Central tips off consolation bracket action at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in the Class A Area III tournament hosted by Charles Page High School in Sand Springs. Although the Lady Tigers were defeated last weekend by powerful Frontier, they still believe they can reach the state tourney.
"It's been a great ride, but we're not ready for it to end," said Central coach Scott Lowe, who has guided the team to a 20-5 record in his first season at the school.
Central will collide with No. 10-ranked Ripley on Thursday. With a win, the Lady Tigers would advance to play the winner of Picher and Agra on Friday. Another victory would put them in the consolation finals against the Frontier/Davenport loser on Saturday night. However, Lowe is not looking past the first-round clash with Ripley, which has already won 22 games this season.
Ripley made it to the state tournament last season and has four starters back from that team. Among them is Melissa Winingear, a 6-foot senior who averages a team-high 17.2 points per game.
"The first game is probably the toughest. Ripley was favored on the other side of the bracket and then got upset (by Agra). They're big, they shoot well and they move extremely well. They're patient and they're also very well coached," said Lowe. "If we get past Ripley, I feel confident of our chances."
The coach said his team won't be shell-shocked by its 28-point loss to Frontier in last Saturday's regional championship game.
"I think our girls understand that Frontier is in a league of their own right now. It doesn't even matter," said Lowe. "We know that we're capable of beating anyone else left in the field. The goal stays the same: win and advance."
The Central girls are the only small-school team from Sequoyah County-area to stay alive in the postseason. The other teams still going in the playoffs are from Classes 2A and 4A and are getting set for regional play this week.
The county's three Class 4A schools-Sallisaw, Muldrow and Roland-are all participating in the Area IV regional hosted by Fort Gibson with a sub-site at Hilldale.
The Roland boys and girls and the Muldrow girls each won district titles last week and are in the regional winners bracket. Muldrow and Roland will face off for the fourth time this season on Thursday night in a girls semifinal clash at Hilldale. Muldrow won the first two meetings, but the Lady Rangers prevailed in the most recent. The Roland boys will also play on Thursday night, taking on Checotah at 8 p.m. inside Hilldale's gym.
In the regional consolation bracket, the Sallisaw Lady Diamonds will meet Eufaula at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Fort Gibson. Sallisaw defeated the Lady Ironheads 42-31 earlier this season at the Connors tournament. The Black Diamonds will play at the same site at 3 p.m. against NOAA conference rival Poteau. The Muldrow boys will play Hilldale at 3 p.m. Thursday on the Hornets' home court in Muskogee.
In Class 2A Area III regional action, the Vian girls and boys teams will both try to battle their way through the consolation bracket to advance. The Lady Wolverines and Wolverines will both play Okay on Thursday afternoon at the regional sub-site at Keys. Oktaha is the main site of the regional.
The district champion Gore Pirates will be in the semifinals of the Class 2A Area IV regional hosted by Porum. They'll play Preston at 8 p.m. Thursday. The Lady Pirates will play Riverside Conference champion Porum at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in a consolation bracket game at Porum.
