By Scott Hansen
MaxPreps.com
Another week of tournaments is in the books, provided potentially a lot more questions than answers.
How good is Class 5A? As it turns out, very good. Guthrie, coming off its only loss of the season to unbeaten Harrah over a week ago, strolled through the Carl Albert Titan Classic to claim the title with a 49-48 victory over Midwest City, the Class 6A defending state champions.
Along the way, Guthrie also defeated Tulsa Union, 50-48. Junior Donte’ Foster scored 15 points in the championship winning victory over Midwest City, a night after lighting up Tulsa Union for 23.
Tulsa East Central, ranked amongst the top in the entire state throughout the season, defeated previously unbeaten Tulsa Washington 54-47 behind 24 points from Ken Holdman. The previous night, Washington defeated Class 6A Jenks by eight points while East Central beat Edmond Santa Fe, 56-55.
Tulsa Bishop Kelley, another 5A team with a gaudy 13-1 record, has its only loss against Class 4A power Bishop McGuinness.
OKC Capitol Hill continues to roll, winning the Port City Classic in Catoosa. In the final, the Redskins defeated Broken Bow, 37-24. Remy Boswell and Greg McPherson both scored 10 points in the defensive battle.
How good is Harrah? The Class 5A Panthers have beaten Carl Albert, Lawton MacArthur, Guthrie, and Class 6A Mustang in piling up a 15-0 record.
Who is the second best team in Class 6A? Good question. Right now, this could be decided by a coin flip. This question may not be answered until March. Figuring out Putnam City is the best team Oklahoma has to offer is not rocket science. But will somebody please step up and claim No. 2?
For the moment, let’s go with Jenks and wait a week. Jenks recently lost to Tulsa Union by three points, but Union has been shaky since. Midwest City looked to be the chosen one, but lost to Guthrie.
Putnam City North is still quietly sitting there as well. Since a Dec. 4 loss to Edmond Santa Fe, PC North has only lost to top-ranked Putnam City twice. The Panthers avenged their December defeat by going on the road on Jan. 22 to beat Santa Fe, 70-66.
Tulsa Union, Midwest City Girls Remain Unbeaten
Tulsa Union and Midwest City's girls came out of tournament week unscathed, remaining unbeaten on the season. Tulsa Union handed Class 3A Millwood its first loss of the season with a 52-38 victory in the final of the Carl Albert Titan Classic. Lindsay Palmer led the way for Union with 24 points.
Midwest City defeated Springfield (Mo.) Kickapoo in the championship game of the Jenks Invitational, oddly enough by forfeit. Midwest City had knocked off Tulsa Bishop Kelley and Stillwater to qualify for the final. Sophomore Richa Jackson is the leader for the Bombers, averaging over 17 points and seven rebounds per game.
Kickapoo, which squeaked past Mustang and Tulsa East Central to advance to the final, had all five starters fall ill with the flu before playing Midwest City. On Friday, Tulsa East Central was missing four starters due to the flu in a 53-52 victory over Bishop Kelley.
Oklahoma Notebook
Putnam City guard Brandon Jackson gave his verbal commitment to Tulsa this week. Jackson, a 6-foot-5 guard, is averaging 10 points per game and can play a number of positions on the floor, but projects as a point guard for the Golden Hurricane.
Westmoore enters the Class 6A ratings after winning the Norman Invitational. In the final, the Jaguars got past Norman comfortably, 64-37. Devonte Smith led Westmoore with 19 points. Bartlesville, which finished third in the Port City Classic in Catoosa, also enters the Class 6A ratings.
Oklahoma City Storm, a home school team, pulled the shocker of the season thus far by defeating Class 4A contender Star Spencer, 71-66. Rex Farmer scored 18 points in the victory. The Storm fell to Putnam City North in the championship of the Bruce Gray Invitational in Deer Creek, 44-29. Oklahoma City Storm has racked up some impressive victories this season over Enid, Metro Christian, and Elgin, to name a few en route to an 18-6 record.
Millwood’s girls lost their first game of the season in the final of the Carl Albert Titan Classic to Tulsa Union, 52-38. However, Millwood’s performance was good enough for the Class 3A contender to enter the Oklahoma All-Class Top 10 this week at sixth. Javonna Mitchell, Brittany Demery, Talytha Williams, and Alyssa Hankins are the leaders for Millwood. Washington, another team from Class 3A, also enters this week at 10th. Washington’s only losses this season were to Sapulpa and Sequoyah-Tahlequah in December. Krista Beaty and Ashton Pittman lead Washington.
Boys All Class Top 10 (Previous)
1. Putnam City, 17-1 (1)
2. Tulsa East Central, 13-2 (3) *Class 5A
3. Tulsa Washington, 11-1 (2) *Class 5A
4. Bishop McGuinness, 14-4 (4) *Class 4A
5. OKC Capitol Hill, 14-1 (10) *Class 5A
6. Jenks, 14-3 (7)
7. Putnam City North, 12-3 (8)
8. Tulsa Bishop Kelley, 13-1 (NR) *Class 5A
9. Harrah, 15-0 (NR) *Class 5A
10. Guthrie, 12-1 (NR) *Class 5A
Dropped Out:
Tulsa Union, 11-4 (5)
Midwest City, 12-4 (6)
Edmond Santa Fe, 9-5 (9)
Ratings Comments: Clearly the biggest shake-up of the season. Three teams from Class 5A enter the fray to join Tulsa East Central, Tulsa Washington, and Capitol Hill, which went further to cement their places in the list recently. East Central is back up to second. Washington falls one spot after a loss to East Central. Bishop McGuinness stays at fourth. Jenks, Putnam City North, and Tulsa Bishop Kelley all fall out.
Top 10 by Class (records as of Jan. 27)
Class 6A Boys
1. Putnam City, 17-1 (1)
2. Jenks, 14-3 (4)
3. Putnam City North, 12-3 (5)
4. Midwest City, 12-4 (3)
5. Tulsa Union, 11-4 (2)
6. Edmond Santa Fe, 9-5 (6)
7. Tulsa Memorial, 13-4 (7)
8. Broken Arrow, 11-5 (10)
9. Westmoore, 13-5 (NR)
10. Bartlesville, 11-3 (NR)
Dropped Out:
Lawton, 11-3 (8)
Del City, 10-5 (9)
Class 5A Boys
1. Tulsa East Central, 13-2 (2)
2. Tulsa Washington, 11-1 (1)
3. OKC Capitol Hill, 14-1 (3)
4. Tulsa Bishop Kelley, 13-1 (4)
5. Harrah, 15-0 (5)
6. Guthrie, 11-1 (6)
7. Tulsa Edison, 10-5 (7)
8. Ada, 12-2 (10)
9. Carl Albert, 10-5 (9)
10. Lawton MacArthur, 9-5 (8)
Dropped Out: None
Class 4A Boys
1. Bishop McGuinness, 14-4 (1)
2. Vinita, 16-0 (2)
3. OKC Star Spencer, 13-2 (3)
4. OKC Douglass, 10-4 (4)
5. OKC Southeast, 7-6 (5)
6. Cascia Hall, 11-4 (6)
7. Tulsa McLain, 10-6 (NR)
8. Fort Gibson, 10-4 (8)
9. Victory Christian, 12-5 (7)
10. Woodward, 11-3 (10)
Dropped Out: Wagoner, 10-5 (9)
Girls All Class Top 10
1. Sapulpa, 16-1 (1)
2. Sequoyah-Tahlequah, 14-2 (2) *Class 3A
3. Tulsa Union, 15-0 (3)
4. Midwest City, 16-0 (4)
5. Del City, 13-2 (5)
6. Millwood, 16-1 (NR) *Class 3A
6. Carl Albert, 14-1 (6) *Class 5A
7. Mustang, 11-4 (7)
8. Norman, 11-5 (8)
9. Tulsa Washington, 13-3 (10) *Class 5A
10. Washington, 13-2 *Class 3A
Dropped Out: Coweta, 12-3 (9) *Class 5A
Ratings Comments: The top five remain the same. From six on, it gets a little shaky. Millwood’s runner-up performance at the Carl Albert Titan Classic was good enough for the Lady Falcons to enter this week at six. Millwood leapfrogged Mustang, Norman, and Tulsa Washington. Coweta bows out, with Class 3A Washington replacing them at tenth. Washington is 13-2 on the season with its only losses coming to Sapulpa and Sequoyah-Tahlequah at Oklahoma’s Best Tournament.
Top 10 by Class (records as of January 27)
Class 6A Girls
1. Sapulpa, 15-1 (1)
2. Tulsa Union, 15-0 (2)
3. Midwest City, 16-0 (3)
4. Del City, 13-2 (4)
5. Mustang, 11-4 (5)
6. Norman, 11-5 (6)
7. Owasso, 15-2 (9)
8. Putnam City, 14-4 (7)
9. Claremore, 12-1 (8)
10. Tulsa Memorial, 13-3 (10)
Dropped Out: None
Class 5A Girls
1) Carl Albert, 14-1 (1)
2) Tulsa Washington, 13-3 (3)
3) Coweta, 12-3 (2)
4) McAlester, 13-3 (5)
5) Harrah, 11-4 (4)
6) Tulsa Edison, 8-6 (6)
7) Tulsa East Central, 9-5 (7)
8) Durant, 10-6 (8)
9) El Reno, 12-4 (9)
10) Bixby, 7-7 (10)
Dropped Out: None
Class 4A Girls
1) Fort Gibson, 13-1 (1)
2) Cache, 18-1 (2)
3) OKC Star Spencer, 15-0 (3)
4) Bethany, 15-1 (4)
5) Perkins-Tryon, 17-0 (5)
6) Elgin, 15-3 (6)
7) Idabel, 16-2 (7)
8) Vinita, 16-0 (8)
9) Bishop McGuinness, 12-7 (10)
10) Clinton, 10-4 (NR)
Dropped Out: Sallisaw, 13-3 (9)
