Finally overcoming the Seiling hurdle which had blocked their path to a state title twice in the previous three years, the second-ranked Caddo Lady Bruins appeared in prime position to take home the gold ball.
A cold shooting second half in the Class A finale proved to be the squad’s kryptonite this time however, as the Lady Bruins settled for silver for the second time in three seasons with a 4734 loss to Cyril on Saturday at State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City.
Coach Kolby Johnson’s club had utilized their strong perimeter shooting as well as solid defense to convincingly knock off number eight Allen, 52-34, in the opener. They then dethroned the three-time defending champs from Seiling while ending the Lady Cats’ 10-game state winning streak in a 36-33 thriller.
The Lady Bruins got off to a solid start in grabbing a 14-10, cashing in three pointers by Jaycie Nichols and Kayden Prince to erase a 7-6 deficit.
While the shooting started to cool in the second period as Caddo only managed buckets from Jordyn and Jaycie Nichols, the Lady Bruin defense was up to the task as the two teams battled to an 18-18 halftime deadlock.
Turnovers became the story after intermission as Cyril turned up the defensive intensity and began to score in transition, including six of the first eight points out of the break.
Prince and Belle Hookom each tossed in baskets to even the score at 24 but Caddo went cold from there, getting only a lone Prince charity toss the rest of the frame while the Lady Pirates closed the quarter on a decisive 13-1 run.
Jordyn Nichols and Rylan Peevyhouse started the fourth stanza with treys that cut the Cyril advantage in half and another Jordyn Nichols long range bomb narrowed the gap to 40-34 midway through the frame.
That three pointer, however, ended up being the final Lady Bruin points as they missed their final six shots from the field while shooting just 31 percent overall after the half. Cyril meanwhile countered with nine of 14 shooting (64 percent) with the bulk of that coming via layups in which the Lady Pirates ended with 21 points off turnovers for the game.
Prince led Caddo in scoring with 10 points with Jaycie Nichols adding nine and Jordyn Nichols eight.
The Lady Bruins put the early blitz on against top-ranked Seiling, roaring to a 20-12 edge through one quarter. Jordyn and Jaycie Nichols each tallied three pointers as did Anna Adair, but that proved to be all of the Caddo scoring from beyond the arc for the contest.
Seiling struggled as well, with the Lady Bruin defense playing a key part, managing only one trey for the entire game.
Caddo was in front 26-18 at halftime and 32-25 through three periods as the Lady Cats were playing catch up the entire contest.
A pair of Prince free throws in the final minute ended up being pivotal after Seiling had closed within a point and Jaycie Nichols blocked a potential tying three point attempt in the waning seconds.
Prince and Jaycie Nichols each provided a team-high 10 points while Hookom tossed in eight.
Turnovers were also the big story in the quarterfinal contest as it was Caddo’s relentless defense that came up with the crucial plays as the Lady Bruins forced 18 Allen turnovers while committing just three of their own. That led to a massive 23-0 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.
Caddo led 12-7 through one period, 23-18 at halftime and 40-25 following the third stanza.
Prince had a massive offensive performance with eight for 15 shooting from the field and a perfect eight for eight at the charity stripe for 25 points. Jaycie and Jordyn Nichols had eight points each while Harlee Taylor added seven.