The Sulphur girls and head coach Toby Todd knew they would have a tough road in front of them after losing to Millwood in the regional tournament. The girls had a lot of momentum and great senior leadership and one of the best seasons in Sulphur history, ending with the best record in Sulphur girls basketball history (24-4).
The girls faced Alva in the first game of the Area Tournament which was held at Moore High School. They played great on both ends of the court and defeated the Lady Gold Bugs of Alva, 48-28. In the second game of Area girls played a very athletic Northeast squad. In overtime Ashley Hughes hit a trey as the buzzer sounded to keep the Lady Bulldogs alive. With just one game left before the state tournament the Lady Bulldogs faced Prague. In a game where 52 fouls were called the Sulphur girls couldn't do enough to defeat Prague and move on to the first state tournament appearance by a Sulphur girls team.
In last Thursday's game, the Lady Bulldogs knew it was win or go home and they had to play the Alva Lady Gold Bugs in the first round of the Area Tournament. In the first quarter of that game both teams were trying to fill one another out. Rylee Rackley led the way in early scoring with seven points in the first. Ashley Hughes hit a jumper and at the end of one quarter knotting the score at 9-9. The Sulphur offense then came to life and blew the game open in the second quarter. Jessica McCarville got in on the scoring action and had six points in the second. Hughes hit two lay-ups while Chelsea Reeves, Darsha Reagle and Rackley chipped in buckets. When both teams headed to the locker room Sulphur was up 27-14.
The dominance continued in the second half as the Lady Bulldogs put the clamps down on defense. Alva managed just one bucket in the quarter. Hughes kept getting around her defender and was able to score four points in the third. McCarville pulled down an offensive board and hit an easy bucket to extend the Sulphur lead. At the end of the third the Lady Bulldogs were up 37-17. In the fourth Hughes hit two jumpers and a free throw to give her five points in the quarter. Reagle hit a lay up as well. When the game ended Sulphur had easily won by the score of 48-28. Hughes led the way with 15 points while Rackley had 13 in the win. McCarville scored 8 and Reagle chipped in 6 in the victory.
The following afternoon the girls faced a very athletic Northeast team. In the first quarter Northeast showed the Lady Bulldogs they would have to play a near flawless game to win. Hughes drained a big trey while McCarville hit two free throws to keep it close. At the end of the first quarter Northeast led Sulphur 11-9. In the second Sulphur was able to contain Northeast and play solid defense. McCarville hit two buckets in the paint while Reeves got to the lane and hit a jumper of her own. At the half Sulphur had knotted the game at 15-15.
In the third Sulphur took the lead and the momentum. Rackley had three points while Darsha Reagle and Reeves had three points of their own. Once again solid defense kept Northeast from getting anything going. At the end of the third quarter Sulphur was up 26-21. It seemed that everything was going the Lady Bulldogs' way. However, Northeast is a good team and they weren't about to roll over for the Sulphur girls. Rackley chipped in three more in the fourth while Hughes went 3-4 from the charity stripe in the fourth. Big buckets late by Northeast pulled them even with Sulphur. When the buzzer sounded both teams were knotted at 33-33.
In overtime Rackley showed she had ice water in her veins knocking down two big free throws. Northeast hit a bucket to take the lead with less than three seconds in the game. Sulphur was able to draw up an inbounds play and Hughes hit a long rainmaker as the buzzer sounded to get the win and keep Sulphur's dreams alive. Hughes finished the game with 11 while Rackley had 9. McCarville chipped in 8 while Reeves added 6 in the big win.
After two long physical and emotional games the girls had to turn around and play Prague for a chance at the state tournament last Saturday night. In the first both teams showed they wanted to make it to the big house. Rackley hit two buckets while McCarville added another. However, at the end of one Prague was up 8-7. In the second Sulphur was able to get to the free throw line. Hughes went 4-4 in the second while Reeves went 3-4. McCarville completed a three-point play and hit a jumper to give Sulphur the lead. The refs were touchy and both teams found themselves in foul trouble from the get go. At the end of the first half Sulphur led Prague by a score of 21-20.
In the third Prague came out shooting. They got to the free throw line and took advantage of the trips. Hughes and Rackley were both in foul trouble but scored all of Sulphur's points in the third. At the end of three Sulphur trailed 31-28. In the fourth both teams were on fire. Hughes went off dropping 12 points in the quarter. However, McCarville, Rackley, and Reeves had all fouled out.
The Lady Bulldogs didn't have enough in the tank. When the buzzer sounded Prague had moved on to the state tournament by the score of 55-52. Hughes had 23 while McCarville added 11. Rackley finished her career with 8 points in the loss.
After the game head coach Toby Todd had this to say about his teams performance. "We knew what we had to do. We felt that we were in the toughest area in our class. That's how it was drawn up. That was the cards dealt to us and you have to go out and play the games. Against Alava we played great. Rackley and Hughes played great in that game. They were a god team but we got the job done. Northeast was very talented. It was a close game, back and forth the whole time. The end of the game was amazing. They missed two free throws to send it to overtime. Rackley made two big free throws. They made a bucket with just seconds left in the game. We were able to draw up an inbounds play and Ashley Hughes stepped up big. She caught a good pass from Reeves and knocked down a clutch shot. It was a great win. I felt we had a lot of momentum going into the game against Prague. They are really well coached. I'm not making excuses but the type of officiating didn't help us. I don't think the refs picked on us it was just a touchy game. Sixty-one free throws were shot, I think that is a record for us. It was a hard fought game but due to foul trouble we couldn't hold on to our lead. This team I believe was one of the top eight teams in the state. But for whatever reason we got placed where we did. We will miss our senior leaders. Rylee and Jessica started three years for me and Ashleigh Reagle stepped up big time this year. Chelsea Reeves was great and Ashley Hughes had an unreal season as a freshman. I'm very proud of her and the rest of the underclassman as well. This senior team has won 59 games in three years and are probably the winningest team in Sulphur history. One of these days we will get there. The girls work hard and I hope they will continue to work had in the years to come.
"Ashley Hughes finished the season averaging 11 points a game along with nearly 5 assists and rebounds a game. Rylee Rackley finished her senior year averaging 9 points and nearly 10 boards a game. Fellow senior Jessica McCarville averaged 10 points a game and nearly 7 rebounds a game. Chelsea Reeves finished her season scoring 9 points a game as well. It was a great year ladies. Thanks for making Sulphur proud!