the season. But there have been some rivalry matchups throughout the years," he said, crediting his upcoming foe. "I'm just really looking forward to competing with a great club to go (to the state tournament)."

Here are the complete playoff tournament brackets for local Class 2A-B girls teams:

CLASS 2A

AREA III

REGIONAL C-D AT KETCHUM/CANEY VALLEY

THURSDAY

AT KETCHUM

G3: Haskell vs. Ketchum, 1 p.m.

G1: Hartshorne vs. Central Sallisaw, 6 p.m.

AT CANEY VALLEY

G4: Oklahoma Union vs. Caney Valley, 1 p.m.

G2: Oktaha vs. Kipp Tulsa, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY AT KETCHUM

G5: Winner G3 vs. Loser G2, 1 p.m.

G6: Winner G4 vs. Loser G1, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY AT KETCHUM

G7: Winner G5 vs. Winner G6, 1 p.m. (Winner advances to Area)

G8: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2 6 p.m. (Winner and runner-up advance to Area)

AREA IV

REGIONAL A-B AT WILBURTON/WARNER

THURSDAY

AT WARNER

G3: Wister vs. Vian, 1 p.m.

G1: Panama vs. Warner, 6 p.m.

AT WILBURTON

G4: Wilburton vs. Hulbert, 1 p.m.

G2: Pocola vs. Wewoka, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY AT WILBURTON

G5: Winner G3 vs. Loser G2, 1 p.m.

G6: Winner G4 vs. Loser G1, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY AT WILBURTON

G7: Winner G5 vs. Winner G6, 1 p.m. (Winner advances to Area)

G8: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2 (Winner and runner-up advance to Area)

CLASS A

AREA III AT MVSKOKE DOME (OKMULGEE)

THURSDAY

G1: Ripley vs. Porum, 1 p.m.

G2: Okay vs. Stonewall, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY

G3: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2, 1 p.m.

G4: Red Oak vs. Quinton, 6 p.m. (Winner advances to State)

SATURDAY

G5: Winner G3 vs. Loser G4, 6 p.m. (Winner advances to State)

CLASS B

AREA IV AT HENRYETTA

THURSDAY

G1: McCurtain vs. Whitesboro, 1 p.m.

G2: Leflore vs. Kiowa, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY

G3: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2, 1 p.m.

G4: Dover vs. Pittsburg, 6 p.m. (Winner advances to State)

SATURDAY

G5: Winner G3 vs. Loser G4, 6 p.m. (Winner advances to State)