Men’s and Women’s Basketball Revel Successful Seasons and High SAC Rankings

Goodwell, Okla.—The Lady Aggies are coming off a winning season of 14-14, the best overall record for the Panhandle women’s team since 2007-’08. Head Coach Victor Esparza and Assistant Coach Denise Levine stand proud behind their team of accomplished athletes, and are leaving the season with a path of prominence ahead of them.

Sophomore Addison Munsch was named to Honorable Mention All-Conference, coming off an impressive season in which she led her team with a remarkable 145 field goals made on the season. Her hard work earned her the No. 5 spot in the Sooner Athletic Conference rankings in scoring, making 83 field goals totaling 407 points.

Junior Monti Regier lead the Aggies in three-pointers and was ranked No. 4 in the SAC in 3-pt. field goals made per game, averaging three per contest, and made No. 11 on the list for total 3-pt. point field goals, accumulating an impressive 80 total 3-pt shots through the season.

Senior Madison Dearmin had a notable year with the Aggies and will leave her mark on Panhandle State basketball. Not only was Dearmin named to Second Team All-Conference, but she now holds the career record in field goal percentage in OPSU school history at .456 percent. Dearmin was ranked No. 8 in the Sooner Athletic Conference for her free-throw percentage, and No. 10 in scoring with her 93 field goals made, totaling 363 points.

Dearmin is one of four seniors, including Tierra Roberson, Teraye Gillum and Hannah Southard, who will be graduating from Panhandle State this year. Esparza realizes his four seniors will be tough to lose, but is confident the impact they have made on the team and the leadership qualities impressed on their fellow teammates will be felt throughout their upcoming season, and notes they will be leaving OPSU with a great foundation to build upon. The core of the team will be returning, and both coaches are excited and expecting big things.

Esparza and Levine have let the gratification of hard work and rewarding appreciation of a renowned season sink in, but thoughts of preparation for 2018- ’19 have already begun. The team will take the next month to get both their bodies and their minds healthy, but the start of April will mean the start of off-season strength conditioning and skills workouts.

Reflecting on this prominent season, Esparza expounds, “It has been a great start to a rebuilding process and we are moving in the right direction. This has been a year of accomplishments and we have so much to be proud of and so much to look forward to.’ With her first winning season under her belt, Levine is equally eager and motivated to continue, “It was a fabulous first year for me; I’m happy I was able to start with the right team and under the right head coach.” Esparza is already building on bigger and better goals for next year, with qualifying for the post-season tournament at the top of his list. Esparza projects, “We plan on getting better top to bottom, our players and myself included.”
The Aggie men’s team also chronicled their best season in over a decade finishing 11-17, the highest number of wins since the 2002- ’03 season.

Junior Jace Kerr was selected to All-Conference Third Team and landed the number one spot in scoring/game in the SAC rankings with an average 22.05 points per game, and senior Tyler Pate placed sixth in the same category with an average 16.83 points per game. Kerr ranked No. 12 in total scoring, with a combined 441 total points, and Tyler Pate placed No. 17 with a total 387 points. Pate also ranked No. 8 in the SAC for 3-point field goals made, accruing a total of 63.

Sophomore Jaedon Whitfield was named to All-Conference Honorable Mention and topped the chart at No. 1 in three categories in the SAC rankings. Whitfield took the number one spot in rebounds/game with an average of 12.88 rebounds per game; Whitfield was also ranked number one in the SAC for total rebounds made on the season, with an astounding 309 rebounds- 79 rebounds ahead of the second-most ranking player in that category. In his third number one spot in the SAC, Whitfield lead in double-doubles with a total of 17, 8 more than the second-most ranking player. Whitfield also ranked No. 11 in blocks with a total of 19. Kerr and Whitfield placed No. 6 and No. 7, respectively, in field goal percentage, and Kerr ranked No. 7 in free throw percentage.

The Aggie men will graduate one athlete, Tyler Pate, and head into the 2018- ’19 season with solid building blocks for a projectable team that will be taken under new management next season.