Vanoss girls punch ticket, Wolves fall just short

Mar. 1—SHAWNEE — The third-ranked Vanoss High School girls basketball team bounced back from a tough, one-point loss to No. 7 Okarche the night before and defeated No. 9 Arapaho-Butler 46-38 in a Class A Area Tournament consolation championship contest Saturday night at Shawnee High School.

Vanoss improved to 24-3 on the year and the Lady Wolves will make their unheard-of sixth consecutive appearance in this week's Class A State Tournament. Vanoss is scheduled to meet No. 4 Riverside in an epic first-round showdown at 9 p.m. Wednesday inside the State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City.

"These girls have surprised everyone this year. We lost an All-Stater, our point guard and one of the best players from last year decided to not play this year," Vanoss head coach Jonathon Hurt told The Ada News. "We have had to change everything we did in the past, but the results have been the same. The kids have just stepped up and competed at a high level all year. This has been one of the more enjoyable groups I've ever coached."

The Lady Wolves dropped a 48-47 decision to Okarche in a Class A Area Tournament championship game on Friday that wasn't decided until the final play.

The third-ranked Vanoss boys weren't so fortunate. No. 5 Okarche clipped the Wolves 70-66 in Friday's area championship contest and unranked Drummond edged Vanoss 57-54 in overtime to claim the area consolation championship.

The Wolves saw their season come to a surprising end at 22-5.

"We all had a 24-hour span we wish we could forget, but that's not the way it works. The kids fought their butts off and the ball just didn't go our way in the end," Hurt, who also coaches the Vanoss boys team, said. "I don't want to let a bad ending overshadow what these kids did accomplish this year. They won three tournaments, tied for the conference championship, and night in and night out beat some of the best teams in the state. The hardest part about this one is knowing we could beat anyone in our class when we were playing well."

The Vanoss boys had thumped Drummond 59-41 in a Class A Regional Tournament championship contest the week before.

GIRLS

Vanoss 46, Arapaho 38

The Lady Wolves got off to a good start, racing out to a 12-5 lead after the first quarter. They outscored Arapaho-Butler 10-8 in the second period to carry a 22-13 lead into halftime.

Vanoss kept the Lady Indians at arm's length over the final two quarters.

The Ellis sisters led the Vanoss offense. Junior Avery Ellis scored 13 points. She sank one 3-pointer and finished 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Freshman Livi Ellis knocked down a trio of 3-pointers and scored 11 points.

Post player Madi Faust also hit double figures with 10 points and Jacee Underwood was next with six points. Caidence Cross scored five points, including a 3-pointer, all in the fourth quarter.

Arapaho standout Katie Edelen led all scorers with a game-high 26 points, including one 3-point shot. She scored eight points during an Arapaho comeback bid in the fourth quarter.

Jada Akin was next with seven points for the Lady Indians and also hit a 3-pointer.

Okarche 48, Vanoss 47

Vanoss led 16-9 after the first period but Okarche rallied to knot the score at 24-24 by halftime. The Lady Wolves outscored the Lady Warriors 12-6 in the third period and led 36-30 heading into the fourth quarter. But Okarche ended the game on an 18-11 run to rally for the victory.

The last seconds of the game were tense.

Emma Stover made a tough shot in the paint to put Okarche on top 46-45. Vanoss got the ball down the floor in a hurry and Avery Ellis delivered a perfect pass to Madi Faust who hit a layup that gave the Lady Wolves a 47-46 lead.

Caidence Cross forced a jump ball and was credited with a steal but a Vanoss turnover on the inbounds with 19.4 ticks left gave the ball right back to Okarche.

After a timeout, Stover scored again on a strong drive to the basket to put Okarche ahead 48-47 with only five seconds left in regulation.

Hurt called a timeout to set up a final play, but a VHS turnover getting the ball up the court effectively ended the contest.

Avery Ellis finished with a game-high 25 points for Vanoss. She sank five 3-pointers.

Faust also reached double figures with 12 points. No other Vanoss player scored more than four.

Stover led the way for Okarche with 23 points. Jami Rother was next with eight points and hit 6-of-8 free throws in the final period. Scout Payne hit a pair of 3-pointers for six points for the Lady Warriors.

Okarche finished 11-of-16 from the free-throw line, while Vanoss hit only two of nine attempts.

BOYS

Drummond 57, Vanoss 54 (OT)

Drummond's Braylen Peters hit a clutch 3-pointer in overtime to help the Bulldogs hold off Vanoss.

The game was tight throughout with Vanoss leading 11-10 after the first quarter and 22-21 at halftime.

The Bulldogs held a slim 38-37 lead going into the fourth quarter. Vanoss forced overtime by outscoring Drummond 13-12 in the final period of regulation.

Drummond won the OT, 7-4.

The Wolves didn't hit a field goal in the extra session, getting only four free throws from Carter Perry, who led the VHS offense with 18 points. He hit two 3-point baskets.

Logan Hulbutta followed with 11 points, including one 3-pointer, and Layne Thrower also reached double figures with 10.

Nate Sheppard hit three 3-point shots and scored nine points for the Wolves, while Brayden Cannonn chipped in six points.

Tyler Norris led Drummond with 18 points. He sank two 3-pointers and finished 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Colten Dillingham was next with 14 points and Caden Ehardt also hit double figures with 10, including a 3-pointer. Kelton Arnold also hit a triple and scored nine points for Drummond.

Okarche 70, Vanoss 66

This was another game that went back and forth the entire way. Vanoss led 17-13 after the first quarter but Okarche closed the gap to 33-32 by halftime.

The Warriors outscored Vanoss 17-12 in the third period to grab a 49-45 lead before both teams scored 20 points each in a thrilling final frame.

Logan Hulbutta had one of his strongest playoff games of the year, scoring a game-high 23 points. He hit three 3-point baskets and went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Brayden Cannon was next with 15 points and hit 5-of-6 free shots.

Carter Perry followed with 13 points, including seven in the fourth quarter. Layne Thrower also reached double digits in the balanced VHS offense with 11 points.

Hunter Mueggenbory paced Okarche with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. P.K. Harris scored 15 points for the winners. Jett Mueggenbory was next with 13 points and Roby Earton also hit double figures with 12 for the Warriors. Wyatt Pinkerton hit two 3-pointers and added eight points.

Okarche hit seven total 3-pointers compared to just three for the Wolves.