Lady Jackets secure state reservation

With the season and a spot in the state tournament on the line, coach Taylor Young’s team, more often than not, will get it done.

The Lady Jackets proved it once again Saturday night when they held off No. 11 Berryhill 44-38 in a Class 4A area consolation championship at Kellyville.

That win vaulted Kingfisher into state for the 29th time in the program’s history.

It’s the fourth time in five years the team has done so under Young.

In each of those four years, the Lady Jackets have had to at least win the consolation game, if not three of them, at area.

Third-ranked Locust Grove put KHS in that position this year with a 51-39 victory in Friday night’s area championship.

The game was delayed for 30 minutes as the area was in a tornado warning.

Once the storms passed, the Lady Jackets were marginally outscored in every quarter.

They trailed 24-18 at halftime and were down 9 entering the fourth.

Abbie Myers played just over half of the game as she was saddled with foul trouble almost from the tip.

Olivia Stokes took advantage with a game-high 18 points for Locust Grove.

Kingfisher was led by Mattie Slezickey’s 16.

Berryhill won back-toback games to start the area, then deployed the strategy of leaving alone Reese Roof to start Saturday’s contest.

The KHS senior obliged by knocking down a trio of first-quarter 3-pointers to help KHS to a 19-12 lead.

The lead was stretched to 30-19 by halftime before Berryhill pulled within six by the end of the third quarter.

The Maidens cut it to 40-38 on Bentleigh Wood’s free throw with 4:34 to play.

It proved to be their last point.

They got one more chance 90 seconds later, but came up empty-handed.

Kingfisher then milked more than 2:30 minutes off the clock before Ela Hartman was fouled with 32.6 seconds left.

The sophomore sank both free throws for a fourpoint KHS lead.

Roof then stole a pass on the other end and knocked down two more free throws with 23.7 seconds to go.

Those were Kingfisher’s only four points in the final quarter.

They proved to be enough as the Lady Jackets forced a stop on the defensive end and were able to dribble out the clock.

Roof made five 3-pointers overall and scored 19 points.

Myers chipped in 11 while Slezickey, Hartman and Taitym Walker each scored 4.

KHS was 15 of 18 from the free throw line for the game. Berryhill attempted only four free throws.

KHS takes a 26-4 record and the No. 6 ranking into state.

This is the Lady Jackets’ second consecutive trip.

The Lady Jackets drew the top seed - Lincoln Christian - for Tuesday’s quarterfinal round. That game tipped off at 10:30 a.m. at OG&E Coliseum.

Lincoln Christian is the defending state champ and ranked No. 1 with a 26-2 record.