Lady Warriors put wrench in Allen’s state title hopes

Okarche dominated the fourth quarter and once again finds itself in familiar territory - the state semifi nals.

The Lady Warriors outscored No. 7 Allen 16-8 in the fourth quarter Wednesday afternoon to pull out a 51-43 victory in the Class A girls state quarterfinals at OG&E Coliseum.

No. 5 Okarche played No. 2 Canute at 1 p.m. Friday in the semifinals at Yukon High School (after press time).

Wednesday marked the 14th consecutive time Okarche has won a quarterfi nal game at state. The program hasn’t lost in the first round since 2008.

This win came with defense and clutch free throw shooting.

The Lady Warriors didn’t allow Allen to score until 1:23 was left in the first quarter.

After that, the teams battled back and forth and found themselves tied 35-35 entering the fourth quarter.

Emory West nailed a 3-pointer 45 seconds into the quarter and gave Okarche a lead it wouldn’t lose.

Allen again had a scoring drought, but this time didn’t have the luxury of time to recover from it.

Logan White’s threepoint play gave Okarche a 41-35 lead with 4:19 left and it stuck until Addison Prentice made a 3-pointer for Allen’s first points of the fourth at 2:48.

Then Katie Parham took over at the free throw line.

The junior guard made 9 of 10 foul shots in the final 1:54, including 8 straight at one point.

Those coupled with Okarche stops on defense saw Okarche build a 50-40 lead with 25 seconds left.

Kayla Nickell’s 3-pointer cut it to 7 points 10 seconds later, but the game got no closer.

Parham scored 18, which included 16 in the second half, and had 8 boards.

White scored 13 and pulled down 9 rebounds.

Her bucket started an 8-2 run in the third quarter to help the Lady Warriors rebound from a 24-19 deficit.

Callie Cramer chipped in 12 points and 6 rebounds.

Okarche out-rebounded Allen 32-24 in improving to 24-5.

The Lady Mustangs were led by Nickell and Cherish Woodward, who scored 12 each.