The Oklahoma high school basketball Class 5A girls state tournament started Monday at State Fair Arena . Here's a look at what happened in the quarterfinals.

Carl Albert senior Evi Mitchell shoved Jordyn Richardson, sending a jolt of energy through her teammate’s body.

Richardson, a 5-foot-9 freshman, was making her state tournament debut and she was on fire in a stretch of six straight points. But she also looked to be on another planet as she approached the free-throw line looking to complete a three-point play.

A shock to her system brought her back to reality.

“It got me more excited and got my energy up,” Richardson said.

Not that she needed more energy.

Richardson scored 23 points off the bench to lead the Titans to a 49-38 victory over Tulsa Kelley in the Class 5A state quarterfinals Monday at State Fair Arena, living up to the moment when needed most.

“It’s not too big for you,” Carl Albert coach Kyle Richey told his freshman before the game.

Carl Albert (28-1) will play Tulsa Booker T. Washington at 1 p.m. Thursday at Yukon High School in the semifinals at Yukon High School.

It’s the Titans’ second semifinal appearance in three seasons.

Tulsa Kelley (20-9) made its first appearance in the state tournament since 2009, when it also lost to Carl Albert. This time, Tulsa Kelley committed 19 turnovers.

Eight of those came in the second quarter. Carl Albert held Tulsa Kelley to just five points in the period and looked to be on cruise control with a 27-14 halftime lead.

But the third quarter was different.

The Titans did not score for nearly five minutes and Tulsa Kelley cut the deficit to two.

Richardson then made two free throws with 1:50 left in the period. Audrey Plunkett followed with five of her seven total points to end the quarter. Carl Albert led 37-28.

“We kind of got off script to start the third doing things that we hadn’t done before,” Richey said. “This team can take a chewing, too. We got back to what we do.”

Tulsa Kelley still fought back to open the fourth, getting back within five.

Then Richardson went to work.

She made a basket. She completed the three-point play with 5:24 left. Then she made a layup.

“It was her night,” Richey said. “We’ve had, like, six different leading scorers this year. Any night can be somebody else’s night.

“So, she played great. She played a really, really good game.”

Lilly Thomas always wanted to play in The Big House.

A junior, she plays for El Reno, a regular at the state tournament and the defending champion in Class 5A.

But Monday marked her and her teammates’ first game in State Fair Arena.

“It’s amazing,” Thomas said. “I’m finally blessed to be in here. It has a lot of history. All of my family has been in here and now I’m in here. I’m going for the gold.”

Thomas helped El Reno get a step closer to that goal.

She scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half as El Reno beat Durant 42-25 in the Class 5A quarterfinals.

El Reno was held to just four points in the second quarter and led 17-13 at halftime.

Following a tight third quarter, El Reno (23-4) pulled away in the fourth as it outscored Durant (19-8) by 12.

“We had a game plan coming in,” El Reno coach Jennifer Douglas said. “We knew exactly what kind of defense they were gonna do. They were gonna try to slow us down because we like to push the ball, and we like to have a lot of possessions, so we knew that we were gonna have to work the ball and get a great shot.”

Thomas, Raegan Bugaj and Emmary Elizondo each played key roles in the win.

Bugaj had 14 points and six assists, while Elizondo had eight points.

Thomas led the team with eight rebounds and showed off her versatility.

“She has skills like a guard, but she can be like a post and so that’s what’s amazing,” Douglas said. “She can pass, she can shoot, she can do it all. She’s special. She’s very, very skilled.”

Durant made the state tournament for the first time since 2009 and just months after its coach, Will Robinson , and one of his daughters died in a car accident . Robinson's father, Tony, filled in as coach for the Lions, who were on Monday led by Abrianna Freeman and Iyana Wilson with nine and eight points, respectively.

Meanwhile, El Reno went undefeated last season as the Indians claimed their first girls basketball title.

Their winning streak ended when they lost to Yukon 52-48 at Shawnee’s tournament on Jan. 24.

“I personally have not felt any pressure,” Douglas said. “I know some of our girls had felt pressure just to keep that streak going. But I also think that sometimes we outlook ourselves. Like we think that we’re better than we are. And so sometimes I think that we have to bring ourselves back down.”

There have been rough points in the season, and there were rough points Monday.

Thomas was proud was how her team responded.

“We stuck together even though we faced adversity,” Thomas said. “Things weren’t hitting, so we changed up little things. We kept going at it.”

Coweta coach Jade Allison has a simple title for senior Emersyn Eischen.

“She’s our team mom,” Allison said.

In other words, the leader on and off the court. The builder of the team culture.

That’s what made Monday even more special.

Eischen carried Coweta on the court to its second straight Class 5A state semifinal, scoring 12 points and grabbing eight rebounds in a 50-28 rout of Classen SAS at State Fair Arena.

“I’m in this moment for a reason,” Eischen said, “and I’m here with these girls for a reason. I just try to smile and enjoy it and be grateful for it.”

Coweta (25-1) will play El Reno at 3 p.m. Thursday at Yukon High School in a rematch of last season’s state semifinals. Coweta is seeking a trip to the state title game for the first time since 2008.

This time, experience is paying off.

A year ago, Coweta beat Tulsa Rogers in overtime before falling to El Reno, the eventual state champion.

“Last year, people didn’t really think that we were going to make it at all, so to do it two times in a row, we’ve bought into everything we wanted to as a team,” Eischen said. “Doing it two times in a row really shows that we’re doing it the right way.”

Coweta remained patient when Classen SAS surprisingly mixed up its strategy. There was no run-and-gun offense. It was slow, methodical and a borderline delay against Coweta’s zone defense.

Sometimes a minute came off the clock until coach Rickey E. Vick II told his team to execute the play. Allison called a timeout early to make sure her team remained steady with the change.

Eventually, Coweta pulled away.

Five-foot-6 sophomore Gia Dennis led Coweta with 18 points, making 8 of 10 shots. Eischen made 5 of 8 shots and grabbed eight rebounds.

Coweta shot 46.2% overall, while Classen SAS (17-8) shot just 25.6%.

That allowed Coweta to enjoy the rare trip to State Fair Arena more.

Allison played in The Big House at Sequoyah Tahlequah for her father Larry Grigg. She also coached once with Wagoner. Monday was her first win as a coach.

“I’m ecstatic to be playing at The Big House,” Allison said. “I grew up in small-school basketball, this is a thing for me. I know The Big House isn’t the prettiest but it holds a special place in my heart.”

Marcayla Johnson didn’t truly get going early against Del City.

But once the Tulsa Booker T. Washington star settled into a groove, Del City had no answer for the Baylor signee.

‘They got in my head a little bit in the first half, but I had to remind them who I am as a person, why I’m here and why I think I’m one of the best in the country,” Johnson said.

Johnson finished with 30 points, including 20 in the second half, as she led Tulsa Booker T. Washington to a 61-45 victory in the Class 5A quarterfinals Monday at State Fair Arena.

Listed at 6-foot, Johnson was smooth and made the game look effortless. She was also efficient, hitting 11 of 14 shots from the field and 5 of 6 attempts from behind the arc.

She led the team offensively, while Tierra Owens added 14 points and Kennedy Glenn had five.

“I think we played really well as a team,” said Johnson, who had nine rebounds and three blocks.

“I think there’s obviously things that we have to work on, but that’s any team. We will learn from our mistakes, but we also had a big win today, so I’m so proud of our girls, so proud of our team. I think all of us individually played really, really hard.”

Tulsa Booker T. Washington (27-2) led 29-23 at halftime.

With Johnson knocking down shots, the Hornets pulled away after the break to negate a great game by Shelby Thornton, who had 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals for Del City (22-7).

“Our nerves were bothering us at first,” Tulsa Booker T. Washington coach Carlin Adkism said. “Just getting the jitters out at the beginning of the game. I feel like we settled down, and we started playing some basketball. …

“I think the second half we picked it up on the defensive end and created some turnovers, got some stops.”

This is the second straight Tulsa Booker T. Washington has clinched a spot in the semifinals.

The Hornets’ 2024 season ended with a 60-51 loss against Sapulpa in the semifinals.