The Destiny Christian Lady Wildcats (18-6) won their second straight state title the hard way last week.

The ladies survived two consecutive must win situations by staging second half comebacks against Liberty Lady Eagles and Providence Lady Patriots to take the Oklahoma Christian Schools Athletic Association 3A state title.

It’s never easy for this Lady Wildcats squad but that’s why they are the “Cardiac Cats” with their signature heart pounding come from behind victories.

Destiny Christian had hit a setback in the double elimination tourney with a loss last Tuesday to Providence in Tulsa but they returned to Tulsa last Thursday for the chance to avenge the loss in the state title game.

The Lady Cats had Liberty right where they wanted them early down 16-5 in a first quarter where no shots were falling. Destiny Christian shot 1-7 from the field and 1-4 from beyond the arc in the quarter.

More disaster struck in the second quarter when senior and lead scorer Ciara McKinney picked up a second foul and had to head to the bench.

However, McKinney got help from her co-captain senior forward Brittany Anderson and dynamic freshman guard Malaika Sutton. They combined for 11 points to chip away at the lead which grew as large as 13 and fought back to a 28-22 deficit at halftime.

“[Sutton] stepped up these last couple of games. She’s stayed calm and handled the ball very very well,” said Destiny Christian Head Coach Lori Janzen.

Even with McKinney’s return in the second half the Lady Wildcats couldn’t find the stroke and remained down 43-35 after three quarters.

But, quietly fizzling out in the fourth quarter isn’t this team’s style. McKinney and Sutton sparked a 7-0 run to climb back within 1 point.

After remaining down a point, a fortuitous blow up from the Liberty sideline cost them a technical foul which allowed McKinney to nail the two free throws to give Destiny its first lead since early in the first quarter.

A turnover and two McKinney missed free throws later, the “Cardiac Cats” found themselves down a point again with 23 seconds left.

Cue freshman guard Caiti Ferguson. Ferguson had struggled shooting all tournament and had only hit one basket all night. Her second basket saved the season and gave Destiny Christian the lead back.

Liberty would have one more chance after an Anderson free throw extended the lead up to 2 points with six seconds left. That chance turned into a McKinney steal at half court to seal the game and punch the Lady Wildcats ticket into the state final rematch with Providence.

McKinney finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 7 steals. Anderson added 6 points and 6 rebounds with Lynsi Stanley chipping in 11 points and 3 steals.

Back to Back

It was no rest for the weary as Destiny Christian laced up their shoes for the final time the next night against the Providence Lady Patriots at Mid-America Christian University in Oklahoma City.

Like the previous night, the Lady Patriots had the defending champs on the ropes early. Sophomore guard Melanie Matkins poured in 13 first quarter points on 6-7 shooting to give Providence a 19-9 lead after one.

“A lot of us were nervous. We have a lot of freshmen and they haven’t been here but once we got those out we started cooking,” said McKinney on the slow start.

However, Coach Janzen changed the game in the second quarter with her shrewdest move of the tourney switching to a 3-2 zone. A gamble considering the team hadn’t practiced the defense much.

The roll of dice paid off for the team of destiny cutting the lead down to 3 points by half time. They survived another poor shooting half going 9-26 from the field.

“[The zone] was the game changer right there. It shut them down inside,” said Janzen.

The comeback kids struck again in the third quarter when McKinney gave her team the first lead of the game with over 5:00 minutes left in the third quarter.

Next, the sparkplug struck again after Sutton scored 6 straight points to boost the lead up to 39-32.

“I was totally proud of her,” said McKinney of Sutton. “I told her you’re our spark on the team and you get us going. When she gets that confident mindset, she’s gone.”

Providence had too much pride to go away quietly starting out the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run to cut the lead down to 2, but an 8-0 answer by Destiny Christian sealed the game with a final score of 60-49.

The Lady Wildcats took home their second straight title with two thrilling comebacks on back to back nights.

McKinney had another strong night to end her career with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals while going 9-13 from the field.

McKinney notched 15 double-doubles and 2 triple-doubles.

It was a total team effort on the night. Freshman forward Alyssa Staley didn’t score much with 5 points but she pulled down 11 rebounds. Anderson finished off her career with 9 points and 11 rebounds. Sutton finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds.

“I told the girls from the beginning this is ours to take and we knew we were going to take it,” said Janzen.

McKinney talked about difference between last year and this year’s 19-6 team.

“It’s hard coming back. Last year, we had a bunch of seniors you’re expected to win and this year we have a lot of freshmen so there’s that doubt,” said McKinney. “It feels so good to overcome so many obstacles and finally we got there.”