YUKON – Mya Alston and the Mustang Broncos have been thinking about their crosstown rivals for quite some time, wondering if they would meet for the 2023-24 edition of Bedlam.
25 games later – a full regular season and one playoff game – Alston and her teammates finally got their wish.
“We needed that revenge game,” the sophomore guard said. “We made sure that if we got it, we were going to be ready.”
The Broncos (19-6) defeated the Milerettes 48-42 on Friday, clinching the 6A regional championship and a spot in the Area Tournament this week. Alston scored a game-high 21 points, helping lead Mustang through a physical, back-and-forth battle at YHS.
Yukon (19-7) knocked the Broncos out of the Area Tournament last year, ending their season. Alston carried a chip on her shoulder after feeling partly to blame for the loss.
“This felt amazing because at the end of the game last year, I missed a layup that could have tied it,” she said. “I felt like the game was my fault. Of course, it wasn’t, and I know that happens, but I really felt that way for a while.
“I wanted to come back here and get our seniors one last win against them.”
Mya Alston (So.) drives to the basket during Mustang’s 48-42 win over the Yukon Millerettes on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, at Yukon High School. Alston finished with a game-high 21 points to help lead the Broncos to the regional championship clinching victory. (Photo by Trey Hunter)
Mustang fell behind early, surrendering a 13-10 lead through eight minutes. The Broncos turned the ball over nine times early in the game. However, a 7-1 run to start the second quarter helped coach Katie Smith’s settle in.
“Early in the game the atmosphere was so crazy,” Smith said. “I was worried it would speed us up, and it did defensively. But this is a spiritual team. We pretty much said that God planned for everything to happen in this moment. And to see it unfold on the court was pretty exciting.”
The Broncos entered halftime with a 26-25 lead before using another 7-1 run to break free in the third. Christal Long (Jr.) helped spark the team’s second-half output, grabbing five boards, including four on the offensive end, and scoring two points in the period.
Long finished with eight points and a game-high 13 rebounds. She also blocked two shots and dished out one assist.
“We talked about not rebounding at halftime and when I said that Christal listened,” Smith said. “That’s something we’re really good at along with finishing at the rim. We didn’t do either very well until the second half.”
Mustang held the Milerettes to eight points over the final eight minutes to secure the win. Alston scored four points down the stretch while senior Parker Simonsen and Long each added a bucket.
“I was really proud of the way we handled adversity,” Smith said. “We dealt with foul trouble early in the game, let the atmosphere kind of get to us early, the refs letting us play…
“I thought we did great fighting through that. And now we know what to expect as far as atmosphere the rest of the way.”
Christal Long (Jr.) goes up for a layup after grabbing an offensive rebound during Mustang’s 48-42 win over the Yukon Milerettes on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, at Yukon High School. Long finished with eight points and a game-high 13 rebounds in the win. (Photo by Trey Hunter)
Cherish Haywood (Jr.) also played well, scoring 13 points to go with seven rebounds and a game-high four assists. Simonsen scored four points while Kamryn Bass (Sr.) scored two.
The team’s reward for winning a regional title? A matchup against the two-time defending state champion Edmond North Huskies (23-1) for a ticket to the 6A State Tournament.
“We’re confident we can win,” Alston said. The Huskies have won all three meetings this season, including the championship game of the Bank 7 Mustang Holiday Classic in December.
“We’re not just thinking we’re going to lose – we’re ready to go and win. I’m confident in my teammates and our coaches. It’s going to take a team effort because we know they’re a really good team, but if we play how I know we can, we can win.”
The Broncos and Huskies square off on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Shawnee High School. You can watch the game live at www.MHSBroncoSports.TV with play-by-play announcer Ryan Booth on the call.
