Class A girls basketball: Caddo, Quinton, Oklahoma Bible Academy, Seiling reach semifinals

The Class A girls basketball state tournament started Thursday at State Fair Arena. Here's a look at what happened in the quarterfinals:

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Caddo 44, Red Oak 40 (OT)

Kadey McKay turned to the State Fair Arena crowd, letting out an exuberant roar.

The energy stemmed from early frustration on Thursday as Caddo struggled to get going initially. However, McKay figured it was best to embrace the intensity in the gym as the game drew close.

"My mentality is always just to keep going," McKay said. "We try not to shy away from big moments, so our competitiveness keeps us going."

The OU softball commit scored 13 points to help lead the effort in second-ranked Caddo to a 44-40 overtime win over Red Oak to advance to the Class A girls basketball state semifinals. Caddo has now won 11 of its last 12 games while improving their record to 25-4.

"We've managed to rely heavily on our defense this season even when our offense comes out flat like it did today," Caddo head coach Kolby Johnson said. "As long as we're constantly active on that end, it'll lead to more chances to score."

Caddo led by four points at halftime before falling flat during a 10-1 Red Oak run at the start of the third quarter. Yet, they managed to climb back following a 7-0 run of its own at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

A potential game-winning 3-pointer from McKay rimmed out at the end of regulation, but she made up for it in overtime by scoring four points.

Caddo will take on Oklahoma Bible on Friday to advance back to the state championship game.

"As long as we have confidence, we'll have a true shot at winning it all," McKay said. "That's just the whole thing about basketball, right? We just have to have confidence when you shoot. But no matter what we go through, these girls work so hard, and I just love playing with them."

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Oklahoma Bible Academy 54, Cyril 36

Revenge consumed Oklahoma Bible Academy's 90-mile trip south of Enid to State Fair Arena.

Fresh off a state appearance last year, OBA sought to make up for its quarterfinal loss to Caddo in its state opener in 2023.

"We really wanted this one and felt we had to make up for our loss last year," forward Conley Cayot said. "When you're in a big gym, your shooting can be off, but defense and effort is something we can control."

Cayot primarily showed up for Oklahoma Bible in its 54-36 win over Cyril in the Class A state quarterfinal. The junior scored 19 points while grabbing ten rebounds to lift her team to the semifinals.

The victory marked the school's first state tournament win in 53 years.

"Early in the game, I missed some jump shots, but we really got going once I started crashing the boards," Cayot said. "I know my impact can be made in aspects that don't involve scoring, which led us to run away from them in the second half."

OBA led by five at the break before Cayot and guard Lilyan Walden took over in the second half. They helped spark a 20-3 run between quarters, which provided separation en route to victory. OBA dominated the rebounding battle, winning on the glass 45-23.

With the win, seventh-ranked OBA improves to 26-3 on the season. While the team is humbled to make school history, they'll continue striving to claim the ultimate prize on Friday.

"I couldn't be more proud of our girls, but we all know the job isn't finished," seventh-year head coach Randy Roth said. "We've leaned on last year's experience to push us heading into this year. Luckily, we've built on that this season, and once we get going, the whole group is all in."

Quinton 53, Empire 38

Bailey Purdom’s layup rolled into the basket, and Quinton’s offense awakened.

Third-ranked Quinton defeated No. 13 Empire, 53-38, in the state quarterfinals, overcoming gridlock with a 10-0 fourth-quarter run.

After going 0-4 in its past state tournament appearances, Quinton (25-4) captured its first win at State Fair Arena.

“We’ve been trying to not talk about it so much that we were coming to make school history,” said Quinton coach Brad Davis, “just to get that off our minds and go play like it was another game.”

His team couldn’t relax until the end. Empire (24-4), making history with its first state tournament appearance, led 26-24 at halftime, prompting a serious meeting in Quinton’s locker room. Davis reminded his team this wasn’t the area tournament anymore, so they wouldn’t get a second chance at winning.

In the fourth quarter, that urgency set in. Junior guard Bailey Purdom drove to the basket for consecutive layups, bouncing back from early missed shots as Quinton opened the quarter with the 10-0 run.

“I thought she showed a lot of toughness and grit,” Davis said. “And that’s been something we’ve been preaching to her for two years now.”

Quinton’s energy picked up as Haddie Lindley made a basket and drew a foul, pumping her fists after the shot. Bailey Purdom led Quinton with 17 points, while Alexis Purdom followed with 14 and Lindley had 11.

The Quinton faithful celebrated outside the locker room, but Davis also had his eyes on the next challenge.

“A quick turnaround, and then we’ve got to get ready for Seiling now,” Davis said. “We all know what beast that is.”

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Seiling 85, Allen 37

Braci Nyberg and her Seiling teammates took a grueling route through the regular season.

They faced Class 4A powerhouse Bethany. They scheduled several 6A opponents and defeated Broken Arrow, the largest school in the state.

With those matchups in the past, a Class A state quarterfinal matchup in familiar State Fair Arena didn’t look so daunting. Top-ranked Seiling stormed past No. 5 Allen, 85-37, to advance closer to its goal of a state championship three-peat.

Senior guard Nyberg, who led Seiling with 23 points on 7-for-9 field-goal shooting, sees the importance of those early-season tests.

“They’ve given us a lot of confidence knowing we can go out and play with them,” said Nyberg, a Southern Nazarene signee. “I know we got beat by Mustang and Bethany, but that was really good competition for us to learn stuff for the state tournament, and it helped us to really prepare for the state tournament.”

The battle-tested Seiling squad knew how to respond when Allen (24-4) emerged from the locker room with a sudden burst of energy.

Allen took a 5-4 lead, but Seiling (24-3) went on a 12-0 run and never trailed again.

“I think the biggest deal is, we’ve got a big group of seniors and juniors that have been in a whole bunch of these games, so it didn’t bother them too much,” said Seiling coach Brady Hamar. “It probably bothered me more than them.”

Hamar didn’t have to fret for long.

The momentum only snowballed for the defending champions as they posted a 52.5 field-goal percentage. Kenly Gore went 8-for-11 from the field with 20 points, while fellow senior Aryahna Whetstone went 6-for-9 with 14 points before the starters retired to the bench for the fourth quarter.

“We didn’t shoot well at the very beginning, but we knew our shots were gonna fall if we just kept shooting,” Nyberg said. “And we kept working on the defensive side.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSSAA Class A girls basketball state tournament quarterfinal scores