Kingston brings home championship

By winning against Purcell on February 25, the Lady Redskins advanced to the finals of their Regional at Lindsay. On February 27, 2021, Coach Chad Rumer and the ladies won against Community Christian 55 to 40. Even better than the win, was the return of Assistant Coach Jared Hays that put smiles on every one’s faces. He has endured a battle with cancer all season long. So, you could say it was a win-win for everyone.

In the first quarter, Community Christian stubbornly fought trying to keep the game close and they did a pretty good job of it. They did, however, put the Lady Redskins at the free throw line. Avri Weeks had a field goal but struggled going 3 of 6 from the line. Emi O’Steen had the only other field goal – it was a three-pointer. She also had a free throw. Ryan Herndon and Kamry O’Steen both were 1 of 2 from the line. At the buzzer, Lady Redskins were leading, 11 to 8.

The second quarter was another parade to the free throw line. Weeks had two buckets and was 1 of 2 from the stripe. Herndon had a three-pointer and a free throw. Yet, it was Bohannon that they kept fouling over and over. She was 5 of 6 from the line. Kaya Wiebener was 0 for 2 in her attempts. Meanwhile, CC continued to stay in the contest and only trailed, 25 to 20, going to the locker room.

The third quarter was barely underway when Herndon made a steal, took it the length of the court and hit a layup. Little did they know, Herndon was just getting started. She hit another three-pointer and then had a layup on a long outlet pass from Weeks. Bohannon had a bucket and was 2 of 2 from the line. Raegan Davis had a bucket and Weeks was 2 of 2 from the line. The defense kept the pressure on CC, then, Weeks banked in a shot at the buzzer. The lead swelled to 42 to 26.

Fourth quarter action was wild. Weeks had another basket and was 7 of 8 from the line. She did pick up her fourth foul at 4:30 to play. She sat down for a rest. Davis went to the line and was 1 of 2. O’Steen had a bucket and was 1 of 2. Coach Rumer called a timeout with 1:51 to play and bring Weeks back in. Their lead was 50 to 38 but Rumer wanted to settle things down a bit and give his instructions as to closing the game out. Final score was 55 to 43 making the Lady Redskins the Regional Champs.

Box score: Weeks had 23 points and was 13 of 18 from the line. Next was Herndon with 12 points including two three-pointers. Bohannon had a good night with 10 points, she was 8 of 10 from the line. O’Steen had seven points and was 2 of 3 from the line. Davis had three points. As a team from the line, 26 of 38 for 68 %.

Coach Rumer and the girls now move on to Ada High School and the Area tournament. They will play Jones at 6:00 pm on Friday night. What do we know about Jones? In the final OSSSA poll on Feb. 1, they were ranked # 2 in Class 3A with a 14 and 1 record. Kingston and Jones have a common opponent, Marlow. Jones beat them 55 to 19 in the regional tournament. The Lady Redskins beat them in the NYC Tournament by a score of 61 to 39. Jones has had seven games canceled this season. Their record is currently 19 and 1. All three of their playoff games so far have been blow outs. They scored 108 points against Lexington in their district game.

Of course, it is better to win and keep advancing, however, the Lady Redskins have an advantage going into the next game. They have not lost one game in the playoffs. They can still advance after a loss. They would need to win again on Saturday. The best way would be to beat Jones and they would advance to the State Tournament. Good luck to Coach Rummer and his staff, and the Lady Redskins.