Oklahoma 3A girls quarterfinals: No. 1 Washington pulls away from Bethel

Highly ranked Idabel and Jones prevail; Community Christian successful in tournament debut

Tim Willert | Mar 5, 2024

OKLAHOMA CITY — No. 1 Washington struggled to find the basket in the first quarter of Tuesday’s Class 3A girls’ quarterfinal against No. 11 Bethel at State Fair Arena.

After that, the Lady Warriors focused on their defense and rolled to a 54-27 win.

Washington (24-3) will play Community Christian School on Friday night at Yukon High School with a berth in Saturday’s state championship game on the line.

The Lady Warriors, who trailed 12-10 after eight minutes, played lockdown defense and limited Bethel and star guard Josie Megehee to just 15 points over the final three quarters of play.

Megehee, a University of Tulsa commit, made just 2of-17 shots and was held without a basket until the fourth quarter.

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“Obviously she’s really good,” Washington coach Kale Simon said of Megehee. “I was proud that it was a group effort. One girl can’t guard her.

"I told my girls when you play defense it makes your offense better. But we guarded and we took care of the basketball, and we did the simple things pretty good (Tuesday).”

Breanna Lindert had 12 points and eight rebounds and Kelby Beller added 10 points for Washington, which led 25-16 at halftime. Lindert sat for most of the third quarter after picking up her third foul early in the second half.

Despite shooting poorly, Megehee led Bethel with eight points and 11 rebounds. Alexis Tucker and Ava Gascon each scored six points for the Lady Wildcats, who ended their season 18-12.

Bethel coach Tara Satterfield said Washington’s pressure defense, which caused 16 turnovers, disrupted Megehee throughout.

“They were physical with her. I thought they did a good job on her,” Satterfield said. “She just couldn’t get it going.

"Yes, they did a great job on her. ... But she got down on herself early and it’s hard to come out of that.”

No. 5 Community Christian 45, No. 6 Roland 37

Junior Preslee Hartsock scored 18 points, including 14 in the game’s final nine minutes, to lead No. 5 Community Christian School past No. 6 Roland in the Lady Royals’ first ever state tournament game.

Community Christian (24-5) faces No. 1 Washington in one semifinal Friday night at 6:30 p.m. at Yukon High School. The winner plays Saturday for a state championship back at State Fair Arena.

The Lady Royals also got 13 points and five rebounds from Hope Martin and six points and eight rebounds from Laney Venables.

“It feels great. We’ve got a great group of girls,” CCS coach Chad Thrailkill said. “It’s been just a fun year. This group, there’s no drama - everybody cares for everybody.

"Our mantra this year has been grit, so we did it. (Tuesday) was grit, getting here was grit, so this was a lot of fun.”

Roland led 27-24 with about a minute left in the third quarter, but Hartsock scored on a driving layup to make it 27-26. She then hit a 3-pointer right before the buzzer to tie it at 29-all entering the fourth quarter.

“I knew we were going to have to work hard,” Hartsock said. “I knew it was going to be a big atmosphere.”

Roland led, 37-36, when Martin made a 3-pointer to put CCS up 39-37 with 2:40 left. A traveling call gave the ball back to the Lady Royals, who cashed in on a layup by Ava Bell with 44 seconds left to take a 41-37 lead.

Lilly Medicine Bird scored 17 points to lead Roland (20-7), which lead 18-15 at halftime. Halle Freeman added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Lady Rangers.

No. 3 Jones 49, No. 4 Alva 34

Sofi Woodson had 15 points and 11 rebounds to help third-ranked Jones beat No. 4 Alva and secure a spot in the state semifinals.

Jentry Holbrook added 12 points and five rebounds for the Lady Longhorns (22-4), who face Idabel on Friday night at Yukon High School.

The winner will play the winner of Washington and Community Christian on Saturday for a Class 3A state title.

Jones led Alva 17-13 at halftime and 30-24 after three quarters before outscoring the Ladybugs, 19-10, in the fourth to put the game away.

Lakin Gaddy led Alva (24-5) with 17 points. Jaycee Kelin added seven points and eight rebounds for the Ladybugs, who shot 28% (11-for-39) from the field and committed 16 turnovers.

No. 2 Idabel 67, No. 7 Adair 51

Mercades Lopez scored 23 points and Jaylen Cauthron added 20 points and nine rebounds as Idabel earned a trip to the state semifinals with a win against Adair.

Lopez had 16 points before halftime for Idabel (25-1), which led by as many as 30 in the second half.

The Lady Warriors will play Jones on Friday night to determine a spot in Saturday’s state title game against the winner of Washington and CCS.

Lopez’s steal and layup early in the third quarter gave Idabel a 37-19 lead, and the Lady Warriors went on a 13-3 scoring run to take control.

Misty Mooney led Adair (23-7) with 21 points, including five 3-point shots. The Lady Warriors, who connected on 13-of-22 shots from beyond the arc, outscored Idabel 18-10 in the fourth quarter.

Photos by Michael Kinney