Lady Tigers headed to area tournament

By Everett Brazil, III

The Newkirk Herald Journal

NEWKIRK — The Lady Tigers have been on a roll for the 2020-2020 basketball season, as they played their hardest years. They are now eyeing the state championship, and this weekend, will compete in the area tournament, the last step before heading to the finals.

The Lady Tigers will compete against the Millwood Lady Falcons at 1 p.m. today in Verdigris.

Head Coach Megan Schieber is thrilled at the girls’ success this season.

“The girls are really excited. We set a goal at the beginning of the year, and they reached that goal,” she said.

The Tigers and Lady Tigers were honored to host the district tournament at home in the new gym Feb. 22, welcoming the Dewey Bulldogers. Dewey squeaked by with a 38-33 win over the Lady Tigers.

The Lady Tigers weren’t finished, however, and stepped up to the plate to win.

“In the regional tournament, we really started playing our best basketball, which is a really good thing,” Schieber said. “Everyone stepped up and had a big moment.”

Their next stop was Henryetta Thursday, Feb. 25, where they defeated the Henryetta Lady Knights 41-24. The next afternoon, they were in Adair where they came out over the Westville Lady Yellowjackets 44-25. They once again faced off against Dewey for the consolation bracket, defeating them 40-36.

“The team we beat to go to area, we lost to in district,” Schieber said. “They were definitely an offensive power, they could score. We played really good defense against them the last time.”

The area tournament starts today, Thursday, at 1 p.m., in Verdigris where they once again face off against Millwood.

“Millwood is a very athletic team and we’ll need to bring our best game. I think it’ll be a tough game,” she said.

If the girls make it out of area, they will compete for the state final March 11-13 in Oklahoma City. Until then, they must survive the weekend.

“At this point, it’s not about how many points you score it’s about surviving and advancing,” she said.

The school is proud of their hard work, and look forward to a chance at the championship.

“I think this is a good opportunity. Our girls show they work hard and put themselves in the right place,” Athletic Director Kevin Engle said. “Our coaches have pushed the for preparation and hard work and success, and that is where we are at.”