State Finals

Unstoppable No team had an answer for this player: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma Christian - The best player in the state put on an exhibition in the state's biggest stage. The 6-foot-9 forward couldn't be stopped for four years and handed the Saints their fourth-straight state championship, this one in Class 2A. Griffin, who has signed with Oklahoma, averaged 26.3 points a game in the three games, all of which the Saints won by 30 or more points. Clutch performers These players came up big in the most important moments: Jordan Stark, Weatherford - She was at her best when her team needed her the most. In the Class 4A semifinals, the Eagles trailed by 16 late in the third quarter to Tulsa Metro Christian. That's when Stark took over. She scored 13-consecutive points to help Weatherford rally for a 56-48 win. She followed that up with a game-high 24 points in a 55-48 win over Ft. Gibson to give the Eagles their first title in school history. Bailey Welch, Cashion - The sophomore made a shot she and Cashion will always remember. Welch drove the lane and hit an off balance six-foot leaner at the buzzer to give Cashion a thrilling 53-52 win over Howe in the Class A state championship game. Welch finished with 13 points, none bigger than her last two. Benchmark These players helped their teams reach new heights: Harrison Dupont, Carl Albert - Talk about a secret weapon off the bench. Dupont came off the bench and hit two-game-winning free throws in a 44-43 Class 5A quarterfinal win over Tulsa Edison. Then, he scored 13 points in the semifinals and 11 points in the finals to give the Titans their first state championship with a 49-44 win over Tulsa East Central. Rachel Wilczek, Lomega - The forward dominated in the paint to restore the Raiders back to their old dominance. She led her team in scoring in all three games, including 21 points in the 71-62 win in the Class B championship over Dover. She averaged 21.3 points a game in the tournament, helping Lomega win its ninth state title and its first in 15 years. Gerald Jones, Millwood - He's not just a football standout, either. Jones, who signed to play football at Tennessee, carried the Falcons to their second straight Class 3A state championship and 13th overall, which is tied for the most in state history. Jones scored 23 points in the semifinal win and added a team-high 18 points in the 55-51 championship game win over Sequoyah-Tahlequah. Brady Wardlaw, Okeene - Wardlaw led Okeene to state championships in two sports. As a quarterback in the fall, he led the Whippets to a gold ball. Then, he followed that up with another title this March, this time on the hardwood. He scored a game-high 22 points in the Class A state title game victory over Beaver 51-46. His greatness helped Okeene become the first Class A school to win the football and basketball titles in the same year. Dynamic duos These players combined to give their teams a powerful one-two punch to the state title: Xavier Alexander and Chuck Sanders, Midwest City - The two athletic guards complimented each other well. They added 18 points apiece in the semifinals and combined for 41 points in the Class 6A finals victory over Lawton Eisenhower. Alexander, who is headed to George Washington, had a game-high 23 points while Sanders added 18 to give the Bombers their fourth title. Ashton Pittman and Kelsey Houck, Washington - Pittman was all over the court while Houck was on the outside hitting the three's. Pittman, a sophomore, scored 22 points in the 53-50 Class 2A state championship win over Preston. Houck averaged nearly 14 points a game in the tournament. Daniel Orton and Michael Sosanya, Bishop McGuinness - The most dominating inside tandem proved it again, giving the Fighting Irish back-to-back Class 4A state championships. Orton blocked 16 shots in three games while Sosanya led the Fighting Irish in scoring in two of the three games, including 18 points in the title game victory. Best supporting cast These players stepped out of the shadows of their star teammates to help out: Hillary Winters, Lomega - The forward complimented her teammate Rachel Wilczek well inside, averaging nearly 14 points as the Raiders won the Class B state championship. George Overbey, Oklahoma Christian - There's more to OCS than Blake Griffin. Overbey proved that, averaging 17 points as the Saints won the Class 2A state title. So close The silver ball isn't bad. These players almost gave their teams a title, but fell just short as runner-ups: Lacy Ramon, Mustang - The junior forward led her team in scoring twice and averaged 16 points a game in three games as the Broncos finished runner-up, losing to Sapulpa 44-34 in the championship game. Krista Bullis, Dover - The senior ended a spectacular four-year career as one of the best players in Class B with four-consecutive title appearances -- one gold ball and three runner-up finishes. Bullis scored 28 points in a 71-62 loss to Lomega in the final. Eddie Williams, Lawton Eisenhower - Williams scored 15 second half points in the Class 6A quarterfinal win, shut down one of the best players in the state in a semifinal win over Tulsa Union and scored a game-high 25 points in a 62-47 loss to Midwest City in the title game. One to remember These players didn't win a gold ball, but had plenty of memories this year: Kelli Adams, Bethel - The senior played in her third straight Class 3A state tournament and helped Bethel to its 12th-consecutive trip. She helped the Wildcats to the semifinals, leading the team in scoring both games. She averaged 18.5 points a game. Jeremy Lay, Southeast - He scored 32 points in a Class 4A quarterfinal loss. Katie Beebe, Okarche - In her first state tournament appearance, the sophomore led her team to the Class A semifinals, leading the team in scoring both games, including 21 points in a semifinal loss. Cade Davis, Elk City - The OU signee's trip to the Class 4A state tournament was short, but spectacular. The senior scored 37 points in his team's quarterfinal loss. Daron Wilson, Star Spencer - The sophomore averaged 16 points a game to help the Bobcats advance to the Class 4A semifinals. East side Unstoppable These players single-handedly carried their teams to the state championship: Alyssia Brewer, Sapulpa - Quick as a guard and powerful as a forward, the 6-foot-3 junior proved in the Class 6A state tournament why she is so tough. She had back-to-back double-doubles in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Then she saved the best for last, scoring a game-high 25 points to give Sapulpa its first state title since 1998 with a 44-34 win over last year's champion Mustang in the title game. Keiton Page, Pawnee - The versatile shooter, who is committed to Oklahoma State, scored at will to lead his team to a Class 2A runner-up finish. He set the state tournament scoring record with 123 points in three games, an average of 41 points a game. The junior also had 53 points in the semifinals, which is the second best single game scoring mark in state tournament history. Angel Goodrich, Sequoyah Tahlequah - The junior led the Indians to their third straight Class 3A state championship and proved why she is possibly the best player in the state. She averaged 20 points a game in the tournament and in the 54-45 finals win over Adair, she scored her team's final 15 points to secure the gold ball. That's a first These players helped their programs reach new heights: Sidney Hadnott, Tulsa East Central - The Cardinals' leading scorer during the season, Hadnott led the team in scoring twice in three games in Class 5A. He helped East Central record its first two wins state tournament wins in school history and collect a runner-up finish. Lauren Kollmorgen, Tulsa Metro Christian - She scored a game-high 18 points in a 56-47 Class 4A quarterfinal victory over Roland. She helped her team win their first ever state tournament game. Kyle Tucker, Howe - The junior scored 23 points in Howe's first ever trip to a state tournament in any sport. His scoring outburst helped the Lions upset Okarche 69-63 in the Class A quarterfinals. Memorable moments These players were a sight to see when shooting the ball, whether it be one game or the entire state tournament: Rotnei Clarke, Verdigris - One of the state's best scorers was at his best in the Class 3A quarterfinals. He scored a state tournament single game record 60 points in his team's 90-68 win over Vian, besting the old mark by nine points. Clarke also scored 32 points in a semifinal loss to Millwood. Orlando Brown, Stringtown - He exploded for 40 points in the Class B semifinals and followed that up with 16 points in the 63-46 win over Glencoe in the finals. It's Stringtown's third gold ball. Chris Harris, Bixby - Harris, who is also a football standout, scored 32 points in a 55-48 Class 5A quarterfinal win over Guthrie. Latia Magee, Jenks - She led the perennial powers from the East to the Class 6A semifinals, averaging 17.7 points a game. Cardiac Cardinals The Tulsa East Central girls didn't make it look easy in winning its second straight Class 5A state title. The Cardinals won two games in overtime, but they got contributions from everybody to do it: Notasha Rice - She led her team in scoring twice, including a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the 58-51 overtime victory over Claremore in the finals. She took over in overtime as well, getting four points and three rebounds. Janee Williams and Nolisha Markham - The Cardinals trailed by nine late in the fourth quarter to Coweta in the semifinals. But that's when Williams and Markham took over. Williams scored 13 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter and Markham added nine of her game-high 22 points. The two helped East Central get a 68-66 come from behind overtime win. So close These players did all they could to get a gold ball that came up just short: Tye Roberson, Beaver - He scored 30 points to start off the Class A state tournament and finished averaging 17 a game to lead Beaver to a runner-up finish. Kevi Luper, Adair - The sophomore led her team in scoring three straight games, averaging 25 points a game. She scored 25 points in the Class 3A title game loss to Sequoyah Tahlequah 54-45. Katie BeAmor, Howe - The sophomore just missed out on carrying her team to the Class A title. She averaged 18 points a game, including 29 points in the semifinals. But her team lost to Cashion 53-52 on a buzzer-beater. Sierra Cornwell, Preston - The sophomore tried to carry her team to its second straight Class 2A title, but fell just short. In a rematch of last year's championship game, Washington beat Preston 53-50 despite a game-high 24 points from Cornwell. Brennan Miller, Ft. Gibson - The sophomore point guard seems to like the big games, helping her team to its second straight Class 4A runner-up finish. She led her team in scoring twice, including a game-high 19 points in the quarterfinals. Sibling connection Teams had siblings who gave the opponents double the trouble: Lance Soap and Mike Soap, Sequoyah-Tahlequah - The Soap brothers washed away most of their opponents, helping the Indians finish as the Class 3A runners-up. Lance averaged 13 points a game while Mike averaged 21, including a 30-point outburst in the quarterfinals. Lauren and Logan Froese, Claremore - The sisters helped Claremore finish as the Class 5A runners-up for the second straight season. Lauren did the damage from outside, including making a 3-pointer in the title game against Tulsa East Central with three seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. East Central eventually won 58-51. Logan led Claremore in scoring in one of the three state tournament games and had 13 points in the title game.