Lady Lions have tough test

By CRAIG HALL
HOWE—Going to the state tournament is a routine for Howe, as it is with first-round opponent Okarche.

The Lady Lions, 29-2, are back in the state tournament for the fourth straight year and play Okarche (21-7) Thursday at 8:30 p.m. at the State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City.

This came despite the Lady Lions losing eight of their top 10 players off last year’s team and going with a mixture of the old and young.

Photo by CRAIG HALL Howe senior Randa Grant and her teammates will take on Okarche in the first round of the state tournament Thursday.

Howe boasts three seniors in Randa Grant, Shelby Brown and Lynsey White, along with a strong group of sophomores and a freshman.

Getting to the state tournament was not an easy trip this year. Howe lost to Sasakwa in the regional finals to fall into the losers’ bracket. A return trip required three wins in three days.

But that is what the Lady Lions accomplished by beating Caddo, Wayne and downing Sasakwa on Saturday night, 57-53, just a week after losing to the same team, 58-42.

Advancing in the state tournament will not be easy. The sixth-ranked Lady Lions’ opening opponent, Okarche, has three starters back from a team which made it to the semifinals last year after losing another starter to injury in the preseason.

Okarche is 20-7 on the season and ranked fifth in Class A. The Lady Warriors have been to the state tournament 21 times, the most of any team in the Class A or B state tournament, and like Howe, is making its fourth consecutive trip to state.

Howe coach Chris Brown knows his first-round opponent will be tough.

“They make it a habit of going to the state tournament,” said Brown. “They have won multiple state championships and have a hall of fame coach in Cherie Myers.”

The two teams are not strangers, however, as Howe beat Okarche in the semifinals both times the Lady Lions won state, including two years ago.

“They are a very good team,” Brown said. “They lost their leading scorer from last season in the preseason and got some freshman kids come in and did really well.”

While this is the first time for most of the Howe players to compete in state, that is not the case for Okarche.

“They expect to make the state tournament” Brown said of Okarche. “Aside from Randa, this will be the first time for our players. It will be a new experience we have to overcome. The Okarche kids expect to be there and win.”

After losing a great senior class last year, getting back to state is a special experience for Brown and his Lady Lions.

“Like I was telling the girls, we didn’t get an invitation to the party,” he said. “We had to kick the door down to get in.”

Despite the tough opposition, Howe is not going to Oklahoma City just for the experience.

“I think the key is for us to take care of the ball and attack the lane,” he said. “If we do those things, we’ll have a great shot.”