Senior Karli Okuley set a career high with 22 points as the Tinora Lady Rams captured their first Sectional Finals win since 2011 with a 42-39 thrilling win over the visiting Delta Panthers. Tinora will play Genoa at Anthony Wayne High School on Thursday at 6 pm.

Having not played in 10 days, and missing the top member from their bench, the Tinora Lady Rams came out a bit out of rhythm initially in the first quarter. The Delta Panthers would lead most of the quarter and come away with a 12-11 lead. The Panthers Kate Friess came out shooting hot, bucketing 10 first quarter points.

The second quarter saw the Panthers grab a 15-11 lead midway through the quarter. Tinora’s Karli Okuley would finally give the Lady Rams the lead, 17-15, on a three pointer with 3:05 remaining in the half. Delta would retake the lead 18-17 on a Katie Friess shot with just under 60 seconds in the quarter.

Tinora would take a 19-18 lead to the half on a Karli Okuley circus shot right before the halftime buzzer.

K. Okuley would lead Tinora with seven points at the intermission, while Delta was led by Friess and her 10.

Starting the second half, Kendall Sprow’s followup bucket gave Delta a 20-19 lead with just under 6 minutes on the third quarter clock.

With the Tinora leading scorers, Nova Okuley and Eowyn Blanchard being blanketed throughout, point guard Karli Okuley had to step up and step up she did in the second half. Okuley’s bucket midway through the third stanza gave Tinora the lead back, 23-20.

Sprow’s three from the left corner and right block bucket gave Delta a 28-23 with 2:05 on the clock in the third. Tinora would rally to end the quarter as Nova Okuley would hit two free throws, followed by an Addison Lee free thrown and two free throws from Karli Okuley. The game would be tied at 28-28 at the end of the third.

Eowyn Blanchard would hit a right wing three with 5:50 on the fourth quarter clock to give the Lady Rams a 31-28 advantage. A runner in the lane by Karli Okuley extended the Lady Rams lead to 33-28. After a Delta Timeout, Tinora continued to extend the lead to 38-28 as the Lady Rams started the final quarter with a 10-0 run.

The Panthers would slowly chip away at the Tinora lead over the next four minutes. Kednall Sprow would start the rally with a steal and score, closing the gap to 38-30 with just under three minutes on the clock. Sprow would knock down another jumper on the next Panthers possession, cutting the Lady Rams lead to just six with 2:05 on the clock.

Kate Friess’s layup cut the Tinora lead even more, to 39-36 with 1:10 on the clock. With just 53 seconds remaining, Sprow’s steal and score trimmed the lead to 39-38. The Panthers were on an 8-1 run to get back in the game.

After a Tinora timeout, and several fouls later, Karli Okuley would split two separate trips to the line, giving the Lady Rams a 41-38 advantage with 27 seconds remaining. Delta’s Friez would split two free throws with 19 seconds on the clock, Tinora led 41-39.

After a Karli Okuley free throw, Delta would have a final chance at a tie with 10 seconds on the clock. A deep three did not fall, and on the Delta rebound and pass out, Karli Okuley came up with a steal, clinching the Tinora victory, 42-39.

Tinora was 11-22 from the line, while Delta was 4-9. K Okuley would grab nibe rebounds for Tinora.

Another fantastic team win for Coach Thiel and the Lady Rams!

DELTA 12-6-10-11=39
TINORA 11-8-9-14=42

Delta scoring: Todd 3, Friess 17, Sprow 19

Tinora scoring: Lee 6, K Okuley 22, Blanchard 5, Durfey 4, N Okuley 5.

Rebounds, Delta 21, Tinora 40
Turnovers Delta 11, Tinora 17
Delta 15-45 FG
Tinora 13-40 FG

The Higbea Embroidery Player of the Game went to Karli Okuley. An incredible game by Karli!!

Game pics below:

Below pics courtesy Rams AD Jake Essig.

Watch back below: