Sports

 The sun set on Sunrise Christian in the Wheat Capital semifinals.Defending champion Kingfisher had the honors as the Jackets throttled the Wichita-based school 70-28 on Friday at Chisholm.

A back-and-forth game finally stayed on Kingfisher’s side in the fourth quarter.The Lady Jackets returned to the Wheat Capital Tournament championship game with a 50-45 victory over Woodward in Friday’s semifinal at Chisholm.It was a rematch of sorts from last year’s playoffs.

TULSA – The 130-mile ride home to Okarche was considerably more enjoyable Friday for the Lady Warriors than it could have been.Okarche salvaged a win in the Tournament of Champions earlier that day by dominating Pocola 56-40 in the seventh-place game of the girls’ bracket.

TULSA – Less than a half-second was all it took for Kingfisher to go from leaving the Tournament of Champions with the thirdplace trophy to suffering its second straight defeat.Evan Crotts caught a missed 3-pointer along the baseline as he was fading away.

All seven local schools will be tipping off basketball tournaments this week....just as they’re returning to school from the holiday break.Four of those schools - Okarche, Hennessey, Cashion and Crescent - will vie for Three Rivers Conference Tournament championships.

As we begin 2023, we continue our look back at 2022.The following stories are more of the top sports headlines in the Kingfisher County area from the last year.The first part of this series appeared in the Wednesday, Dec. 28, edition: 6.

Okarche coach Haley Mitchel knew beating 6A’s second-ranked Bixby in the opening round of the 57th annual Tournament of Champions was a tall task.The way the Lady Spartans shot the ball made it an almost impossible one.

As adversity was slapping the Kingfisher Yellowjackets square in the jaw, Jared Reese reminded his team to remain calm.The Jackets did…and it paid off.

Championship games won.Championship games lost.Success on the field. Headlines off of it. Triumph. Tragedy. Each year presents its own set of newsmakers in the world of sports.And, each year, Kingfisher County has more than its share.