By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor
TULSA – As Joe Crawford watched his daughters grow on and off the court, he imagined one day a chance to watch from the sidelines as they captured a state title.
Saturday at the Mabee Center, the former Oklahoma Christian Academy coach and first-year Piedmont assistant embraced Regan and Delanie Crawford as they checked out of the state finals. What he had envisioned became reality minutes later as the Wildcats captured the Class 5A championship with a 51-46 win over El Reno.
“All the hard work, the blood, sweat and tears. All the summer basketball they played, the trials and tribulations they’ve been through. To get where they’re at and the way they handled themselves on the floor, I’m just so happy for them,” Crawford said as he watched his daughters and their teammates celebrate their championship win.
The two sisters, Regan a senior and Delanie a sophomore, helped guide Oklahoma Christian Academy to the Class A State Tournament last year with Joe as head coach. Joe resigned from his post at OCA and he and his daughters joined the Piedmont program soon after.
“It was the easiest transition,” Regan said of moving to Piedmont after her junior season at OCA. “I was so scared at first, but then the first day of team camp I knew this was going to be the best year. The girls had our back from Day 1. I haven’t felt new since then.”
Joe saw the differences and similarities in the girls first hand last year, coaching them at the high school level for the first time. Their ability to play off each other helped spur Piedmont’s success this season.
“They’re both different kinds of kids, but they both have the same heart and the same type of motor on the court,” Joe said. “When they step out there they give it 110-percent and they live their lives like that.
“Delanie is one of those kids you never have to motivate. She’s always going to figure out a way to win I don’t care if it’s Tic-Tac-Toe or checkers. Regan is just a gamer. Big games, she shows up. They love to play with each other, that’s the big thing. And they always look out for their teammates.”
The Crawford sisters each picked up the slack when the team needed it most during the state tournament. Regan stepped up to lead the Cats in scoring Friday against Pryor in the semifinals while Delanie led the way against El Reno Saturday.
“I think we feed off each other and there is no jealousy,” Delanie said after the state finals. “Yesterday I had a pretty off game, but Regan stepped up and had my back. Today I felt like I had to pick it up and have hers.”
The two girls hugged their teammates up and down the bench and finally reached each other. They had pictured the moment during all the summer days spent on the driveway playing one-on-one.
“It’s been a dream since we were little,” Regan said. “We would talk about it in the driveway and while playing on the same teams growing up. This year, together, has been amazing. It’s what we’ve always wanted to do, even more than playing with each other this long.”
Delanie remembers the little league games, middle school and the past two years playing varsity together. She says it’s easy to see now why winning a state title is even more meaningful alongside her sister and dad.
“When you’re little, you go watch all the games together,” she said. “We’ve always dreamt of this moment. It’s always different when you’re little, but now you can put things in perspective and see how all the hard work paid off, all those days playing with each other. It really is special to do it with them.”
