The 2023-24 basketball seasons came to a close for the Vian High School teams last weekend in the Class 2A Regional Tournament.
After losing the previous week’s Class 2A District Tournament finals to Warner, the Lady Wolverines did manage to win their regional consolation quarterfinal game 49-44 over Wister on Thursday afternoon at Warner Event Center, but they saw their season end with a 52-41 loss to Wewoka in Friday afternoon’s regional consolation semifinal at the Wilburton Gym.
The postseason only lasted two games for the Wolverines as, after they lost to Warner in the district finals the previous week, they were eliminated from the postseason with a 67-65 loss to Panama in Thursday afternoon’s Class 2A Regional Tournament consolation quarterfinals at Warner Event Center.
In the girls’ consolation semifinal and season-ending loss to Wewoka, the Lady Tigers jumped out to an 18-4 lead after a quarter, which became a 30-11 halftime advantage and a 42-23 lead going into the final period. The Lady Wolverines, ending their season at 3-21, did try to make a run in the final period as they outscored the Lady Tigers 18-10 but came up short.
In defeat, Halli Russell led Vian with 15 points, followed by Skyelar Locust with seven points, Maisie Wells and Avery Wright with six points each, Rebel Simon, Kalli Kennedy and Shelbie Glass each with two points and Annie Neal with a free throw.
In the girls’ consolation quarterfinal win over Wister, the Lady Wolverines broke a 13-all tie after a period with a 9-3 second quarter to take a 22-16 halftime lead. After the Lady Wildcats regained a 33-28 lead after three periods, the Lady Wolverines outscored them 21-11 in the fourth quarter to get the comefrom- behind win. For the game, Russell led Vian with 13 points, followed by Locust with nine points, Wright with eight points, Wells with seven points, Simon with six points, Rayleigh Terrill with four points and Kala Gibbins with two points.
In the boys’ consolation quarterfinal and season-ending loss to Panama, the Wolverines led 18-16 after a quarter, but they were outscored 20-7 by the Razorbacks to give Panama a 3625 halftime advantage. With the Hogs leading 50-45 after three quarters, the Wolverines outscored them 20-17 in the final period only to see the rally fall short.
In defeat, Masyn Wright and Yonsi Grass — playing his final game as a Wolverine — shared game-high honors with 18 points, Joe O’Neal had 11 points and Jacob Brannick added 10 points for the Wolverines, who ended the season at 7-18. Trace Sanders scored eight points to round out Vian’s scoring.
