S-DAY: Survive or sink Thursday for area prep basketball teams

By Thursday’s end, the playoff landscape for area basketball teams might be much simpler.

Or it could still be crowded with possibilities of deep postseason streaks.

Several area squads face win-or-done games today, including the Bartlesville High School girls.

The Lady Bruins playoff future will be decided in their Class 6A regional opener at 7:30 p.m. at Choctaw High.

And, Bartlesville (7-15) is not favored.

Choctaw (15-6) is riding a two-game winning streak as well as enjoying homecourt advantage.

But, Bartlesville is still trying to re-mix the chemistry that has led to the team’s best record in four seasons.

Through this year’s first 15 games Bartlesville owned a 6-9 record, including a second-place showing at a tournament.

But, since late January, the Lady Bruins are 1-6, with two losses by 10 points or fewer. For several games in a row, Bartlesville coach Justyn Shaw opted to play mainly with just five girls, although a sixth one saw some minutes.

He recently went back to his full rotation and the team appears to have been readjusting to that.

Mikka Chambers has been Bartlesville’s most consistent scorer and Grace McPhail has come on strong the past few games offensively. Kaelynn Duncan is second in scoring, based largely on the first several weeks of the season.

Freshman Kenzie Denny has provided an important offensive component throughout the season.

Sophomore Alayah Lunn and freshman Emma Zimmerman also have dialed in some important points in the past several games and Kadance Barnett has brought much athleticism and potential to the mix.

Whatever the Lady Bruins are capable of, they have to display Thursday night with a win or their campaign ends.

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AREA GIRLS

In addition to Bartlesville, five other area girls teams suit up on Thursday.

Only two of them — Caney Valley (Class 2A) and Pawhuska (2A) — are guaranteed to survive beyond Thursday..

The Caney Valley Lady Trojans are playing Thursday evening in the regional semifinals at 6 p.m. in the Rejoice Christian gym. They take on Okemah.

Win or lose, Caney Valley will be back later in the weekend.

A victory Thursday would catapult Caney Valley into the regional title game Saturday evening. at 6 p.m., also at Rejoice Christian. A loss Thursday would send Caney valley back on be back Friday evening in the loser’s bracket.

Pawhuska won’t have to break a sweat Thursday.

The Lady Huskies have received a bye, which moves them automatically into Friday’s area losers bracket game in Enid to face either Commerce or Afton.

Oklahoma Union (2A) is on the cusp of elimination unless it can generate a victory Thursday against Ketchum. The showdown is set for 1:30 p.m. at the Oklahoma Union gym.

Dewey (4A) enters Thursday play in the loser’s bracket, which means it has to win every day in order to survive to the next round. Dewey travels to Cleveland for a 1:30 p.m.battle against Cleveland.

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AREA BOYS

Nowata, Oklahoma Union and Pawhuska are each rolling into Thursday’s regional games in the winner’s bracket. That means they could lose Thursday and still return Friday for another chance.

Dewey and Caney Valley are on the cusp of Thursday elimination, however, and will have to bring their ‘A’ game for victory.

Oklahoma Union enjoys homecourt advantage Thursday when it plays Ketchum at 7:30 p.m. The loser and winner both will play in Enid the rest of the weekend.

Pawhuska is in the same bracket as Oklahoma Union, which means the teams could meet in Saturday’s regional championship game at 7:30 p.m. in Enid.

Pawhuska plays at 7:30 p.m. Thursday against Hooker in the Enid gym.

Nowata — the hottest area team — plays at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at home against Fairland. The winner will play at 7:30 p.m. Saturday for the regional title. The loser is back in action at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Colcord.

Caney Valley faces the long haul by needing to win three times this week in order to make it to next week.

The Trojans play at 3 p.m. Thursday against Canadian, at the Rejoice Christian gym.

A win Thursday would push Caney Valley into Friday’s consolation second round game at 3 p.m., also at Rejoice Christian.

Dewey (4A) finished the regular season with a strong surge. But, the Doggers need to win on Thursday in order to keep going. They play at 3 p.m. against Oologah, in the Cleveland gym. The winners plays at 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Cleveland, in the next round.

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BARTLESVILLE BOYS

The Bruins regional opener is slated for 6 p.m. Friday against Owasso, at the Booker T. Washington gym. A preview appeared in Wednesday’s newspaper.

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BOTTOM LINE

Following Thursday’s tsunami of action, number of area teams still in the hunt for a state title will number between six to 12.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Area high school basketball teams eye playoff tests