State Tournament Preview: No. 3 Lady Sandites to meet No. 13 Mustang in quarterfinal

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The brackets are in for the 2016-2017 OSSAA Basketball State Championship tournaments. All three rounds of the Boys' 6A tournament will be held at the Oral Roberts University Mabee Center, while the Girls' quarterfinals will be hosted by Tulsa Memorial High School. The Girls' semifinals and Championship will be played at the Mabee Center.

The first game will be played at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday between No. 4 Deer Creek (24-2) and No. 6 Booker T. Washington (22-5). Deer Creek has been a top-contender throughout the season, finishing first in the Central Oklahoma Conference with a late-season victory over No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe. They earned their way to State undefeated in the post-season with an impressive 62-50 victory over No. 2 Choctaw. Washington went undefeated as the only 6A team in the Green Country Conference and won their Regional bracket, but ran into a hiccup against No. 3 Sand Springs. After falling 56-44 to the Lady Sandites, they won the Area Consolation 46-43 over No. 14 Bartlesville. 

Next up will be No. 3 Sand Springs (23-1) vs No. 13 Mustang (17-10) at 3:30 p.m. The Lady Sandites are now the only one-loss team left in 6A after both Edmond Santa Fe and Choctaw went down late in the season. They held on to the Frontier Valley Championship despite an upset loss to Owasso, then went undefeated in the post-season with a victory over Booker T. Washington for the Area Championship. Mustang has taken the low-key approach to the State Tournament. They placed sixth in the Central Oklahoma Conference, won their Regional with an upset of No. 8 Norman, fell to No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe in Area, but bounced back with an upset of No. 11 Westmoore. 

No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe (24-2) will meet with the biggest surprise of the season--unranked Ponca City (16-7). Santa Fe took the top-spot in the rankings after previous No. 1 Choctaw fell to 4A No. 1 Ft. Gibson at the Tournament of Champions. They went undefeated till after the Regional brackets came out, then fell 68-51 to No. 4 Deer Creek and 40-39 to No. 13 Mustang. Since then they've won their way through the post season with Regional and Area Championships, capped by a 65-55 payback victory over Mustang. Ponca City's outsider status at the State Tournament is fitting with their outsider status in Class 6A. The Lady Cats are the only team without a conference and have played a mix of teams at various levels of competition. They won their Regional with upsets of No. 12 Midwest City and No. 6 Owasso, then topped No. 9 Norman North in the Area Consolations.

The final game of the day will be between No. 2 Choctaw (23-3) and No. 5 Putnam City West (24-2) at 8:30 p.m. The Yellowjackets have held the No. 2 spot since their finals loss to 4A No. 1 Ft. Gibson in the Tournament of Champions. Despite the loss, they remained undefeated in their division till an upset by Putnam West snatched the Big Ten Conference title from their grip late in the season. They fell 62-50 to No. 4 Deer Creek in the first round of Area, and needed overtime to top No. 16 Edmond North for their ticket to State. Putnam West remains the only team undefeated in Class 6A, with their lone losses coming to Campbell County, Wyoming, and 3A No. 3 Holland Hall. They went undefeated in the post-season, topping Ponca City for the Area title. 

The semifinal games will be played at 9:00 a.m. and noon on Friday, with the Championship round being played at noon on Saturday.

Frontier Valley Conference

  1. No. 3 Sand Springs (23-1, 13-1)
  2. No. 6 Owasso (17-9, 11-3)
  3. No. 14 Bartlesville (16-10, 10-3)
  4. No. 17 Union (14-12, 8-6)
  5. No. 15 Broken Arrow (13-11, 8-6)
  6. No. 19 Sapulpa (10-13, 6-7)
  7. Jenks (7-16, 5-9)
  8. Muskogee (9-14, 4-10)
  9. Bixby (7-16, 2-11)
  10. 5A No. 17 Bishop Kelley (6-16, 2-12)

Big Ten Conference

  1. No. 5 Putnam West (24-2, 13-0)
  2. No. 2 Choctaw (24-3, 14-1)
  3. No. 12 Midwest City (14-10, 10-3)
  4. 5A No. 15 Bishop McGuinness (12-12, 6-7)
  5. Putnam City (10-14, 6-8)
  6. Enid (8-16, 5-8)
  7. Lawton (8-16, 4-9)
  8. 5A No. 14 Del City (9-17, 4-9)
  9. Lawton Eisenhower (9-17, 3-11)
  10. Putnam City North (3-21, 2-12)

Central Oklahoma Conference

  1. No. 4 Deer Creek (24-2, 13-1)
  2. No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe (24-2, 12-2) 
  3. No. 8 Norman (17-9, 10-4)
  4. No. 16 Edmond North (17-10, 9-5)
  5. No. 10 Edmond Memorial (16-10, 9-5)
  6. No. 13 Mustang (17-10, 8-6)
  7. No. 11 Westmoore (17-10, 7-7)
  8. No. 9 Norman North (16-10, 7-6)
  9. No. 18 Yukon (11-12, 3-10)
  10. No. 20 Moore (10-13, 3-10)
  11. Southmoore (3-20, 1-13)
  12. Stillwater (5-19, 1-13)

Green Country Conference

  1. No. 6 Booker T. Washington (22-5, 12-0)
  2. 5A No. 2 East Central (22-4, 10-2)
  3. 5A No. 19 Tulsa Memorial (10-13, 8-4)
  4. Will Rogers (12-13, 8-5)
  5. McLain (8-15, 7-4)
  6. Tulsa Edison (9-13, 6-7)
  7. Tulsa Central (3-18, 3-10)
  8. Nathan Hale (1-20, 1-10)
  9. Daniel Webster (2-22, 0-11)

All-City Conference

  1. 4A No. 3 Classen (28-2, 11-0)
  2. Millwood (19-10, 11-1)
  3. Northwest Classen (12-8, 8-3)
  4. OKC Centennial (9-10, 7-2)
  5. John Marshall (8-16, 6-5)
  6. Douglass (8-15, 6-6)
  7. Capitol Hill (15-8, 5-6)
  8. Northeast Academy (7-12, 4-5)
  9. Southeast (5-16, 3-8)
  10. U.S. Grant (3-21, 1-11)
  11. Star-Spencer (2-20, 0-12)