OKLAHOMA CITY – Fighting tooth and nail with the defending state champs for three quarters, the Durant Lady Lions ran out of gas in the final frame as El Reno pulled away for a 42-25 victory in the Class 5A state quarterfinals at State Fair Arena.
Durant’s emotion-laden, Cinderella journey ended with a 19-8 overall record while the Lady Indians moved on and captured their second straight gold ball on Saturday.
El Reno showcased their athleticism and size in bouncing to a 13-7 first quarter advantage, but the Lady Lions hung tough, especially defensively, in outscoring the champs by a 6-4 margin in the second frame. Iyana Wilson’s buzzerbeating three pointer narrowed the gap to just four at the half as Abrianna Freeman led a solid effort around the paint with seven points before the break.
Bidding for the upset, Durant closed to within three points late in the third frame, but El Reno got the final bucket of the period to take a 28-23 cushion into the fourth.
The Lady Lions added a Wilson pull up jumper in the paint early in the final period but that proved to be all the Durant points in the stanza as the Lady Lions went cold down the stretch and were outscored 14-2 in the quarter.
Freeman paced the Durant offensive charge with nine points along with eight rebounds. Wilson had seven and Sorrels scored six with Anslee Morse also chipping in three points.
With all four of those players returning the future definitely looks promising for the Durant program as they forge ahead with the Will Robinson legacy and begin the quest for the school’s first back-toback state tournament trips since 1984.
Durant Lady Lion basketball players react during the state opener. Among those shown is Emma Green.
