Washington emerges in final

Kingfisher had the shooting.

Washington had the depth.

Depth won out. With 31 points from its bench, Washington built a cushion at the end of the third quarter last Wednesday and rode it to a 63-49 victory over Kingfisher in the championship game of the Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic at the Kerr Activities Center in Ada.

The Lady Jackets led much of the first quarter, were down by four at half and still within striking distance as they faced a 41-33 deficit near the end of the third quarter.

That’s when the game unraveled.

Washington held for a final shot and seemingly got it when Preslee Johnson fed Eternity Self in the paint for a bucket while being fouled.

Self made the free throw to give the Lady Warriors a 44-33 lead with 2.9 seconds to go in the quarter.

However, Kingfisher’s errant inbound pass fell into the waiting hands of Washington’s Hadley Beard at the top of the key.

She sank a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to give the Lady Warriors - essentially - a six-point possession and a 47-33 lead.

The Lady Jackets didn’t recover, but coach Taylor Young said the loss didn’t take away from what her team gained over the three days.

It included wins over 2A No. 2 Howe in the quarterfi nals and 3A No. 8 Keys in the semifinals to make the title game.

“I think we gained a lot of valuable experience that we will be able to learn from and carry over into playoffs,” Young said.

Beard scored 13 points for Washington in the championship and Self added 11.

Both players came off the bench for the top-ranked team in Class 3A.

They were two of four Lady Warriors in double figures. Joining them were Briley Beller and and Johnson, the eventual tournament MVP, who had 11 apiece.

The Lady Jackets had two reach double figures and all their points came from starters.

And a majority of those points came from beyond the arc.

Mattie Slezickey, Reese Roof and Ela Hartman each made a 3-pointer in the first quarter as KHS jumped on Washington early.

Slezickey’s trey with 1:20 left in the first gave KHS a 12-5 lead.

Johnson closed out the quarter with a trey of her own to pull her team within 12-9.

Hartman scored 7 more points in the second as KHS kept it close, but was outscored 19-12 by Washington.

Washington then used a 19-3 run in the third to take command of the game, punctuated by the end of the quarter.

All 9 of Kingfisher’s points in the third were from long range.

In all, KHS was 10 of 17 from deep.

Hartman was 3 of 4 to go with her game-high 17 points. She also had 5 rebounds.

Slezickey made 4 of 6 3-pointers for her 12 points.

The junior added 5 assists.

Roof gained all 9 of her points on 3-pointers. She was named to the all-tournament team along with fellow senior Abbie Myers.

Myers collected 5 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in the championship.

KHS also got 6 points from Taitym Walker.

Washington won the Bertha Teague title for the first time and was playing in the title game for the third straight year.

Kingfisher won the tournament in its first appearance in 1988. The Lady Jackets didn’t return until 2023 when they placed fifth.

The loss was the second of the season to Washington, which defeated KHS 46-37 in the semifinals of the Dale tournament last month.

KHS was 7-3 after the defeat and Young said she liked what she saw across the board from her team.

“We had different players step up and make big plays over all three games,” she said.

That’s especially true for her seniors.

Roof scored 19 and Myers 14 in the quarterfinal win against Howe.

Myers then poured in 21 in Tuesday’s semifinal victory over Keys. (Note: See last week’s editions for more detailed stories on those games.)

The semifinal win proved to be a big one in Young’s career.

That was her 100th win as a head coach.

In her fifth season - all at KHS - Young is 100-28 after the loss to Washington.

“I have been blessed with good kids/players and assistants,” said Young, who has guided KHS to the 4A state tournament three times. “I’m proud of our girls for their effort and hard work this week.”