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Win or lose at the state tournament this weekend, a golden era of Tulsa-era girls basketball is about to end.
Broken Arrow, Muskogee and Owasso are led by seniors who are part of a Frontier Valley Conference class that won’t soon be forgotten.
“I can’t remember when there’s been this much talent in the conference, and I’ve been a part of it for nine years,” Muskogee coach Doyle Rowland said.
Aaliyah Wilson and Jada Ford give the Roughers a chance to win the Class 6A state tournament, which unfolds Thursday at the Mabee Center.
But Broken Arrow’s Alexis Gaulden, Aysia Evans and Darian Jackson and Owasso’s Rachel Skalnik and Jordan Kunka can say the same thing.
BA’s Tigers are gunning for a third straight title, but coaches agree that there are no favorites in a 6A field that actually has two reigning championship teams.
Deer Creek is in the 6A tournament for the first time after winning the past three Class 5A titles. Coach Totsy Manning’s Antlers and the Tigers play at 2 p.m. Thursday in the first of four first-round games.
“There are so many good players in this year’s state tournament, and that’s why everyone thinks it’s wide open,” Broken Arrow coach Mike Hughes said.
“Midwest City (seniors) Chinna Fair and Ireon Smith are really good, and Westmoore has (senior guard Ashley Gomez), who can really shoot the heck out of the ball,” Hughes said.
Gomez has a school-record 82 3-pointers this season and more than 1,300 career points. When it comes to shooters, who can forget Choctaw’s Ana Llanusa? The junior guard gave near-legendary performances in her first two trips to the state tournament, scoring 34 and 36 points in semifinal losses to Broken Arrow and Muskogee the past two years.
Committed to the University of Oklahoma since her freshman year, Llanusa is one of a handful of non-seniors who could have a huge impact over the next three days.
In the same category are Owasso sophomores Mya Bhinhar, Terryn Milton and Leiloni Culley. The talented trio joined Skalnik and Kunka in leading the Rams into the state tournament for the first time in eight years.
The Frontier Conference almost had a fourth team in the state tournament, but No. 4 Sapulpa was upset by No. 9 Midwest City in the area tournament last Saturday.
Sapulpa’s Brice Calip and Chelsea Dungee add to the Frontier’s haul of vintage seniors, and that’s not mentioning the Chieftains’ other capable graduating starters, Isabella Bacon, Whitney Kamies and Bailey Mader.
“Everybody had Division I players,” Owasso coach Matt Sweeney said. “I hate to see ‘em go, but at the same time, I’m glad to see ‘em go because they were so hard to guard and go up against, night in and night out.”
Hughes paid his respects to Wilson, the Roughers’ McDonald’s All-American, after the Tigers’ lone conference loss in Muskogee last month.
“I told her I’ve enjoyed watching her play,” he said. “There aren’t many people where, after the game, you say, ‘We did a pretty good job on her and she scored 25.’”
Wilson sifted through more than 25 Division I scholarship offers before settling on the University of Arkansas. She and Ford, who is headed to Arkansas State, are among at least eight Frontier seniors planning major-college destinations in September.
Gaulden and Evans are headed to Tulsa and UT-Arlington; Sapulpa’s Chelsea Dungee signed with Oklahoma and Brice Calip is committed to Missouri State; Bixby’s Addy Richards also signed with TU and injured Sydney Stout is headed to Arkansas as an invited walkon.
Wilson and Dungee are rated among the top 60 seniors in the land by ESPN’s Hoopgurlz rankings.
“It’s an impressive group,” Hughes said. “Look at the number of All-State spots. Some girls are going to be shoo-ins, but a lot of really good players aren’t going to make it.”
And the Frontier’s list doesn’t end with the seniors. Owasso’s Bhinhar and Milton still have two high school seasons, but Bhinhar has committed to Arkansas and Milton has several Division I offers.
Sand Springs junior Sydney Pennington is also a softball standout committed to Oklahoma State.
Broken Arrow, Muskogee and Owasso are led by seniors who are part of a Frontier Valley Conference class that won’t soon be forgotten.
“I can’t remember when there’s been this much talent in the conference, and I’ve been a part of it for nine years,” Muskogee coach Doyle Rowland said.
Aaliyah Wilson and Jada Ford give the Roughers a chance to win the Class 6A state tournament, which unfolds Thursday at the Mabee Center.
But Broken Arrow’s Alexis Gaulden, Aysia Evans and Darian Jackson and Owasso’s Rachel Skalnik and Jordan Kunka can say the same thing.
BA’s Tigers are gunning for a third straight title, but coaches agree that there are no favorites in a 6A field that actually has two reigning championship teams.
Deer Creek is in the 6A tournament for the first time after winning the past three Class 5A titles. Coach Totsy Manning’s Antlers and the Tigers play at 2 p.m. Thursday in the first of four first-round games.
“There are so many good players in this year’s state tournament, and that’s why everyone thinks it’s wide open,” Broken Arrow coach Mike Hughes said.
“Midwest City (seniors) Chinna Fair and Ireon Smith are really good, and Westmoore has (senior guard Ashley Gomez), who can really shoot the heck out of the ball,” Hughes said.
Gomez has a school-record 82 3-pointers this season and more than 1,300 career points. When it comes to shooters, who can forget Choctaw’s Ana Llanusa? The junior guard gave near-legendary performances in her first two trips to the state tournament, scoring 34 and 36 points in semifinal losses to Broken Arrow and Muskogee the past two years.
Committed to the University of Oklahoma since her freshman year, Llanusa is one of a handful of non-seniors who could have a huge impact over the next three days.
In the same category are Owasso sophomores Mya Bhinhar, Terryn Milton and Leiloni Culley. The talented trio joined Skalnik and Kunka in leading the Rams into the state tournament for the first time in eight years.
The Frontier Conference almost had a fourth team in the state tournament, but No. 4 Sapulpa was upset by No. 9 Midwest City in the area tournament last Saturday.
Sapulpa’s Brice Calip and Chelsea Dungee add to the Frontier’s haul of vintage seniors, and that’s not mentioning the Chieftains’ other capable graduating starters, Isabella Bacon, Whitney Kamies and Bailey Mader.
“Everybody had Division I players,” Owasso coach Matt Sweeney said. “I hate to see ‘em go, but at the same time, I’m glad to see ‘em go because they were so hard to guard and go up against, night in and night out.”
Hughes paid his respects to Wilson, the Roughers’ McDonald’s All-American, after the Tigers’ lone conference loss in Muskogee last month.
“I told her I’ve enjoyed watching her play,” he said. “There aren’t many people where, after the game, you say, ‘We did a pretty good job on her and she scored 25.’”
Wilson sifted through more than 25 Division I scholarship offers before settling on the University of Arkansas. She and Ford, who is headed to Arkansas State, are among at least eight Frontier seniors planning major-college destinations in September.
Gaulden and Evans are headed to Tulsa and UT-Arlington; Sapulpa’s Chelsea Dungee signed with Oklahoma and Brice Calip is committed to Missouri State; Bixby’s Addy Richards also signed with TU and injured Sydney Stout is headed to Arkansas as an invited walkon.
Wilson and Dungee are rated among the top 60 seniors in the land by ESPN’s Hoopgurlz rankings.
“It’s an impressive group,” Hughes said. “Look at the number of All-State spots. Some girls are going to be shoo-ins, but a lot of really good players aren’t going to make it.”
And the Frontier’s list doesn’t end with the seniors. Owasso’s Bhinhar and Milton still have two high school seasons, but Bhinhar has committed to Arkansas and Milton has several Division I offers.
Sand Springs junior Sydney Pennington is also a softball standout committed to Oklahoma State.