Shot 'Heard' 'Round Sapulpa: Game-winning basket from senior standout lifts Lady Chieftains to 5A title
By Christian Potts | Photos/Video by Michael Kinney
NORMAN - Stailee Heard simply would not be denied.
The Sapulpa senior capped off a stellar high school career with the go-ahead basket in the closing seconds, winning the Class 5A state championship game, 75-74, against Tulsa Holland Hall at the University of Oklahoma's Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday.
Heard played a state championship game for the ages, scoring 41 points and pulling down eight rebounds, while making seemingly every big play her team needed.
The biggest came at the end.
Down 74-71 in the final minute, Sapulpa had missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer, but freshman Riki McQuarters rebounded, scored and was fouled with 12 seconds to go. She missed the tying free throw attempt, but Heard was there with the rebound.
Sapulpa then called time out with 8.2 seconds to go to set up the final play.
Heard caught Mataya Hall's inbounds pass, drove to her left on two dribbles into the lane and the ball only left her hands to go toward the rim. The eight-foot shot bounced on the front rim and, seemingly willed by the senior and the boisterous Lady Chieftain fans, climbed over the rim for the winning one-point margin.
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"We were going to use Stailee as a decoy, and get the ball inside to our freshman (McQuarters) to get the layup or get to the free-throw line," Sapulpa coach Darlean Calip said. "But she was covered, so Stailee just went and made a play."
Holland Hall was sensational in defeat, leading much of the game in its bid for a first OSSAA state championship in girls basketball. And leading the way was senior guard Elise Hill, a University of Tulsa signee, who lit up the scoreboard for 36 points of her own.
"What a great basketball game for our program and Holland Hall's," Calip said. "I have so much respect for their coaching staff and their players.
"A lot of these guys played with them when they were younger. It was just a great high school game."
Hill had 24 of her points in the first half as Holland Hall knocked down 10-of-15 3-point shots, making 67 percent overall from the field and building a 42-34 halftime edge in a game the Lady Dutch led most of the way.
"We weren't staying to our game plan," Calip said. "They got up too many 3's, and they were 10-for-15 from the 3-point line at halftime, and we knew they couldn't sustain that but we still needed to do a good job of defending that.
"I just challenged our team and said if you guys want to win, you've got to stop the three-ball. The good thing about it is, we're only down by eight points, and if you want it, you've got to go fight for it."
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The biggest part of that assignment fell directly to Heard, who took over the matchup on Hill to start the third quarter. Hill barely managed to even get off a shot and scored only one basket, a layup as the buzzer sounded, giving Holland Hall a 56-53 lead entering the fourth.
"I believe I can stop her," Heard said. "I came out working hard and face-guarding her, and she told me, 'Why are you face-guarding me?'
"We've been playing against each other since second or third grade, and I really respect her a lot. I enjoy playing against players like that."
The teams traded huge buckets throughout the game in an offensive showcase. Sapulpa shot 56 percent from the field and Holland Hall made 51 percent.
When it wasn't Hill or Heard, it was Holland Hall's Sophia Regalado, Ava Casper or Kalayia Johnson, or the Lady Chieftains' Taylor Bilby or Tyla Heard, Stailee's younger sister, who played a strong game in her own right, finishing with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
"It's the biggest game of the year; I just knew I needed to step up and do what I had to do to get out there and perform," Tyla Heard said. "It's everything that we've been working for."
This marks Sapulpa's sixth state championship, adding to titles in 1979, 1980, 1998, 2007 and under Calip in 2021, when the Lady Chieftains defeated Tahlequah, 58-49.
"But that last state championship, we led the whole game, so we were never in a panic," Calip said. "But this one we had to fight for, and to win it on a last-second shot, that definitely makes it pretty special."
Holland Hall hasn't been a member of the OSSAA for long, having played for many years in the Southwest Preparatory Conference for private schools in this part of the country.
In an unusual move, the OSSAA had moved Holland Hall up from Class 4A to 5A in early January, completely changing the school's path. But the Dutch adjusted to find their way all the way to the season's final game and came as close as could be imagined to winning it.
Hill's final game was sensational, as she added nine rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks to her 36-point effort. Regalado scored 18 in her final game, while Casper and Johnson gave the Dutch strong minutes off the bench, scoring 10 and six, respectively.
The lead at the end was Sapulpa's only lead of the second half.
The game wraps up this stage of Stailee Heard's basketball career, as she will next be headed to join Oklahoma State's program.
"I told her after, what a way to go out," Calip said. "Senior year, last-second shot, she makes the winning basket. It really puts an exclamation point on her career, her season and what she's been for us for the last four years."
"I know now I have to raise the standard going into OSU; just have to get bigger and better and stronger," Heard said.
Class 5A girls champion Sapulpa
The chapter ahead will be different for Calip and the Lady Chieftains, who for the first time in four years will have to move forward without Stailee Heard leading the way. It's also a change for Tyla being on the high school floor for the first time without her older sister.
"It's definitely going to be different, because I've known these girls since they were 4 and 5 years old," Calip said. "We're super excited about Stailee going to Oklahoma State, she's going to do special things there.
"And then Tyla is going to step in, and her role is going to change for us, she's going to be a leader for us. It's going to be an adjustment for everybody, but we're excited about the opportunity."
