Cyril’s moment
Lady Pirates end Okarche’s magical run in Class A semis en route to state title
![OKARCHE SENIOR Avery Schieber drives to the bucket during the first half of her team’s Class A semifinal against Cyril. Schieber scored on the play to give the Lady Warriors a 12-9 lead. [Photo by Chris Simon/www.simon-sports-photos.smugmug. com]](https://kingfisherpress.etypegoogle10.com/sites/kingfisherpress.etypegoogle10.com/files/styles/article400/public/ebb1521dc2_Ar01302024.jpg?itok=2-bdW_6r "OKARCHE SENIOR Avery Schieber drives to the bucket during the first half of her team’s Class A semifinal against Cyril. Schieber scored on the play to give the Lady Warriors a 12-9 lead. [Photo by Chris Simon/www.simon-sports-photos.smugmug. com]")
OKARCHE SENIOR Avery Schieber drives to the bucket during the first half of her team’s Class A semifinal against Cyril. Schieber scored on the play to give the Lady Warriors a 12-9 lead. [Photo by Chris Simon/www.simon-sports-photos.smugmug. com]
The game was over, but Brett Tahah gave her five seniors one last run together.
The Okarche lineup on the court for one final time consisted of Harper White, Katy Creswell, Scout Payne, Kylie Harper and Avery Schieber.
And, one final time, they left the court together after helping provide the Okarche basketball program with another memorable run.
That run came to an end Friday in the Class A semifi nals as No. 3 Cyril pulled away for a 56-34 victory.
The Lady Pirates then knocked off No. 2 Caddo 47-34 on Saturday to claim the state title.
“I’m proud of how we fought and battled the entire game against the eventual state champions,” said Tahah.
It was a battle Okarche was winning until just over 4 minutes remained in the second quarter.
The Lady Warriors led by as many as four in the first quarter and were up 12-9 on a Schieber drive and bucket at the 5:45 mark of the second quarter.
It stayed there until a minute later when Hadley Gibson scored for the Lady Pirates.
That was the start of the most pivotal stretch in the game.
Gibson scored again with 3:23 left in the half for a 1312 lead, one Cyril wouldn’t lose.
The Lady Pirates closed the first half on a 14-2 run, then Gibson opened the second half with a 3-pointer to give her team a 27-14 advantage.
It steadily grew from there as Okarche struggled to maintain any offensive consistency.
The Lady Warriors shot just 31.4 percent for the game, a clip that included 2 of 14 (14.3 percent) from 3-point range.
Okarche didn’t get its first 3-pointer until Katie Parham knocked one down with 4:20 to play.
Gibson led Cyril with 18 points while Khloe Goombi scored 11.
Parham paced Okarche with nine points.
Cramer scored five while White and Schieber had four apiece.
During that last stretch for the seniors, Harper knocked down a 3-pointer.
Not long after, Tahah subbed out her five seniors.
“I wanted to give them one more time to all play together at the Big House,” Tahah said. “And I wanted to give the crowd the opportunity to cheer for them as they left the court.”
Okarche finished the season with a 23-10 record.
Its two playoff losses were to No. 1 Seiling in the regional championship game and then the eventual state champ in Cyril.
“We had an unforgettable season,” Tahah said. “I can’t thank the senior class and the rest of the team enough for making my first year at Okarche an amazing one.”