Oak Hill shocks No. 1 Whitko, tops Bremen to reach 2A finals

Oak Hill’s Golden Eagles dismantled expectations with back-to-back 66-point nights, upsetting top-seeded Whitko 66-58 at Frankfort High School and then topping Bremen 66-57 later Saturday to reach the Class 2A state finals. The two wins came the same day and turned Oak Hill’s season record into a statement: 22-3 and heading to the state final.

Whitko never recovered from a slow start and spent the game trying to claw back. "Whitko started slowly and played catch up for the entirety of the contest, but were unable to get over the hump, falling 66-58 in what was the team’s final game of the season." The margin belies how tight the game felt late - with six minutes left it was a two-point game, and "the game had pretty much devolved into a three-point contest" as both teams answered from long distance. Oak Hill created separation when, after "a pair of big ones for the home side," it led by seven at the midway point of the fourth quarter and held on.

The box-score details on individual scoring were not available in the postgame notes, but the game-action snapshots captured the tussle: "Whitko senior Reese Stonebraker scoops in a shot past Oak Hill's Erika Newhouse during the first quarter...Nieter," and "Whitko junior Jayma Stonebraker uses her aggressive defense to make a steal during Saturday's Semi-State game against Oak Hill." Those plays show Whitko’s veterans fighting inside and on the perimeter, but Oak Hill’s timely stops and transition offense ultimately decided the semifinal.

Oak Hill’s profile explains the upset. The Golden Eagles enter the final run averaging 49.6 points per game but compensating with elite defense - the team is credited with 13.5 steals per game and features sophomore Brianna Dailey at a 15.8 points per game clip and 1.6 blocks per game. Landri Hardman leads the team defensively with 3.1 steals per contest, numbers that fit the narrative of a defense creating extra possessions and turning them into points in pressure moments.

The second win over Bremen, 66-57, came later the same day and clinched Oak Hill’s Class 2A state finals berth. Bremen arrived with a 23-2 record and senior scoring punch from Eliana Grubbs at 14.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, Emma Kincaid at 14.2 points per game and Emma Lawmaster at 10.4 points per game, but Oak Hill’s depth and turnover pressure held Bremen below its season average.

Bracket context sharpens the achievement. The semi-state schedule had Lapel facing Bremen at 10:00 a.m., Whitko meeting Oak Hill at Noon and the championship slotted for 8:00 p.m. Lapel’s Laniah Wills, a 6-foot senior averaging 26.7 points and 12.6 rebounds, was considered the bracket’s marquee threat, and pre-semi-state predictions expected Whitko to prevail. Instead, Oak Hill upended the seedings and rewrote the path to the 8:00 p.m. Class 2A title game.

Whitko’s season ends at 25-1 after a hard-fought run to Frankfort, while Oak Hill’s 22-3 record now includes one of the weekend’s biggest upsets and a shot at the state crown. The Golden Eagles will carry momentum and a defense that forces turnovers into the state finals.