Class A # 3 Quinton girls basketball went 1-1 at the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association Class A State Tournament. Quinton defeated #13 Empire 53-38 on Feb. 29 for their first win at state in school history. Quinton lost to eventual state champion Seiling 55-36 on March 1 in the school’s first ever state semi-final game.

“I am really proud of the girls and I hope they realize how big of a deal it is of what they accomplished this year. Our seniors – Lila Gragg and Haddie Lindley, helped continue to lay the foundation of what we are trying to build at Quinton. They have kind of paved the way for our underclassmen to follow in their shoes and maybe do something that Quinton has never done and continue to make history,” Head Coach Brad Davis said.

Vs. Empire

The Lady Savages started the game on a 5-0 run with a three by Bailey Purdom and a two by Alexis “Batman” Purdom. Empire then went on a 7-1 run to take a 7-6 lead. The remainder of the first quarter was back and forth as there were seven lead changes. Empire had a 15-14 lead after one quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Alexis Purdom and Aliviah Daniels each picked up two personal fouls. Despite being in foul trouble Coach Brad Davis didn’t change his strategy, he stated that his team knows that when they have foul trouble that it’s next man up and every player did their job well. Empire had a 26-24 lead at halftime.made two free throws near the end of the third quarter to give the Lady Savages a lead and they held onto that lead. Heading into the final quarter, Quinton led 36-35. In the fourth quarter, Quinton made nine of 13 free throws and held Empire to three points to close the game. The Purdom sisters combined for 31 points – 17 for Bailey and 14 for Alexis “We trusted our teammates and worked together as a team. We worked really hard to get the first state win in school history,” Bailey Purdom said.

Vs Seiling

Lindley made two of her five three-pointers in the first quarter to keep the Lady Savages in striking distance. At the end of one quarter, Seiling had a 20-11 lead. After a made two point basket by Seiling, Quinton went on a 6-0 run to close the gap to five points early in the second quarter. Seiling then closed the quarter on a 10-5 run, taking a 32-21 lead into the locker room.

Quinton refused to go down without a fight as four players combined to make five three pointers, On numerous occasions, Quinton trimmed the lead to eight in the third quarter. But was unable to get the deficit under eight. Lindley led the team in scoring with 15.

DOW | COURTESY