The Anadarko High School girls basketball team’s season didn’t end the way the Lady Warriors wanted, but senior guard Lexi Foreman still departed on a high note thanks to an impressive performance in the state semifinals.

In her final game for Anadarko, Foreman, a Seminole Tribe of Florida tribal member, scored a team-high 16 points to go along with five rebounds, three steals and one assist in a 40-37 loss to Tuttle in the Oklahoma Class 4A semifinals March 11 in Oklahoma City.

Anadarko, which had won 20 games in a row, was shaky early and fell behind 7-0 in the first quarter, but Foreman kept her team from getting blown out. She provided the spark the Lady Warriors desperately needed with a layup followed by a rebound and a 3-pointer that sliced the deficit to 7-5. Foreman was a force on the boards with four rebounds in the opening quarter, which ended with Tuttle ahead 9-7.

Foreman scored four points in the second quarter and finished up with a nifty assist on a hoop that sent the teams to halftime knotted at 18-18.

The score was tied 29-29 late in the third quarter when Anadarko surged to a five-point lead and briefly grasped control of the game. Once again, Foreman was pivotal as she forced a turnover that led to her sinking one of her two 3-pointers on the night.

But Anadarko’s 34-29 lead with a minute left in the third eventually melted away as Tuttle outscored the Lady Warriors 11-3 the rest of the way to advance to the championship. A layup by Foreman gave Anadarko a 36-35 lead in the fourth quarter, but it proved to be the team’s final lead of the season.

Tuttle went ahead 40-37 on a 3-point play with :14 seconds left. Anadarko didn’t get off a quality shot as time expired.
Anadarko was the reigning state champs, having captured the previous tittle game in 2019 and then saw its title hopes last season dashed when the postseason was canceled due to the pandemic. The Lady Warriors finished this season with a 23-3 record.

For Foreman, the road to the state semifinal included a game-high seven assists in a 47-28 win against Fort Gibson in the 4A Area III championship; nine points in a 62-32 win against Byng in the regional championship and 14 points, nine rebounds and five steals in a 57-35 win against Grove in the state quarterfinals.

Foreman, the daughter of Matt and Alicia Foreman and granddaughter of the late Coleman Josh, will be headed to Edmond to play for the University of Central Oklahoma. She signed with UCO late last year.

The Foreman name will continue on at Anadarko with Lexi’s younger brother Eli being on the football and powerlifting teams.