BETHANY – The top-ranked Lady Bronchos won another Class 4A regional title Saturday night (Feb. 24) when the shots weren’t always falling against a tough opponent, beating Purcell, 78-45, in the Class 4A Area II regional.

Bethany (22-4) turned the night into a rout thanks to some early defense and a reliable contributor, Kayten Donley.

The junior responded with 31 points, propelling the Lady Bronchos to the win and Donley past the 1,000-point mark in her career.

“Kayten’s that player that does everything for us,” Bethany coach Eric Sailor said. “Night in, night out, she defends the best player on the floor, guard, post. She’s that girl that we like to feed the ball at the high post area because she has great vision and she knows when to dish it. She knows when to go attack the glass.”

Donley also scored a put-back basket just before the buzzer at the end of the third quarter, extending Bethany’s lead to 65-40.

Sailor admits her thought Donley might not reach the mark during this game because of the way game played out.

“She went and got it,” Sailer said. “I think that was special for her to do it here, on our home court.”

The Lady Broncho exploded after Donley’s shot for the milestone.

“It was so much fun,” Donley said. “I can’t thank my teammates enough for allowing me to get there.”

Donley remembers when the Bethany program wasn’t very good, not posting a winning record from the 2015-2016 to the 2020-2021 season.

“Seeing (the program) rise and us getting better as a team every day is fun,” Donley said.

Bethany (22-4) was still able to separate from a scrappy Purcell squad in the first quarter, outscoring the Lady Dragons 23-9. One reason was the Bethany defense in the backcourt, forcing Purcell turnovers and easy buckets.

Purcell responded in the second quarter and trailed Bethany 43-29. The Lady Dragons hit seven 3-pointers in the contest.

“(Purcell) play(s) hard and we were impressed,” Sailer said. but he saw something in his squad at halftime. “They wanted to prove that we were better than they were.”

The Lady Bronchos kept Purcell guessing defensively to pull away en route to the big win.

After Donley, junior Keziah Lofton scored 20 points with two treys. Senior Zya Vann, who struggled at times shooting-wise, added 11 points.

Sailer said he was pleased that Vann “kept her head up” despite the tough shooting night.

“She missed a lot in the first, but then, at the end of the first half was able to hit that big bucket. I think that really changed the momentum for her in the game,” Sailer said.

BONUS SENIOR NIGHT
After Bethany captured the title, senior Avery Marchino accepted the championship hardware on behalf of the team from her father, vice principal Chad Marchino.

The rest of the playoffs will be at neutral sites, meaning the game was the final one at home for the four seniors: Zya Vann, Marchino, Lucy McClure and Ava Dorris. Marchino finished the night with eight points, draining a 3-pointer.

UP NEXT: The Lady Bronchos are one win away from another state title berth and defending their title. They will meet Stilwell Friday (March 1) at at the Mvskoke Dome in Okmulgee. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.

The fifth-ranked Lady Indians are 21-5, winning their regional with a 45-44 win over Wagoner Friday (Feb. 24).

“They’re good, they’re big, they’re fast, they’re strong,” Sailer said of his next opponent. “It’ll be a good challenge.”

TEAM	1	2	3	4	F
Purcell	9	20	11	5	45
Bethany	23	20	22	13	78