Pocola holds off Cashion at area

For the second time in three years and third time since 2020, the Cashion Lady Wildcats fought their way through the consolation bracket and found themselves just one win away from state.

It wasn’t the charm in 2025, however, as second- ranked Pocola held off Cashion 47-44 in Saturday’s 2A area consolation championship in Muskogee.

Two-sport superstar Allyssa Parker made two free throws with 13.7 seconds left to give her team the three-point lead.

Cashion freshman Kate Nabavi had her driving layup blocked on the other end and Cashion was unable to get off another shot as its season ended with a 20-11 record.

The Lady Wildcats got their 20th win Friday night as they downed Stratford 46-35 in the consolation semifinal.

Down 21-18 at the half, Cashion went on a 13-2 run in the third quarter, then held off the Lady Bulldogs in the fourth.

Cashion got 19 points out of senior post Megan Shafer while her younger sister Brooke Shafer added seven.

Pocola was upset 52-50 Friday by No. 6 Latta in the area championship game.

It was Latta that sent Cashion to the consolation bracket with a win in their regional title game.

The Lady Indians used a strong second quarter to lead 25-19 at the half, but Cashion came right back to outscore them 14-6 in the third.

Pocola led 38-36 less than halfway through the fourth before Brooke Shafer scored back-to-back buckets.

One came from a feed from her older sister and the other an assist from Abby Hobgood.

Her second bucket gave Cashion a two-point lead with 3:56 left.

Parker pulled her team within a point with a free throw with 2:48 to play, then Piper Warren’s bucket with 1:39 left gave Pocola a 41-40 lead. The Lady Indians wouldn’t lose it.

Megan Shafer was whistled for an offensive foul with 1:20 to go and Lety Parga pushed her team to a 43-40 lead with a pair of foul shots 20 seconds later.

Megan Shafer’s bucket with 40 seconds left made it a one-point game, but Parker quickly answered on the other end.

Nabavi got two free throws to drop with 15.2 seconds left and Cashion quickly fouled Parker, who has signed to play softball at the University of Oklahoma and has over 2,500 career points in basketball.

Parker made it a threepoint game, which proved to be the difference.

She led all scorers with 22 points.

Brooke Shafer scored 17 for the Lady Wildcats.

Megan Shafer scored 10 and Hobgood six.

Cashion also reached the area consolation finals in 2023 and 2020 and has been to the area tournament each year under Andrea Taylor.