Lady Warriors make it a TRC double-dip

After two weeks off, the Okarche Lady Warriors capped their regular season with a meaningful road win.

A big third-quarter run helped Okarche overcome Cashion in a 65-47 victory Tuesday night.

The triumph gave Okarche the outright regular season championship for the Three Rivers Conference as it finished 6-0 in those games.

It was a championship double-dip for Okarche as it also won the conference tournament in January.

The Lady Warriors are the first team to win both the conference tournament and regular season titles since Cashion in 2018.

Okarche hadn’t played since beating Crescent on Jan. 25. A lull in the schedule paired with a weather cancellation extended the team’s time off.

Cashion, meanwhile, was playing for the second straight night after beating Crescent 47-18 on Monday.

In that win, Megan Shafer and Lauren Lamb scored 15 points apiece.

Lauren Jenkins added seven points.

It was Jenkins who had the hot hand early against Okarche.

The sophomore guard knocked down two 3-pointers and scored eight points in the first quarter as Cashion led 17-15.

But Okarche began to take control over the next two quarters.

The Lady Warriors out scored Cashion by 18 points in those two frames, including 21-10 in the third.

Sophie Vandendriessche scored 11 during that run while Emma Stover, Ryen Wittrock and Tyson Endres added six apiece.

After making 11 field goals in the first half, including the two treys, Cashion was limited to seven in the second half…and no 3-pointers.

Jenkins and Shafer finished with 13 points apiece.

Cashion got 10 each from Jenkins and Brook Shelly.

The Lady Wildcats were 4-2 in the conference after the loss and 11-9 overall.

Okarche finished its regular season with a 21-2 mark.

In the finale, Vandendriessche led the way with 15 points.

Jadyn Rother and Adyson Arms scored 10 apiece. Rother scored eight of hers in the first half while Arms had six in the fourth to help keep the Lady Wildcats from mounting a comeback.

Stover finished with nine points while Jalie Rother scored eight.

CHS boys take step closer to regular season title

Cashion saw four players hit double-digit scoring and forced two dozen turnovers all while keeping alive its quest for a Three Rivers Conference title.

The Wildcats downed visiting Okarche 63-49 Tuesday as part of a hectic end to its regular season.

The victory came one night after they beat rival Crescent 56-35 on the road and before they played Morrison, Dale and Watonga by next Tuesday.

Thanks to the wins over Crescent and Okarche, Cashion is now 6-0 in conference games.

At press time, Watonga was 5-0 with a game against Fairview on Friday before its showdown with Cashion this Tuesday, which should determine the conference’s regular season champion.

Cashion defeated Watonga in the finals of the conference tournament.

The Wildcats knocked off Okarche by three points in the semifinals of that tournament, but the most recent showdown didn’t go down to the wire.

Cashion was up by six after a quarter, then outscored Okarche 22-10 in the third.

The Warriors, playing for the first time in two full weeks, couldn’t mount a comeback.

They were partly undone by 24 turnovers, which Cashion turned into 22 points.

While Okarche shot 50 percent from two-point range, the Warriors were just 6 of 23 (26.1 percent) from beyond the arc and only 3 of 10 from the foul line.

Cashion went 11 of 16 from the charity stripe.

The Wildcats got a monster game from Landon LaGasse, who had 20 points, 13 rebounds and five steals.

Jonah Jenkins added 14 points and Austin Frazier 13.

Vance Raney scored 11 on 3 of 6 shooting from 3-point range. The senior guard also garnered five steals.

Brayden Stover was big for Okarche with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Warriors also got 10 points from Hunter Mueggenborg.

Okarche finished its regular season with a 16-7 overall record and a 4-2 mark in the conference.

Cashion was 15-5 overall.

The Wildcats had to crawl out of a 16-11 deficit against Crescent on Monday.

They used a 17-3 run in the second quarter and also closed out with a 14-6 burst.

Raney led the team with 14 points.

Jenkins added 13 while Frazier scored 10.