Cashion proves it’s too much for Howe
Cashion coach Totsy Manning didn’t want to change her defensive philosophy too much.
But with Howe sharpshooter Jalei Oglesby on the other side, Manning and the Wildcats had to account for the threat.
Oglesby did her damage, but Cashion countered strong, with three players scoring in doublefigures on the way to a 66-48 win in the Class 2A girls state semifinals Friday at State Fair Arena.
“We didn’t want her to touch the ball a lot,” Cashion senior Presley Payahsape said of Oglesby. “She’s a great player, so obviously, she got her points up. I gotta give it to her. We guarded her pretty well, and she still did really good.”
Oglesby, a 5-foot-7 guard, finished with 28 points, but needed 34 shots to do it.
On the other side, Cashion shot 53.7 percent from the floor, with Sydney Manning scoring 20, Payahsape with 19 and Talli Robison adding 16 to send Cashion into the state championship game.
“We have six seniors and a lot of great leadership,” Totsy Manning said. “We played composed and mature from the very beginning of the game. I think they just really wanted to be playing on championship Saturday.”
Sydney and Totsy Manning have played in state championship games before, but those were at the big-school level at Deer Creek, before making the move to Cashion this season. Sydney says the Big House is a different experience.
“I had never played in this atmosphere before,” she said. “It’s something special. They’ve been telling me about it. You get a little bit different feeling when you win by 20 points in a semifinal, and I think that’s really gonna help us tomorrow.”
Cashion will face undefeated defending champion Christian Heritage at 12:15 p.m. Saturday for the 2A title.