Alva Review-Courier -

ALVA, Okla. – It was a packed restaurant on Tuesday for the weekly Quarterback Club meeting and lunch that gave the Alva High School and Northwestern Oklahoma State basketball coaches a chance to address supporters.

In attendance were Goldbugs coach Shane Feely, Ladybugs coach Dusty Horn, Rangers leader Shawn Dirden and Lady Rangers head coach Tasha Diesselhorst. Athletic supporters also had a chance to visit with seniors from the Alva boys and girls teams.

Feely on the Goldbugs

Entering the weekend, the Goldbugs were sliding on a seven-game losing streak. However, they got just what the doctor ordered in a matchup against Newkirk to open regional play.

“We really wanted to get off to a good start and gain some confidence shooting the basketball, and we were able to that, so we felt pretty good about ourselves,” said Feely.

The Bugs had no reason not to feel good about themselves as they dropped their highest scoring total of the season in the 82-53 blowout over the Tigers.

The win advanced the Bugs to a rematch against Oklahoma Christian School on Saturday. In the Cashion Tournament earlier in the season, the Saints got the best of the Bugs with a 79-46 win. The Bugs were able to get revenge on Saturday, winning 62-49.

“We played very well and we shot well. We took care of the ball, we defended and blocked out, and got a lot of contributions from a lot of kids.”

The OCS win set up a third showdown this season against Perry.

“It was a little bit of a trap game, but we came out and got a great start.” The Bugs used a big first quarter lead, including a 11-0 start to the game, to knock off the Maroons, 60-52, for a berth in the area tournament.

Horn on the Ladybugs

The Ladybugs found their way into the area tournament as well with three straight wins over Hennessey, OCS and Chisholm at the regional tournament over the weekend.

Alva started regional play with a 53-35 win over Hennessey. “We played really well. It was a good opening game win of the regional tournament for us,” mentioned Horn.

Horn was pleased with the 46-32 win in the game against OCS to set up the regional consolation championship with Chisholm. “It was a game we had been looking forward to since the district game.”

“We played well and got going early scoring the basketball, but unfortunately defensively we were giving up some good looks to them as well. We fell apart offensively in the second quarter, but made a few adjustments at halftime.”

“We came out with a good win. I’m proud of the girls and it was good week for us.”

Dirden on the Rangers

Northwestern men’s basketball closed regular season play over the weekend on a nine-game winning streak following wins at East Central and Southeastern.

“I was happy to tell the guys, winning is a habit and losing is a habit. We are developing and strengthening our habit of winning,” addressed Dirden.

In very important games that decided the two through four spots in the Great American Conference tournament, the Rangers never backed down in two tight games as they beat East Central, 67-66, and SOSU, 77-74.

Because of the winter storm that hit Oklahoma last week, the Northwestern basketball schedule was altered, forcing back-to-back contests. “We did some great things in two tough environments to play in,” said Dirden. “We went into a situation where we played back-to-back, which sets you up for tournament play a little bit.”

Diesselhorst Recaps Season

After a 76-71 win against East Central last Friday night, and with the help from Ouchita Baptist on Saturday, the Lady Rangers had a “win and in” situation arise. If they Lady Rangers beat SOSU in the final regular season game on Saturday, they would receive a spot in the GAC tournament.

Unfortunately, the Lady Rangers dropped the final game to SOSU, 70-53, to end the season. “We fell short of a post season goal of making the conference tournament, finishing eighth and losing out on a tie-breaker,” said Diesselhorst.

“We finished with the best record since 2011, so we feel like our program is headed in the right direction.”

The Lady Rangers finished with a 12-16 overall record, as many wins has the program had in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons combined, and 8-14 in the conference. It is the best record for the Northwestern women in the NCAA Div. II era.

“Of course, we are disappointed how it ended and would have liked to make the tournament, but we are trusting the process with as many young kids as we have and returning everyone next season. We are really excited about the future.”