Big 1st half helps Wildcats win regional

When word came in last Friday that Latta had knocked off Preston 47-46 in a regional semifinal, coach John Hardaway was more than a little giddy.

Sure, it didn’t hurt that Preston was ranked seventh in Class 2A while Latta was unranked.

“It’s just a much better matchup for us,” Hardaway said of playing Latta. “I really like the matchup for us a lot.”

For good reason, as it turns out.

Cashion laid claim to a regional championship Monday in Stroud as his Wildcats thumped Latta 54-40.

That puts Cashion in Friday night’s area championship game. The Wildcats play No. 3 Pocola at 7:30 p.m. in Okmulgee.

Cashion needs one win in two tries this weekend to advance to state.

The first half was the difference for the Wildcats against Latta.

The Panthers shot 3 of 21 (14 percent) from the field as Cashion jumped to a 15-2 lead, then pushed it to 32-9 by halftime.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Panthers started to find any consistent success on offense, but it was too late.

Cashion meanwhile shot 51 percent for the game.

Parker Mitchell led the charge with his 18 points and six assists.

Carson Gump produced 10 points and 10 rebounds while Drake Woody scored nine for the Wildcats.

Cashion is 21-7 and goes into the area tournament having won seven of its last eight.

Pocola is 20-6 and has won seven straight.

#6 Latta closes strong to down Lady Wildcats The good news is the Cashion Lady Wildcats are headed to the area tournament.

Unfortunately, it’s in the consolation bracket.

Sixth-ranked Latta closed on a 15-5 run Monday night to win the Class 2A regional championship 37-26 over Cashion in Stroud.

Cashion now needs three straight wins to reserve its spot in the state tournament field.

The road starts Thursday when Cashion plays Talihina at 6 p.m. in the Mvskoke Dome in Okmulgee.

Both Cashion and Latta found buckets at a premium for much of the game with neither scoring more than nine points in a quar- ter through the first three stanzas.

Cashion led 8-5 after a quarter and 14-13 at the half. Latta grabbed a onepoint lead entering the fourth.

That’s when the Lady Panthers took over as they outscored Cashion by 10 down the stretch.

“It was an extremely physical game,” said Cashion coach Andrea Taylor. “We broke their press pretty easily, but they sped us up in the half court with the pressure and we just turned it over way too much.”

Jayse Smith led the way for Latta as she poured in 18 points. No other Lady Panther had more than six.

Kate Nabavi led Cashion with her nine points.

Megan Shafer chipped in eight and Brooke Shafer six.

The loss dropped No. 14 Cashion to 18-10. Talihina is 14-10 after knocking off No. 15 Panama 42-40 in their regional consolation championship game.