From Longhorns to Cougars
Dover’s Harvistons sign to continue careers at RCC
DOVER SENIORS Katelyn Harviston (seated second from left) and Karlee Harviston (second from right) signed letters of intent Monday morning to play basketball at Redlands Community College. They signed in front of their Dover teammates, classmates, coaches
DOVER’S Katelyn Harviston (left) and Karlee Harviston share a smile as they sign their letters of intent to play basketball at Redlands Community College in El Reno. The duo were the two leading scorers for a team that went 28-3 and advanced to the Clas
The Dover girls basketball team won two games in 2019-20.
The next year, that number quadrupled to eight. Then it was 20.
Then 23. This year? The Lady Longhorns went 28-3, were ranked No. 1 all season and advanced to the Class B state tournament for the first time in 17 years.
The common denominator of those last four years?
Karlee and Katelyn Harviston. And, soon, the two biggest pillars in Dover’s massive turnaround will be suiting up for the Redlands Community College Cougars.
The Dover seniors Monday morning signed letters of intent to continue their basketball careers - together - at the El Reno junior college.
Their reasoning for choosing Redlands over other options?
Believe it or not, their answers - like their looks - are basically the same.
“Out of all the colleges that offered us, they offered us a full ride and it was an offer I couldn’t pass up,” said Karlee. “And it’s close to home, which is what I wanted.”
Katelyn replied: “The coach gave us an amazing offer and it was one I could not pass up.
“I also chose Redlands because it’s close to home and I like the fact that my family and friends can come watch.”
Family and friends have watched the last four years as the Harvistons have played a major role in resurrecting the Dover program.
In the five seasons prior to the Harvistons becoming freshmen, Dover was 6-102.
The Lady Longhorns won eight games in their freshman campaign and were within one win of reaching area.
In 2021-22, Dover went 20-9 and again reached the regional consolation championship.
The Harvistons’ junior season saw Dover take it up a couple more notches with a 23-7 mark and a spot in the area consolation semifinal.
Dover won its first 20 games to start the 2023-24 campaign.
That included a season-opening victory over Lomega - Dover’s first since 2006 - and three tournament championships, including the Skeltur Conference Tournament for the first time since 2005.
Dover went 22-2 in the regular season and didn’t lose a conference game.
Karlee, who averaged 17.4 points a game for the year, was eventually named the Skeltur Conference MVP.
Katelyn, who scored 15.8 points a game, was a first- team all-conference member and the second-highest vote getter. The Lady Longhorns then made their way to the state tournament with a 35 27 win over No. 7 Pittsburg in the area tournament. In their first trip to state since 2007, Dover beat Turner 62-51 in the quarterfi nals before falling to No. 5 Lookeba-Sickles, 51-36, in the semifinals.
Dover was 79-32 in their four years, including 71-19 in the last three seasons.
For her career, Karlee scored 1,391 points.
Katelyn scored 1,321. The Harvistons had dreamed of winning Dover’s fifth basketball state championship.
Though they fell short, neither let it cause them to lose sight of what they did achieve in the red and white uniforms.
“Going from my freshman year to winning 28 games and making it to the semifinals my senior year was a huge accomplishment,” Karlee said.
Katelyn said watching her beloved Lady Longhorns only win two games her eighth grade year actually had her second-guessing her dream of playing as a freshman.
“I knew we weren’t going to be that good, but I stuck it out because I loved the game and I just wanted to get better,” she said.
“Seeing how far we have come and how much support we’ve had since then just pushes you to work harder and want to achieve those goals you have.”
They’ve achieved those goals together, which was also important to keep doing, but not necessarily a deal breaker.
“If it came down to different colleges offering us and it was what we wanted, then, yes, we would have split up,” Karlee said. “But our goal was to stick together because we always play better together and going to a college with someone you know is a lot better in my opinion.”
Nobody knows Karlee better than Katelyn.
“We have thought about that before,” Katleyn said. “We have always wanted to go to the same college…but if we both got good offers from separate schools, we would have probably gone to separate schools.”
The offer from RCC cemented their plans.
“We got so lucky that Redlands wanted us both,” said Katelyn.