Purcell’s girls head into the winner’s bracket of the Regional Tournament after drubbing Harding Charter for the District Championship, 97-13.

Head coach Toney Cooper swept the bench with all 10 Dragons getting into the scoring act, led by Halle Buchanan’s 21 points.

Joining her in double figures were Lili Del Toro with 19 and Kaylin Vazquez with 13.

Purcell jumped out to a 25-zip first quarter lead and never looked back.

“It is always special to host a playoff opener,” Cooper said. “Our girls were excited and took advantage of the opportunity. Harding is such a young team so we wanted to demonstrate we were the better team.

“Our girls played even better defensively. It was good to see them enjoying the moment and earning our fourth straight District Championship,” the coach said.

Purcell was 12-14 heading into the Regional Tournament where they began with Harrah at home last Tuesday night.

“It gets much tougher with our next game hosting No. 9 Harrah. They have enjoyed an incredible season. They are guard heavy and they can shoot the ball,” Cooper concluded.

Coach Matt Lohn’s Dragons capped off a perfect 12-0 run through the Canadian Valley Conference defeating Lindsay for the second time this season, 60-53 February 17.

“It was the cherry on top of what has been a tremendous regular season. 18-7 and 12-0 in conference is impressive and these seniors deserve a lot of credit for the culture they have facilitated in our locker room, as well as the standard of play they have set for our team,” the coach said.

However, the Dragons came up just short in the District Tournament finals against Harding Charter, 38-36.

“We missed all three of our free throws in the final quarter,” Lohn said. “It was a defensive battle for four quarters. They did a great job of limiting our offensive opportunities with the switch, and I thought we guarded them well on the perimeter, limiting the play making ability of their guards. I knew it would come down to who could make the most correct decisions and they did at the end.”

Jaime Resendiz led all scorers with 18 points in the contest.

“We missed a help assignment after taking our first lead,” Lohn said. “We could never gain control, and unfortunately, we put them on the free throw line with 1.8 left in a tie ball game. To play that hard and have it end that way was tough to swallow.

“I have confidence in these kids, and I know they’re not done. They will bring the fight throughout the regional tournament and beyond.”

Drew Blair was on fire in the Lindsay contest draining five treys and led all scorers with 18 points.

“This game ended up having a lot of meaning to it even though we already had the conference championship wrapped up,” Lohn continued. “We put their first loss on them in January, so we knew they had plans to put a blemish on our undefeated conference record. It was also senior night, so we wanted to be sure to give all of our seniors a chance in the spotlight. Shiv Patel, Owen Milner, Alex Rojo, Kyler Rangel and Deaken Dobbins drew the start.

Patel got a steal on Lindsay’s first possession and after a Milner charity toss, Lohn started getting the regulars into the contest.

“That steal gave us some good energy early,” Lohn said.

Once he inserted Maddox and Ryder Ward, Canaan Colburn and Jaime Resendiz, the fight was on from there, Lohn said.

“Both teams battled like the two best teams in the conference but we got the best of them in the second quarter behind some quality defense and good shooting,” the coach said.

The Dragons take an 18-8 record into the Regional Tournament when they host Harrah tonight (Thursday) at 7:30 p.m.