Warriors outlast Cashion for TRC title

The Three Rivers Conference regular season championship again came down to Okarche and Cashion.

And, again, it was Okarche claiming the crown.

The Warriors concluded their regular season Tuesday with an 88-60 win over visiting Cashion on “Senior Night.”

The win gave Okarche a 22-3 regular season record as it begins the defense of its back-to-back Class A championships.

The victory also gave the Warriors a perfect 6-0 mark in conference games and pairs with their conference tournament championship last month.

Cashion came in with a 4-1 conference mark and was fresh off a 77-46 road win over Pond Creek-Hunter in a non-conference makeup game the night before.

The Wildcats saw Parker Mitchell score 29 points and surpass the 1,000-point career scoring mark while Brayden Stuemky added 23 and Kyle Yowell 12.

Scoring wasn’t an issue at Okarche.

The Wildcats posted double digits in every quarter and committed “only” 20 turnovers, which is way below average for a Warrior foe.

But slowing down Okarche’s frantic style did prove difficult.

The Warriors scored at least 21 in every quarter and did capitalize on those Cashion miscues by turning them into 33 points.

Okarche also outscored Cashion 27-12 from 3-point range.

Easton Roby was 3 of 5 from 3-point range while Ethan Kirby, Brett Carnott and Kysen Avila made two apiece.

Okarche got on top 2413 after a quarter and just steadily pulled away. The Warriors didn’t outscore Cashion by double digits in any of the last three quarters.

Cashion got 19 points and 5 assists from Mitchell.

Grayson Little and King Underwood both contributed double-doubles.

Little scored 16 points and paired them with 10 rebounds.

Underwood hauled in 13 boards to go with his 14 points.

For the game, Cashion shot 39 percent while Okarche managed to shoot at a 47 percent clip.

Five different Warriors reached double figures.

Jett Mueggenborg collected 20 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists.

Roby scored 18 points and Colin Hendrickson added 14.

Carnott finished with 12 points and 6 boards while Kirby chipped in 10.

The Warriors played their last road game the previous Friday at Minco.

They headed back up U.S. Highway 81 with a 97-35 victory.

That game saw Mueggenborg pour in 26 points to go with 11 rebounds.

Roby scored 16 and Kirby - who made 4 of 6 3-pointers - added 14 points.

Okarche finished the season with 12 straight wins. Its lone losses were all in the Tournament of Champions.

The Warriors enter the playoffs as the top-ranked team in Class A.

Cashion was 15-7 after the loss and will begin its playoffs later this week.

The Wildcats still had regular season games remaining Friday (after press time) against Tonkawa and then Monday at home with 2A’s No. 1 Dale.

Lady Warriors finish 5-1 in conference

Okarche is streaking as it enters the playoffs.

The Lady Warriors won their fourth straight Tuesday night by downing rival Cashion 42-31 at home.

It gave Okarche a 19-4 regular season record and a 5-1 mark in the Three Rivers Conference.

Its lone loss was to Fairview, which was 4-0 in conference games with two more remaining.

Ranked fifth in Class A, Okarche has now won 9 of its last 10.

It got its latest win by holding Cashion to 34 percent shooting and forcing 17 turnovers.

Cashion managed just 4 points in the first quarter, which allowed the Lady Warriors to stake a 20-13 lead by halftime.

It grew to 14 points by the end of the third quarter.

Kate Nabavi was the lone Cashion player in double figures with 10 points. Brooke Shafer added 8 points and 8 rebounds.

Three Cashion players reached double digits the night before in a 54-17 win at Pond Creek-Hunter.

Cashion raced out to a 17-2 lead and never looked back.

Tinley Meier led the team with 17 points in that win while Jaylee Harp poured in 14 and Shafer 12.

But the points didn’t come as easy at Okarche as Cashion fell to 14-9.

The Lady Warriors won despite making just 1 of 7 3-pointers.

They did a bulk of their work inside the arc with 18 points in the paint.

Katie Parham managed 15 points while Logan White scored 10.

In their previous win, the Lady Warriors downed Minco 45-33 on the road.

Up 9 at the half, Okarche opened the third with a 14-4 run.

White led the way with 14 while Parham scored 11 in that victory.