6a State Tournament Preview Questions

The 2019 Oklahoma State Championship begins March 7th in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the Oral Roberts Mabee Center. It consists of three days and eight teams. In this article, we take a look at some possible outcomes to the questions asked. <ul> <li>What will it take to win the championship?</li> </ul> The championship tournament will be hard fought and well played. Each team qualified is ranked respectively and consists of at least one star quality player. Sand Springs, Norman, Edmond Santa Fe, Shawnee, Union, Norman North, Putnam City West, and Mustang, each will need to focus in, defensively, every game. Just about every team mentioned has a player that can score, distribute, and all around dominate in a game. Alayzha Knapp from Tulsa Union, who averages 6.5 rebounds, and Jacie Evans from Norman North, who averages 15ppg, are just two of the many players in the tournament that have proved to be able perform under pressure and lead their team to a win. Slowing down and containing such players will be key to victory. Bench presence will also be necessary for a state championship. Three days of playing intense and important games can result in loss of energy and fatigue. Reserves must be ready to contribute, encourage, and support teammates. Taking care of the ball in this tournament is very important to each team considering the fact that all of their assists to turnover ratio is not so good. With the way some of these teams can score and shoot the ball, I think that something as simple as a cutback on turnovers could tremendously effect the outcome of many of these games. <ul> <li>Who are the first teams to go home?</li> </ul> The Edmond Santa Fe Lady Wolves face off against the Shawnee Lady Wolves in their first matchup of the 2019 Oklahoma State Tournament. We’ve seen Edmond Santa Fe struggle early this season and even have mid season lows but they made it this far! They have been playing some of their best basketball through regionals and area and will need to keep it up in order to beat a talented Shawnee team. The Shawnee Lady Wolves have some serious scoring power in Lauren Fields (15.5ppg) and Makyra Tramble (10.3ppg) and they can both do it in a variety of ways. Fields, a Cal signee, is expected to perform well in the tournament and if able, will be hard to contain for the Santa Fe Lady Wolves due to her athleticism and multiple ways to score the ball. Shawnee Lady Wolves also have a tough defense. They play gaps well and have solid containment on ball defense. They play a 2-1-2 zone that has proven to work well for them throughout the season. With so many strengths, it’s hard to see Shawnee losing this game. Edmond Santa Fe will have to have a clean and well executed offense in this game which is something they have not been consistent of so far this season. Sand Springs and Norman will be an exciting game to watch because both teams are stacked with great talent. Norman Lady Tigers are an underclassmen led group, but do not let the young factor fool you… these freshman and sophomore starters can play! Forward #23, Kendra Gillispie, averages 16.8ppg and 10.7 boards a game. She is dominate inside with great offensive post moves. She moves well without the ball and can run, fast! Sand Springs is an older team with seniors Destiny Johnson (1) and Holly Kersgieter (13) leading the way both averaging around 17ppg. It will be interesting to see how the Lady Tigers will guard the aggressive and fast play of the Lady Sandites. The Norman Lady Tigers have proven to be able to play with the best when they outplayed #1 ranked Puntnam City West for most of the game, but came up short in a 83-65 defeat in the Regional Tournament Final. It may be safer to side with experience in this game as well. The power and experience that the Lady Sandites posses in Johnson and Kersgieter, as well as the scoring boost from shooting guard Madison Burris may just be too much for the young Lady Tigers. Union and Norman North should be a really good matchup and may even end up being the closest game of all the quarterfinal games. The two teams matchup really well with one another in many categories as well as style of play. Alayzha Knapp from Union and Jessika Evans from Norman North are both really great forwards who score and rebound well for their teams. Lady Redskin Sadie Moyer and Lady Timberwolf, Jacie Evans, both orchestrate the offense and contribute scoring to their teams. Both teams love to play man to man defense and pressure full court. The two teams both also carry height, something Union is used to having to their advantage.It will be interesting to watch to inside dominate teams go head to head. Guard play will be key in this game and with Union having a deeper depth of guards that contribute, it’s possible that the Lady Redskins will come out victorious. Mustang will have to play some of their best basketball in order to make it past the first round of the State Tournament. Mustang could be considered and underdog because of their #1 ranked opponent, Putnam City West. The PC West Lady Pirates are on a mission to win State after last years devastating loss in the finals game to Owasso and they will be tough to sway from that mission. They were tested a bit in their last game vs Norman in the Regional final, but are unlikely to make the same mistake again and should handle business in the first round vs the Mustang and move forward. <ul> <li>Who will be the last two standing?</li> </ul> While every team in the tournament is talented and capable, only two of the 8 will be able to compete until day 3 in the State Championship Final. Of the 8, Putnam City West and Sand Springs may be the two teams to outlast the rest. Both of these teams have the experience, athleticism, and depth, to make it to the end. <ul> <li>Who will win MVP? </li> </ul> There are so many players to chose from for this award and it has to be a difficult decision for those making the official choice. If able to perform throughout the tournament at her best, Jacie Evans from Norman North would be a great MVP choice. She plays well on both sides of the ball and plays with a lot of passion, effort, and competitiveness. She is a leader and is coachable. With her healthy, playing well, and playing to her strengths, she could lead her team to a championship and herself to MVP. <ul> <li>Will there be an “upset”?</li> </ul> The biggest upset would be Mustang beating PC West, but just because it would be considered an upset, doesn’t mean it should be considered impossible. While the PC West Lady Patriots are undefeated in Oklahoma and have a greatly effective defense to compete against, the Mustang Lady Broncos should not be counted out. Senior forward CurTiera Haywood leads the Lady Broncos in scoring with 16ppg and has made a name for herself as a shot blocker. Freshman guard Talia Pogi is young but plays aggressively offensively and defensively and played really well in the Area Tournament which can hopefully carry over to the State Championship Tournament. The Lady Broncos will need to focus on good, solid, hard defense to pull off an upset win vs. the Lady Patriots. The Pats are a fast and athletic team that is known to run off with leads and win by large numbers.