Basketball season launches this week for 3 area schools

Halloween means trick-or-treating for most people in Oklahoma.

For small-school basketball teams and coaches… Oct. 31 is also basketball season eve...or at least close.

Nov. 1 is annually the date non-football playing schools can start their basketball seasons.

In Kingfisher County, that’s Dover, Lomega and Okarche.

Dover will be the first team to tip off its season as the Longhorns and Lady Longhorns host Cimarron on Tuesday.

Lomega and Okarche join the action Friday.

Lomega will travel to Dover while Okarche will host Preston.

The teams and the state of their respective programs range from rebuilding to maintaining.

Following is a brief preview of the local teams:

Dover Girls

The Lady Longhorns are coming off an 8-13 season in which they advanced to the regional consolation finals in Class B.

Though none of that is cause to raise much of an eyebrow, Dover’s girls might be poised to be one of the breakout teams in Class B this season.

Take into account three of those wins came during the playoff run.

That coincided with Karlee and Kamree McNulty being deemed eligible to play after transferring from Hennessey.

Prior to that ruling, Dover was already considered on a roll.

The Lady Longhorns won all but one of their games after the Christmas break, a sure sign of continued improvement.

They were 4-3 in their last seven games.

The McNulty twins are back as are Karlee and Katelyn Harviston, both of whom started their entire freshman seasons last year.

That quartet, part-time starter Yareli Obeso as well as some newcomers could help the program continue to rise.

“We should be pretty quick and I do think we’ve got some girls who can shoot it a little bit,” said Brett Pitts, the second-year head coach. “We’ll be aggressive defensively and offensively.”

Lomega girls

Few teams - if any - have ever been able to boast two state tournament MVPs to start a basketball season.

That’s the case in Lomega, which is coming off back-to-back state championships and owns a 54- game win streak.

Gone from last year’s undefeated team are the likes of Ady Wilson and Emma Duffy. Talented and effective as both were, neither was named MVP at state.

That honor went to Hensley Eaton in 2020 and Darcy Roberts last season.

Eaton returns for her senior season and Roberts is only a junior, as is Sydni Walker, who has started every game since returning from injury midway through her freshman season.

That core is enough to keep opposing coaches up at night, but Kevin Lewallen’s group has plenty more returning.

Trying to help the Lady Raiders add to their gold ball collection will be sophomore Abby Swart, who was the team’s “sixth man” last year, as well as the likes of senior Shelby Russell, junior Hallie Barton and freshman Chloe Meier.

Lomega has won 15 state titles, more than any other girls program in Oklahoma.

Adding to that legacy is always the goal, said Lewallen.

“Our players change from year to year,” he said. “But our goal doesn’t change. When you’re at Lomega, it’s always a goal to win state.”

Okarche girls

Few teams in this area had their seasons affected by COVID last year like Okarche, whether inside the program or by having games canceled due to other teams’ issues.

Still, the Lady Warriors were able to reach the Class A area finals before dropping back-to-back games to Seiling and Thomas.

Now in her second year as head coach, Haley Mitchel is ready to put that season in the rearview.

“We’re looking forward to this season,” she said. “The girls have worked hard throughout the summer and preseason and we’re excited for a normal year.”

Among the top returnees are junior Emma Stover and senior Karsyn Vallerand.

Stover averaged 11.6 points and 3.6 rebounds a game a year ago while Vallerand managed 7.9 points and 2.1 boards.

Senior Ryen Wittrock added 6.6 points a game while Jalie Rother, now a junior, contributed 5.5 points as a sophomore.

Look for the likes of Tyson Endres, Jadyn Rother, Sophie Vandendriessche and Adyson Arms to also make key contributions.

Win or lose, with that depth, Okarche plans to carry on its tradition of wearing down other teams.

“We definitely plan to play hard every game,” Mitchel said.

Dover boys

Stability has definitely been a bonus for Dover.

Coach Aaron Norton returns for his third season with the Longhorns, ending a run of several years that saw a revolving door at that position.

During his second season, Dover finished with a winning record (12-11) and advanced to the regional consolation semifinals.

The Longhorns were 6-3 in the final nine games.

Key contributors to that run who are back this season are Emory Norton, Damion Turner and Kolten Shaw.

Norton (6.1 ppg) and Turner (4.3 ppg) were two of the team’s best defensive players.

Shaw (6.7 ppg) gave the Longhorns a solid post presence and also was among the team leaders in rebounds.

Gone is high-scoring guard Joriaun Caldwell, meaning the Longhorns will have a lot of offensive production to make up.

Norton said the team will use its strengths to help do that.

“We’ve got a lot of speed in our lineup and want to use it to our advantage,” he said.

Lomega boys

This year’s Raider squad definitely has more question marks than the last couple of years.

The team that got Justin Edsall to his first state tournament as a coach is largely gone thanks to graduation. That includes the likes of Riley Lumpkin, Dilon Fisher, Hector Rivera and Noah Snowden.

Among the key contributors returning from that 22-4 squad are senior Blake Snowden and junior Kelby Ott.

Outside of that?

“There are several guys and a lot of them who are even with each other,” Edsall said. “We just have to sort out who we’re going to have out there.”

The exodus of key contributors means a lack of experience.

“I think we can be a good team,” Edsall said. “It’s just going to be different than the last couple of years because we’re going to be learning as we go.”

Okarche boys

The Warriors’ 2021 campaign was hurt by COVID - just as was everyone else’s - as well as injuries.

That resulted in a 10-11 record and an overtime exit in the regional consolation semifinals.

Coach Aaron West hopes both are issues of the past and brings a combination of experience and youthful talent to try to improve.

“I feel like we’ve improved a lot over the summer and preseason,” West said. “We still have a ways to go, but I really like the effort and dedication with this team right now.”

The team includes a pair of seniors, one starting for his third year in Evan Endres (9 ppg, 5 rpg, 3 apg), a hard-playing “glue guy” with the ability to play great defense and another for a second year in Brayden Stover (10 ppg, 6 rpg), who can play inside or out.

P.K. Harris (6 ppg, 5 rpg), a junior, is starting for the second year and is a key to the Warriors’ full-court pressure, which they’ll again rely heavily upon to wreak havoc on opposing teams.

Because of the up-tempo style, West hopes to play nine to 10 Warriors each night, including seniors Trey Gilles, Trenton Neiderer and Osbaldo Barcenas; sophomores Wyatt Pinkerton, Caden Schieber, Cooper Bomhoff and Alex Hawk; and freshman Hunter Mueggenborg.

“This group has the ability to play fast, but can play in the half court if we need to,” West said. “We look to continue to learn, grow and improve. Our schedule is one of the best around and will make us playoff ready when that time comes.”