Purcell’s girls moved into the winner’s bracket of the Regional Tournament with a 10 point victory over No. 19 Ada last Friday night to claim a District Championship.

Led by Haven Buchanan’s 17 points, Purcell pinned a 66-56 loss on the Lady Cougars on their home court.

Up next will be the first round of the Regional Tournament at McLoud.

Purcell will tip off with  No. 17 McLoud at  6 p.m. tonight (Thursday).

A total of four Dragons finished in double figures in the contest last Friday night.

Tinley Winters, Hannah Whitaker and Lili Del Toro all had 10 points in the victory.

Winters had eight rebounds to go with her 10 points.

“Our girls were focused and knew we needed to play some of our best basketball to defeat this team on their home court,” head coach Toney Cooper said.

“We played great team defense and jumped out to a nice lead early in the game. Our offense was efficient.”

“Kenna Esparza , who added nine points, played solid defense against one of the best guards in our state,” Cooper continued. “ Hadleigh Harp devoted much of her defense towards her as well. It was a team effort that led to a team win. We got solid contributions from Halle Buchanan and Kaylee Peoples off our bench which helped us so much.”

Cooper called the matchup with McLoud a challenge especially since it is on their home court.

“It’s another tough opponent but our girls will be ready for the challenge,” Cooper said.

Coach Matt Lohn’s Dragons came up just short once again, dropping a heartbreaking loss to the Cougars, 51-49.

Purcell dug itself in a pretty deep hole in the first quarter, trailing the host Cougars, 14-5, but clawed their way back into the game only to come up short at the end.

Canaan Colburn’ 14 points led the Dragons scoring. He was joined in double figures by Drew Blair with 11.

“I cannot say enough about the fight in this group,” Lohn said. “We were dead in the water after one quarter, searching for offense.

It would have been very easy to quit, but this Purcell team doesn’t do that. In the second quarter we began to find some wrinkles and put the ball in the hole,” the coach said.

Lohn said his defense finally found some traction and that was big.

“What made the biggest difference after halftime was our adjustment to the physical nature of the game. The officials were letting us play and we only had one foul against us through two quarters,” he said.

“Credit my guys as they took the tough coaching, made the necessary adjustments and made a full commitment to playing one possession at a time and stacking good on good.”

The coach said unfortunately, the Dragons didn’t finish.

“We are not done yet. This group never is. I cannot wait to see how they respond Thursday at McLoud against McLoud at 2:30.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t finish,” Lohn said. “Ada deserves the credit as they found one more gear late and simply made plays. They took the game for themselves. It was heartbreaking to experience but I remain proud of these young men and how they represent themselves, each other and their community with their play,” Lohn said.