Players enjoy 2024 Mid-America Tournament Welcome Luncheon

Duncan tried to hang around against Class 3A juggernaut Washington, but Preslee Johnson finally helped put the game out of reach for the Lady Warriors.

Johnson scored the first seven points in an 11-0 Washington run that ended the third quarter and started the fourth and the Lady Warriors buried the Lady Demons 68-38 Thursday in the first round of the 47th Annual Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic inside East Central University’s Kerr Activities Center.

Washington, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, stayed unbeaten at 8-0, while Class 5A Duncan slid to 4-5.

Washington 68, Duncan 38

Duncan’s Ariyah Harris hit two free throws at the 1:10 mark of the third quarter that got her team within 42-31.

Johnson then hit a 3-pointer, scored on a steal and layup and scored on another fast break following a steal by teammate Laney Parnacher that put Washington on top 49-31 heading into the fourth quarter.

Eternity Self hit a jumper to open the final frame and Kelby Beller followed with a putback that put the Lady Warriors ahead 53-31 with 7:11 to play. Washington ended the game on a 10-3 run.

The game was tight for much of the first half.

The Lady Warriors started the game on a 13-7 run but Duncan battled back. Emily Hallford’s putback early in the second period cut the WHS lead to 15-13.

Ariyah Harris made a 3-pointer to get the Lady Demons within 21-18 at the 3:54 mark of the second quarter. It was Duncan’s only 3-point basket of the game.

Washington ended the first half with a decisive 10-0 run to build a 31-18 lead at the break.

The Lady Warriors led 49-31 after three quarters but outscored Duncan 19-7 in the final frame.

Johnson led Washington with 16 points on 7 of 11 shooting from the field. She made a pair of 3-pointers. Parnacher — the cousin of Latta starter Kelbey Parnacher — followed with 11 points, including three 3-point baskets. Self and Breanna Lindert added eight points apiece for the coach Kale Simon’s club.

Kelby Beller contributed seven points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Lady Warriors.

Duncan saw three players score 10 points each — Harris, Dasia Givens and Amiya Williams. Givens also had six rebounds.

The Lady Demons connected on 17 of 22 free throws, while Washington went 4 of 11 from the line.

That must have been quite the halftime speech by Dale veteran head coach Eric Smith during his team’s first-round battle with Purcell Thursday night at the 2024 Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic.

The Lady Pirates broke open a tight game by outscoring Purcell 24-5 in the third period en route to a 63-39 victory,

Dale, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, improved to 10-1 while the Lady Dragons dropped to 3-4. Dale was scheduled to face Seiling in a battle of No. 1s in Friday night’s semifinals. Purcell faced Anadarko in consolation play.

Dale 63, Purcell 39

Dale got off to a quick 14-4 start but the Lady Dragons put together a first-half rally. Purcell used an 11-2 run to get within 16-15 early in the second period.

Hannah Whitaker hit a 3-pointer for Purcell to trim the DHS advantage to 25-22 with just three minutes left in the second period. Dale settled for a 32-25 halftime lead.

The Lady Pirates pulled away with a 15-0 surge to begin the third period. After Teague Muncy scored back-to-back baskets, the DHS lead had grown to 47-25 with 4:41 left in the third quarter.

Khloe Jones hit two free throws and followed that with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Dale a 56-30 advantage heading to the fourth period. It was the only 3-point shot that fell for the Lady Pirates, who finished 1 of 12 from long range.

Post-player Danika Pendley scored 15 points and tracked down seven rebounds to lead the Lady Pirates. She made 5 of 5 free throws. Point guard Skylar Anderson was next with 14 points. She also had six assists, four rebounds and made 6 of 8 free throws.

Jones also hit double figures with 12 points. Kynlee Bullard contributed nine points and finished a perfect 7 of 7 from the free-throw line. Muncy added eight points for Dale.

Whitaker and Kenna Esparza led the Purcell offense with nine points apiece. Eparaza knocked down three 3-point shots and Whitaker sank her only attempt from 3-point range.

The Lady Dragons ended up 7 of 14 from the free-throw stripe and Dale made a sizzling 24 of 27 (88.9%) attempts.

The 47th Annual Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic got off to a thrilling start.

Anadarko erased a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime before Seiling shut out the Lady Warriors in the extra session in a tense 44-40 victory in the tournament opener Thursday afternoon.

Seiling, ranked No. 1 in Class A, improved to 4-0 on the year, while the Lady Warriors — No. 3 in Class 3A — dropped to 6-3.

The Lady Wildcats faced Dale in a Friday night semifinal contest, while Anadarko matched up with Purcell in consolation play.

Seiling 44, Anadarko 40 (OT)

Andarako outscored Seiling 13-6 in the fourth quarter and held the Lady Wildcats scoreless over the final four minutes of regulation.

The Lady Warriors scored the last six points of the fourth period on a basket and two free shots by Heaven Haywood and a putback by Taejah Hightower with 2:48 to play. Both teams had scoring opportunities down the stretch but couldn’t cash in.

Keirstin Briggs hit one free throw early in the overtime and Teagan Hamar later scored on a nice drive to the basket to put the Lady Wildcats on top 43-40 at the 2:35 mark of the extra period.

Anadarko still had a chance after Lyndlea Nichols missed two free throws with 11.4 seconds left. However, the Lady Warriors turned the ball over before crossing half-court and Hamar iced the game with one free shot with 5.3 ticks remaining.

Haywood scored on a fast break to put Anadarko ahead 16-7 late in the first quarter. However, the Lady Wildcats turned the tables in the second period, outscoring the Lady Warriors 16-6 to take a slim 23-22 halftime lead.

Seiling limited Anadarko to just five points in the third quarter and led 34-27, heading into the fourth period.

Hamar led the Seiling attack with 19 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. She also had three steals. Briggs also reached double figures with 10 points for the Lady Wildcats. Kadence Griffin was next with eight points.

Haywood paced Anadarko with 16 points and eight rebounds. Ivory Miller followed with 10 points, including a 3-point basket. Lenaya Williams just missed double figures with nine points and also made a 3-pointer for the Lady Warriors.

Anadarko finished 6 of 8 from the free-throw line and Seiling went 13 of 21 from the stripe.

The Lady Wildcats are making their first Mid-America appearance since 2016 and Anadarko last competed in the tournament in 2018.

The Latta Lady Panthers fought past short-handed Caddo 49-41 late Thursday night in the first round of the 47th Annual Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic.

It was far from a dazzling win, but any Mid-America victory is a good one.

“I think we were fortunate tonight that we did just enough to get the win,” Latta head coach Clay Plunk told The Ada News following the game. “Caddo is a really good ballclub. I know when they’re healthy, they’re really, really good.”

Latta, ranked No. 4 in Class 2A, improved to 10-1 on the year and earned the right to face Class 3A No. 1 Washington in a Friday night semifinal game. Caddo, No. 2 in Class A, fell to 8-1 and battled Duncan Friday in consolation play.

The tournament, sponsored by Vision Bank, concludes today inside East Central University’s Kerr Activities Center with the seventh-place game beginning at 3 p.m. and ending with the 8 p.m. championship contest.

Latta 49, Caddo 41

The game got off to a sluggish start. Latta pitched a first-quarter shutout and led 7-0 after Jayse Smith grabbed a rebound and went coast to coast for a layup to start the second period.

Caddo struggled mightily in the first period, finishing 0 for 5 from the field with 11 turnovers — including one on eight consecutive possessions during one sloppy streak.

Plunk wasn’t thrilled with his team’s start, either.

“I thought we came out a little stagnant and didn’t move the ball very well but Caddo had a lot to do with that. They’re really long and athletic and forced us into some bad spots,” he said. “But we didn’t do a lot to help ourselves out early either by forcing passes and forcing shots. and we had way too many turnovers.”

After freshman Macy Parks hit a 13-foot jumper at the halfway point of the second period, Latta’s lead had grown to 17-5. The Lady Panthers settled for a 24-13 lead at the break.

After the Lady Bruins got within seven early in the third quarter, Smith took control for her team. She fired off eight unanswered points — mostly on nifty drives to the basket — and led the Lady Panthers on a pivotal 11-2 surge. Smith’s old-fashioned three-point play put Latta ahead 35-19 with just under two minutes left in the period. She outscored Caddo 13-12 in the third quarter to help Latta carry a 37-35 advantage into the final eight minutes.

“Jayse really came on there in the third quarter. She has the ability to do that,” Plunk said.

Paislee Anderson hit a 3-pointer at the 5:41 mark, putting Latta ahead 42-29, but Caddo wouldn’t go away. After Jordyn Nichols buried a triple of her own with 2:18 remaining, Caddo crawled within 43-39.

Latta countered with back-to-back buckets by post player Jakobi Worcester to seal the outcome.

Smith led Latta with a team-high 18 points. She missed her first five field goal tries before hitting eight in a row. Anderson made all three of her 3-point attempts for nine points and Kelbey Parnacher followed with eight points and five steals.

Jaycie Nichols led the way for the Lady Bruins with 19 points and six steals. She finished 5 of 5 from the free-throw line. Brilee Tyson was big off the bench for Caddo, registering a double-double that included 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lady Bruins — who won the 2022 Mid-America title — were without injured starters Rylan Peevyhouse and Kayden Prince.

The two teams combined for 43 turnovers — 22 by Caddo and 21 by Latta.

The Lady Bruins finished 11 of 16 from the free-throw stripe and Latta made 6 of 9 attempts.

The Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic Tournament kicked off Thursday inside ECU’s Kerr Activities Center.

The 47th annual event features teams from Washington, Duncan, Caddo, Anadarko, Seiling, Dale, Purcell, and Latta.