OKLAHOMA CITY — Bethany’s road to a third straight Class 4A state basketball title ended Wednesday (March 12) in a 58-47 loss to second-ranked Douglass at Jim Norick Arena.

“The last game of the season is hard to lose, no matter what level you are playing,” Bethany coach Eric Sailer said via text. “But to know you won’t be able to coach these senior girls anymore is tough!!! Kayten (Donley), Keziah (Lofton), (Lauren) Koonce, and Talia (Vann) have meant so much to our program over the years! They will be greatly missed!!!”

The eighth-ranked Lady Bronchos dealt with injury issues against the Trojettes. Sophomore Ali Linn had an ankle injury as did senior Kayten Donley. Fellow senior Keziah Lofton was dealing with conditioning issues after returning recently after missing the whole regular season with a leg injury.

“To do what we did against Douglass today, it was pretty impressive. I have ranked them #1 all season long,” Sailer said. “They are super athletic and physical. They get up and defend all night long.

“Camryn (Regier) got tackled against the goal by two girls. It was a rough game!!!” Sailer said. “But you have to play those games sometimes. We knew going into the game that game management was going to be huge. They have the ability to go on lightning quick runs. You have to be able to manage that. We also knew we did not need to get in a track meet with them either.”

Douglass (20-2) built a 32-21 lead by halftime.

“In the first half we did a good job of managing the game, until we got tired on a couple of defensive possessions and gave up a couple of 3s. That was huge for them,” Sailer said.

At halftime, Sailer said he talked ball control and making good passes, “getting the most out of every offensive possession.

“There is not an 11-point shot out there on the floor,” Sailer reminded his team. “We needed to chip away at the lead.”

Bethany got within seven points in the third quarter, but trailed by nine points going into the fourth.

The Lady Bronchos cut it to a six-point game and had opportunities to get closer, but Douglass pulled away for the win.

Donley had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Oral Roberts signee also had three assists and three blocked shots.

Lofton added 12 points and six rebounds. The Oklahoma signee struggled from the field, hitting 3-of-13. She hit 6-of-10 from the free throw line.

Regier added five points, four rebounds and three steals. The sophomore was 2-of-5 from the field

Senior Talia Vann made her return in Bethany’s final game. Vann left to play at Grind Prep after last season, but returned to the school last month. She had dealt with an eye issue, postponing her return to the floor.

Vann, who signed with Division I Stephen F. Austin, had five points. She was 2-of-4 from the field and grabbed three boards in 7:48 on the floor.

Koonce had four points in her final game, going 1-of-2 from the field.

As a team, Bethany struggled from the field, shooting 28 percent in the first half and 32 percent for the game. The Lady Bronchos also struggled from the 3-point line, hitting just 2-of-11.

Douglass also forced 17 turnovers. The Trojettes scored 16 points off those turnovers.

“I was proud of our fight!” Sailer said. “We were met with many obstacles this season and this game, we never backed down from the challenge,” Sailer said.

Photographs courtesy of Kristie Escoe of Life in Action Photography.

	1	2	3	4	F
Douglass (20-2)	11	21	12	14	58
Bethany (21-7)	9	12	14	12	47

2025 OKLAHOMA CLASS 4A BOYS
STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

WEDNESDAY, March 12, 2025 (At Jim Norick Arena)
Fort Gibson 60, Newcastle 34
Douglass 58, Bethany 47
Locust Grove 52, Kingfisher 39
Lincoln Christian 45, Madill 38

FRIDAY, March 14, 2025 (At Jim Norick Arena)
Lincoln Christian vs. Locust Grove 7:30 p.m.
Fort Gibson vs. Douglass, 9 p.m.

SATURDAY, March 15, 2025 (At Jim Norick Arena)
Championship Game, 9:15 p.m.