The playoff journey began last weekend with Madill basketball teams splitting Class 4A district battles on the road at Idabel.
In the opener, the Lady Wildcats burst to a big lead early and steadily pulled away for 62-31 verdict over the Lady Warriors in claiming the district crown.
It was much the same in reverse in the nightcap, as Idabel was able to strike early and often on the way to a 8445 victory for the boys’ title.
Both teams will be back at home on Thursday as Madill hosts the Regional Tournament through Saturday. The Wildcats challenge Pauls Valley at 2:30 in an elimination contest while the Lady Wildcats face Lone Grove at 6 p.m. for a berth in the regional title tilt.
Girls
Elexis Holmes canned three first half treys and combined with sister E’Niyah for 23 points before intermission while staking the seventhranked Lady Wildcats to a commanding advantage.
Madillwasup20-7through one period and 36-18 at intermission as they doubled up Idabel.
Ireland Groeber caught fire after the break, pumping in five points in each of the final two frames as the Lady Wildcats continued to extend the lead.
Four Madill players tallied double figures in the victory, paced by Elexis Holmes’ 15 points. E’Niyah Holmes, GroeberandLa’MiyahBrown all tossed in 10 points.
Arlette Andrade finished with seven, Luci Douglas scored five, Karma Williams had three and Chloe Miller chipped in two.
Boys
Cold shooting plagued the Wildcats over the first two stanzasastheymanagedonly 11 points before halftime, trailing 20-5 at the end of oneframeandwereoutscored by the Warriors 20-6 in the second.
Madill finally began to find its shooting touch in the third quarter as Cash Cooper sank three treys but Idabel got its transition game in gear as well with a 26-14 scoring blitz. Coach William Bencoma’s squad posted a slight 20-18 edge in the fourth to nearly double their output over the first three periods.
Cooper was the lone Madill player to reach double figures with 11 points. Jagger Rogers, Ryan Anderson and Andrew Ramon all pitched in six with Jaxon Diaz and Sammy Duran each scoring five. Gilberto Grimaldo notched four and Brayden Jowers tossed in two.