It was a mixed bag for Muldrow in the Class 4A Regional Tournament last weekend. Things got started Thursday at the sub-site in Verdigris.
The No. 20 Lady Bulldogs overcame a slow start to post a 43-40 victory over the host No. 14 Cardinals.
The Muldrow boys battled against 10thranked Tulsa McLain, but came up a little short in a 61-52 defeat.
On Friday in Cleveland, Okla., the ’Dogs saw the season come to a close with a 56-46 loss to the Hilldale Hornets in the regional consolation semifinals to end their season at 12-14.
On Saturday night in Cleveland, the Lady Bulldogs fell 50-28 to the fourth-ranked Fort Gibson Lady Tigers in the regional finals.
However, the Lady Bulldogs (17-9) still will get to go to the Class 4A Area Tournament in Bristow, but on the consolation side where they will meet Madill at 6 p.m. Thursday in the area consolation quarterfinals. The Lady Bulldogs will need to win three games in three days to make it to the Class 4A State Tournament, which will take place March 7-9 in Oklahoma City.
In the girls’ regional finals, the Lady Tigers jumped out to a 12-5 lead after a quarter, which became a 20-12 halftime advantage and a 34-14 lead going into the final period.
In defeat, Kayla Ellingberg scored seven points to lead Muldrow, followed by Claire Tabor with five points, Cailey Grinstead with four points, Makynlee Morton and Jensi Fields with three points each and London Hardin, Katelynn Moore and Aubrey Luttrell with two points apiece.
In the girls’ regional championship semifinals, Hardin finished in double figures for the Lady Bulldogs with 11 points.
Muldrow had a balanced scoring attack, including eight points apiece from Tabor and Katelynn Moore.
Grinstead and Kennady Moore both scored seven points while Fields had the only points from the bench with two.
Verdigris held a slim 28-26 after three quarters. The final frame was tight throughout and featured a handful of ties.
The last of those came when Brynlee Brown made a pair of free throws to draw Verdigris even at 40-all with 57 seconds left.
Katelynn Moore answered as she split a pair of foul shots with 34.5 seconds remaining. The Cardinals then missed two free throws with 12.3 seconds left.
Hardin was fouled with 8.8 seconds to play and drained both at the line.
Wiginton then got a good look at a potential game-tying 3-point basket, but it bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
In the boys’ consolation semifinals, the Hornets stung the Bulldogs with a 16-8 opening period en route to a 28-21 halftime lead, but the ’Dogs used a 14-8 third quarter to cut their deficit to 36-35 going into the fourth quarter. However, the Hornets outscored the Bulldogs 20-9 to hang on for the win.
In defeat, Teaguen Collins scored 19 points and Parker Sevenstar added 10 points to lead Muldrow. Deshawn Wilson had seven points, followed by Jaxson Anstine with six pints and Kashan Bukhari and Drew Prewett with two points apiece.
In the boys’ regional championship semifinal, Collins had a teamhigh 16 points for the Bulldogs. Wilson and Sevenstar also finished in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Jesse Kilinc scored seven points for Muldrow. Others to crack the score column were Bukhari and Trenton Irvan with two apiece and a free throw from Anstine.
The Bulldogs trailed 10-8 after the first period, but the Titans extended their advantage to 24-14 at the half.
McLain had a pair of 13-point leads early in the second half. Muldrow got as close as 37-32 late in the third quarter and eventually was behind 40-32 at the end of the frame.
The Bulldogs narrowed the gap to 43-37 in the opening moments of the final quarter. The Titans, however, got the next five points and were not seriously threatened the rest of the way.
The game marked a reunion of sorts as Muldrow boys coach Terry Collins and Tulsa McLain’s coach Randy Rutherford were teammates on the 1994-95 Oklahoma State men’s basketball team that went to the Final Four.
