Washington’s State championship at the Big House in Oklahoma City on Saturday was about as sweet as it gets.

Not only was it the last Class 3A girls basketball game to ever be played in the historic building, the win also avenged silver balls from the past two seasons for the Warriors.

They have been as dominant as any program in any class in the state the past three seasons and they punctuated the whole thing with a 73-37 dismantling of No. 3 ranked Sequoyah-Tahlequah in the finals.

Washington’s record the last three seasons sits at an eye-popping 82-7.

Third year head coach Kale Simon said it was good for his team to enjoy the fruits of their labor with a State title.

“Hard work doesn’t always guarantee winning but I was proud that our girls got to see the reaping of what they had sowed,” Simon said. “We have the satisfaction of knowing we maximized what God has given you.”

Roland

Washington opened the tournament with a 47-41 win against No. 9 Roland.

After opening up a lead early the Warriors found themselves in a dog fight and trailing 18-12 after the first quarter.

“We relaxed,” Simon said. “I tried to talk to them in the huddle about it during a time out and give them an analogy but they didn’t get it.”

The Warriors battled back and regained a four-point lead by halftime.

“We slowly chipped away and made some shots,” Simon said. “We caused a few turnovers and took better care of the ball ourselves.”

Breanna Lindert led all scorers with 16 points.

Preslee Johnson joined her in double figures with 15, as did Kelby Beller with 14 points.

Alva

The Warriors defeated the Goldbugs 64-46 in the semifinals, thanks to their signature smothering defense and full-court press.

“We really turned it up on defense in the semifinals and the finals,” Simon said. “Our full-court pressure gave Alva  a lot of fits. We were really aggressive and active and special on defense.”

The coach was especially happy with how his team transitioned from the full-court press into their half-court defense.

“We dictated their offenses and that was a big factor in all three games of the tournament,” Simon said.

Johnson poured in a game-high 24 points and sank six three pointers while doing so.

Johnson was on fire from behind the arc over the three games, making 15 of 28 shots from downtown.

Lindert played her dominating game and scored 18 points.

Beller was also in double figures with 10 points.

Sequoyah-Tahlequah

Washington laid the absolute smack down on Sequoyah-Tahlequah during their 73-37 win in the finals.

The Indians had to be shell-shocked as the Warriors turned them over 27 times.

A 22-5 opening quarter lead for Washington put them securely in the driver’s seat.

They poured it on more in the second quarter and led 48-16 at halftime.

There would be no relaxing in this game and the Warriors closed the game out with style.

Lindert’s 24 points was a game high.

Johnson scored 22, while going 6-10 from behind the arc.

“In order to win your last game your leaders and best players need to be leaders and best players,” Simon said. “We had a combination of Preslee shooting it really well and Breanna playing at an MVP level.

“Kelby Beller’s solid leadership and managing games was huge. Sequoyah full-court pressed all season but people didn’t notice it against us in the finals because of Kelby. She does so many things that don’t show up on the stat sheet that make us go.

“And Shelbie Caveness dominated in the finals,” Simon said. “Our two seniors were so dynamic and impressive in the finals to finish their careers. Those two ended their career dominating in their final game.”

Aside from scoring seven points, Caveness had seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Notes

The gold ball is the fourth in Washington’s storied program. Their other titles came 2003, 2004 and 2007 under Rocky Clarke.

Beller and Lindert were selected as Co-MVPs of the Canadian Valley Conference.

Johnson was selected to the first team and Caveness was a second team selection.

Washington will lose seniors Lindert and Caveness to graduation this year.