BARTLESVILLE LADY BRUINS EARN SPOT IN CLASS 6A BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
The Bartlesville Lady Bruins bench reacts during an earlier season game at Regent Prep in Owasso. The Lady Bruins are in the Class 6A state tournament and take on Mustang at noon on Wednesday in Norman.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports Report
Bartlesville High School’s Emma Zimmeran (5) drives the ball against Regent Prep in Owasso in an earlier season game. The Lady Bruins are in the Class 6A state tournament and take on Mustang at noon on Wednesday in Norman.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports Report
By Mike Tupa
March 9, 2026
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
There’s no shortage of incredible athletes who have worn the Bartlesville High School girls basketball uniform.
Only a handful can boast of propelling the team all the way to the state tournament—namely, the 1991-92, 2017-18, and now the 2025-26 crew.
Let’s be honest: while few outsiders expected this year’s Lady Bruins to receive a corsage to the Big Dance, the team itself may have known they were destined for the floor
This is a program that stumbled to records of 3-15, 4-20, and 7-16 during three of the previous five seasons and took double-digit losses to Broken Arrow, Muskogee, Jenks, Putnam City North, and even Life Prep Academy earlier this year.
But head coach Justyn Shaw kept honing the girls, kept refining the rotation and — more importantly — kept them believing in themselves.
Even so, their prospects of a deep playoff run seemed about as promising as a rose bush in December.
But now it’s the Lady Bruins who are coming off smelling as sweet as a Christmas blossom.
On Saturday, Bartlesville (16-10) knocked off Broken Arrow, 54-48, to earn the program’s first state spot since 2018. The tournament runs Wednesday through Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. The Lady Bruins open play against Mustang (22-6) at noon Wednesday.
Sami Sheaffer dialed in 27 points to pace Bartlesville’s fiery effort last Saturday, which saw Bartlesville squander most of a 21-point lead but hold on for the win.
Kenzie Denny’s defensive rebound with eight seconds sealed one of Bartlesville’s most significant-ever girls basketball wins.
It had been a feisty battle in the first half. Bartlesville took a solid lead early, 18-10, on Emma Zimmerman’s trey.
Cadence Gray’s defensive rebound helped hold off a Broken Arrow rally going into halftime.
Thanks to eight points by Denny, Bartlesville owned a 25-18 halftime lead.
Sheaffer dominated the third quarter. Not only did she score 15 points, but she absorbed a charge and made the free throw for a double-digit lead, 31-20.
Shaylyn Ishem also heated up offensively in the second half. Her two free throws increased Bartlesville’s lead to 44-24.
The Lady Bruins would lead by 21, 50-29, before Broken Arrow’s final gritty push.
But Bartlesville held on.
In addition to the girls mentioned, Addison Jones also played a key role.
With two other great showings, they could play for the school’s first girls’ basketball state title.
What a season.
Bartlesville High School’s Cadence Gray (11) passes the ball during an earlier season game at Regent Prep in Owasso. The Lady Bruins are in the Class 6A state tournament and take on Mustang at noon on Wednesday in Norman.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports Report