Coach Toney Cooper’s Dragons went 3-0 at the Madill Tournament bringing home the championship trophy in grand style.

It was the second straight Madill Winter Classic title for Toney Cooper’s Dragons.

Led by Kenna Esparza’s 17 points, Purcell demolished first round foe Dickson, 71-27. Esparza finished with 46 points in the three games.

The only close contest was in the semifinals when Caddo put up a fight but still fell, 45-39.

The Bruins actually led at halftime, 22-20 but the Dragons, led by Ashlee McClung and Jenna Avery (both with nine) quickly came back in the third quarter to lead 34-32 heading into the fourth period before posting the six point victory.

The finale was a tale of two halves.

Madill won the first half 17-14 but Purcell cruised to a 47-24 second half advantage to easily win, 61-37.

Esparza paced the Dragons with 19 in the championship contest.

“We opened this tournament playing the team we defeated in the championship game last year,” Cooper said. “ Our girls came out focused and really wanted to control the pace of the game. I was not happy with our defensive performance in our first game and challenged the team to show more effort on that side of the ball.”

They did.

Purcell held Dickson to nine first half points and never let up.

Haven Buchanan finished with 11 points while Alyssa Thompson chipped in with nine off the bench.

“It was a great way to start the tournament as we were efficient offensively and aggressive defensively,” Cooper said.

Cooper said his club knew Caddo would be a challenge.

“They are extremely disciplined on offense. We jumped out on them in first quarter knocking down some three’s early but they made a run on in the second quarter and we found ourselves down two at the half.

“Defense was our emphasis again for this game and it proved to be the difference as we were able to hold them to single digits in the fourth quarter,” the coach said.

Hadleigh Harp added eight points and provided solid defense on their top scorer.

“We were not as efficient offensively this game, but did enough to secure the win. Big win for our team as Caddo is a really good team. The growth of our team from a year ago was on full display. The girls faced a lot of adversity during this game and to see them hang in there and rise to the occasion every time they made a run was refreshing to see as a coach,” Cooper said.

“Our goal before we left Purcell on Thursday was to repeat as champions of this tournament! We were one step away from our goal so the plan for Saturday was to simply finish what we started,” Cooper said.

The Dragons were sluggish in the first half.

“We missed so many easy baskets and had several breakdowns defensively. In the second half we came out focused and it showed from the first possession. Kenna Esparza had an incredible second half leading us in scoring, combined with several key steals and rebounds that helped open up the game for us.

Jenna Avery finished with nine points while holding one of their key players to a season low two points for the game.

“Ella Resendiz and Hadleigh Harp chipped in seven points each. Tinley Winters added six and grabbed rebounds both offensively and defensively that were key to helping us secure the win.

“Kenna Esparza repeated as Tournament MVP. Jenna Avery and Hadleigh Harp both were recognized as All-Tournament Team.

“I am super proud of our team start to finish. It is a great accomplishment to start our season.”

Coach Roger Raper’s Dragons finished third in the event after winning it last year.

The Dragons knocked off Sulphur in the opening round 58-42 with Kobe Freeman leading  the way offensively with 21 points. He was joined in double figures by Jaime Resendiz with 17 and Kylen DeFreeze with 12.

In the semifinals, Purcell came up on the short end of a 57-45 count to Madill. Freeman had 23 in that contest while DeFreeze finished with 15.

Freeman nailed six treys in the third place game with Caddo to singe the nylons for 32 points while DeFreeze finished in double digits with 10.

Purcell defeated the Bruins, 56-53.

For the tournament Freeman pumped in 76 points followed by DeFreeze with 37 and Jaime Resendiz with 22.

Freeman was named to the All Tournament Team.

Head coach Roger Raper said the tournament was good for his young squad.

“We need games to gain more experience. We had spurts on the offensive end where we were very good. The problem is being consistent on that end.

“We tend to get away from what is working and it takes too long to get settled back in.

“Defensively we kind of did the same thing. We played a great second half against Sulphur on both ends of the court and were able to take control of that game,” Raper said.

Madill’s postman Wilkerson poured in 24 points against the Dragons.

“Their big man had a nice game but it was the role players that set them up for a nice tournament championship,” the coach noted.

Raper said the Dragons’ game with Caddo was up and down.

“Kobe Freeman put on a shooting exposition hitting six threes and scoring 16 consecutive points in the third quarter,” Raper said.

Purcell second leading scorer is senior Kylen DeFreeze.

“He is becoming more and more confident with each game as is junior Brayden Tharp.

“We had some younger kids play good minutes as well,” Raper said of sophomore Ryder Ward, freshman Jahir Resendiz, sophomore Kyler Rangel, freshman Kyeston Martin and freshman Drew Blair.

“We are young but I really like this group and I believe we will continue to get better and better as we go forward,” the coach concluded.