COMANCHE — Beckoning her mother with a Duncan Simmons Center flyer, a young Misty Dossey was eager to see her basketball career take flight.
Like any noble parent — not wanting to force their child into a hobby — Deborah told her daughter, “If you want to play, you’re going to have to pay for it.”
So Misty saved up her allowance for a long time and eventually showed up with the $60 for registration.
“She never pushed me to be a basketball player. That’s one of the things my mom was always impressed about,” the now 6-5 senior center and Texas-Arlington commit Misty Dossey said. “People think, ‘Oh she’s tall so she was forced to play basketball.’”
Clearly that wasn’t the case.
Years later, Dossey — who was one of three McDonald’s All-American nominees in Oklahoma this season — has progressed into one of state’s best players and most prized recruits while helping transform Comanche into a traditional powerhouse.
“Her whole career Misty has carried the light for Comanche — and in a lot of cases Southwest Oklahoma,” Comanche girls coach Sean Hushbeck said. “It says a lot about the basketball we play here.”
Anchored by Dossey, Comanche's senior class wound up with 100 career wins on the dot. The Lady Indians eclipsed the century mark — something few high school teams ever achieve — in the Class 3A State tournament quarterfinals earlier this month with an impressive 52-33 rout of previously unbeaten Hartshorne.
Comanche’s season (27-3) ended a day later in the state semifinals at the hands of eventual champion Sequoyah-Tahlequah, which placed a deep burden on the girls despite all of their historic accomplishments together.
“This whole season is what we had prepared for,” Comanche senior point guard Jordyn Morris said. “We’ve always taken that extra step so this year we thought, ‘OK, winning a state championship is the next step. We can do this.’ Our town and our team all really believed. So to come up short was really rough on us.”
Not only did the elite group boast 100-15 record, the Lady Indians won four straight Stephens County championships, made three straight state tournament appearances — including three semifinal appearances and a state runner-up finish with a silver ball and 27-1 record in 2017 — all while making endless memories in between.
“It’s been tough, but I really think we have come to terms with it,” Morris said. “Looking back at all these amazing things we accomplished together… it’s like how can you be disappointed with that career?”
The legacy that Dossey, Morris and their fellow seniors — Carlyn Gay, Bryton Doucet and Tracy Stevens — leave behind will be remembered for years in the Comanche community. This quintet also has set the bar high for future Lady Indian squads.
Building a traditional powerhouse
After their first game together freshman year, the Lady Indians finally realized their potential.
“We thought, ‘Hey, we’re actually good,’” Dossey said.
It’s a group Comanche knew it had coming, one Hushbeck had watched grow and mature since fourth grade together.
"If we were going to make a run at state titles, that would be the group," Hushbeck said.
Coachable, hard-working senior groups in years past set the tone. Now this senior class has passed the torch.
“Our younger girls almost push themselves because they want to be playing in the Big House,” Hushbeck said. “Younger kids ask what we are doing this summer. They saw what we these girls accomplished and it drives them.”
All the way down — from the incoming freshman class to the junior high and Comanche’s fifth grade bunch, which Hushbeck’s daughter Jillian is on — there is plenty of potential.
The seniors had only eight losses the past three years. Freshman year is when seven of the 15 losses came, but the girls made the Area consolation finals.
Sophomore year, the seniors lost to Oklahoma State star Jaden Hobbs and eventual champion Alva, which won three of four state titles. Junior and senior year it was Sequoyah, meaning Comanche never lost to anybody in the state tournament except the state champion.
Outside of Fort Cobb’s four-peat, no team in Southwest Oklahoma has been a brighter beacon of an elite basketball program.
Comanche is now side by side with other Oklahoma powerhouses.
“That’s why you see the Adair’s, the Sequoyah-Tahlequah’s, the Fort Gibson’s — those teams that are there year after year,” Hushbeck said. “Their young kids are striving to be there.”
At the Simmons Center growing up, nobody played close to the girls in rec leagues. During their middle school careers, the girls didn’t lose a single game and were crowned conference champions in seventh, eighth and ninth grade.
In seventh grade, they lost their best player who moved to Odessa, where she became an All-District player for a Class 5A Texas school. In eighth grade, the team lost another key player before adding Carlyn Gay, who moved in from Waurika, freshman year.
“That’s what’s special about them,” Hushbeck said. “These girls faced so much adversity and watched teammates leave, but they just continued to get better.”
They got even better at MAYB tournaments all over the region, playing in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Texas.
“We never expected three straight State appearances,” said Morris, who is leaning towards attending the University of Central Oklahoma. “I don’t think we realized how good we were and how good we could be.”
Thanks to them, Comanche is now a renowned traditional powerhouse.
Mighty Misty
Soon to be coveted by countless coaches across the country, Dossey’s recruiting process began heating up her sophomore year.
One day, a member of Oklahoma State coach Jim Littell’s staff called Hushbeck and asked if he could come watch Dossey practice.
“No not at all, that would be an honor,” Hushbeck told them.
Hushbeck walked back into his office, crinkled up his practice schedule, threw it in the trash and wrote another one.
“It’s gotta be an awesome practice,” Hushbeck recalled saying.
He went out to his truck to find better shorts and a nicer T-shirt.
“I didn’t want to look like a slob,” Hushbeck laughed.
Littell’s visit marked the first of many.
Come August of Dossey’s junior year, coaches could finally make contact with the budding star in the recruiting process.
In one week, eight Division I coaches showed up at practice.
“That doesn’t happen to a lot of people,” Hushbeck said. “There’s a lot of pressure to have a good practice.”
OSU and OU offered Dossey. So did Kansas, Iowa State, TCU, Indiana, Wisconsin, Florida and more. Offers from Colorado and several others came during the summer and AAU ball.
“The last couple summers I had to answer my phone even when it was a number I didn’t know because it was typically a college coach,” Hushbeck said. “The other day I was looking through my contacts for somebody and realized that the amount of Division I coaches' numbers I have is unreal.”
But no coach or school compared to Krista Gerlich and the University of Texas-Arlington as Dossey fell in love and committed to the Mavericks last fall.
UTA is an attractive mid-major in the Sun Belt Conference where Dossey will have a chance to make an immediate impact and possibly carry the Lady Mavericks to similar success she had at Comanche.
Throughout her recruiting process, Dossey recalled people handing out advice, saying, ‘When you know where you want to go, you’ll know.’
It’s not a riddle. It’s intuition.
“You can’t describe that to people,” Dossey said. “As soon as you know, a weight lifts off your shoulders.”
Misty has come a long ways. Before high school, she didn’t always utilize her height.
“Until her freshman year, she was a big girl who played basketball and not a basketball player who played big,” Hushbeck said.
Misty made significant strides her sophomore year and had a drive to develop her game. Come playoffs, the newly evolved Mighty Misty was being showcased.
“It was like a light switch clicked,” Hushbeck said. “She was finally being aggressive and trying to take over games.”
In the state quarterfinal win over Beggs, the first time Misty was in the spotlight, she had a double-double with 20-plus points, double-digit rebounds and eight blocks.
“At that point you’re really saying, this is a girl who can lead us to something special,” Hushbeck said.
Special is an understatement.
Dossey finished her high school career with 1,901 points, 1156 rebounds and 604 blocks, averaging 16.5 ppg, 10.0 rpg and 5.3 bpg. Her senior season she averaged 16.6 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 5.0 bpg and 3.0 steals per game which is why the sky is the limit for her at the next level.
“At a mid-major, with her athletic ability, there’s an opportunity for her to be an all-conference player in the Sun Belt if she works as hard as she has for us at Comanche,” Hushbeck said. “Does she have a huge mountain ahead of her? Absolutely.”
UTA graduates its top post player, 6-5 center Rebekah VanDijk, who raked in several accolades. UTA coaches believe Dossey’s footwork and agility are already a step above her predecessor.
“Rebekah has all these records from Arlington and the Sun Belt so I hope to get half the recognition she did,” Dossey said. “I’m hoping to be kind of like her.”
Two AAU teammates are joining Dossey at UTA. She’s met or communicated with the other signees she will spend the next four years with as well as all of the current coaches and players. It all made UTA her school of dreams.
“I feel the same family bond down there that I do here,” Dossey said. “You can never duplicate these 10-year friendships, but UTA felt similar from a family standpoint.”
Dossey will likely be named All-State later this spring — which “would be an insane honor” she said — to tack on her decorated résumé.
Hushbeck was named the All-State coach which means mentor and mentee get one more game together.
Add that to Dossey’s All-American nomination which blew her away.
“There were girls who were way more deserving,” Dossey said. “I was really honored, but I was questioning why they didn’t get it. I wasn’t putting it down at all, but it was thought provoking.”
Dossey’s humble approach despite all her accolades is just another reason why her teammates admire her so much.
“She’s a big deal,” said senior teammate Carlyn Gay, who will attend Oklahoma State for liberal studies and pre-law. “Misty is still very humble and never lets any of it get to her head. I appreciate that because I think it was good for us and what we accomplished.”
No sidekicks: Dossey and her superheroes
Dossey’s posse is what made Comanche elite.
Misty may be the poster child of the Lady Indians, but she knows there are no sidekicks on this well-oiled machine.
“I think every girl is the superhero,” Dossey said. “We all have different abilities and strong points to our game, and we’ve all learned how to play off of each other.”
Sophomore Brooklin Bain, who will take the reins next year, co-led the team in scoring with Dossey at 16.6 points per game, while averaging 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
“Brooklin is going to have to deal with now being the focus of the other team’s defense,” Hushbeck said. “She’s the first name on the dry erase board in the opponent’s locker room.”
Paired together, their extreme athleticism makes Dossey and Bain an unstoppable duo.
“Especially in Class 3A and smaller basketball, you don’t get athletes like that together,” Hushbeck said. “Their athletic ability with Misty’s size creates extreme mismatches and puts a bind on teams that struggle to guard you to begin with.”
Coming in as a freshman, the versatile Bain had never played post before. The unfamiliarity was washed away by Misty, who took Brooklin under her wing.
“Sometimes I was confused and didn’t know what to do, but Misty was always right there to show me how I could improve my game,” Bain said. “It wasn’t about her. She was always there to help other teammates.”
As the floor general, Morris knows when to push the tempo and set up the group on both ends. Fellow guards sophomore Emily Roden, Carlyn Gay and Bryton Doucet understand their need for scrappy defense and to knock down shots when it is their time.
As a post player, Dossey is not bringing the ball down the court like other star players. Instead, she’s relying on her guards. If Morris isn’t averaging 5.0 assists per game for her high school career — which is largely unheard of for high school girls — Dossey doesn’t get all her opportunities.
“It’s a pretty smart group of players who have all done a good job of understanding their roles,” Hushbeck said. “It goes back to no egos or drama. And they are excited for each other and their success.”
Tight tribe
After walking out of the locker room following the semifinal loss to Sequoyah, one of Hushbeck’s former players, Mica Allen — who happens to be Jordyn’s cousin — greeted ‘Hush’ with a big hug.
As Hushbeck held Allen’s one-year-old son in his arms, he couldn’t help but feel sentimental.
“It really puts it into perspective,” Hushbeck said. “That’s when you remember this is more than just a game. You’ve hopefully made a big impact in their lives.”
One of Hushbeck’s favorite quotes belongs to legendary coach Bob Knight who said, “If your basketball coach isn’t one of the biggest influences in your life, then he’s probably doing something wrong.”
Hushbeck has clearly been that for this special bunch.
“For these girls going forward — whether it’s law school for Carl, Misty playing college ball or whatever Jordyn, Bryton or Tracy decide to do — you hope you helped contribute to the success they have.”
Like most teams, the Comanche girls are a family. That’s why all their success on the court takes a backseat to their important friendships off it.
“The good memories aren’t just on the court, and that type of bonding is a really good thing to have as a team,” Dossey said. “It’s the bus rides up to games all laughing and having fun. It’s hanging out or eating together after games. It’s the fun times in practice. It’s not just about basketball. We’re a family.”
And like all families, the Comanche girls crave seeing one another succeed.
“As a team, we feed off each other,” Bain said. When you see someone do something good, you are happy for them and it encourages you to go make a play for them. It makes you feel good when they’re feeling good.”
“It’s a chain reaction,” echoed Morris, who averaged 5.0 assists per game and a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio in her career — starting all 115 games — along with 6.0 points, 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game her senior season.
The Lady Indians have earned the respect of many far and wide. Those in their corner, the Comanche fans, have rallied around them.
“After the big games like State and Area, we’d come out of the locker room and our community — our ‘tribe’ would be right there for us,” Morris said. “They’re always cheering us on. You have people you’ve never seen before and they’re hugging and congratulating you.”
There was no time that was more evident than a year ago when Bain made the heroic, yet crazy game-winner with 0.1 seconds left in the semifinals to upset top seed Adair.
“I heard everyone go crazy,” Bain said. “Then I saw y’all running toward me. I looked up at the scoreboard and realized I made it. I guess it was just instincts.”
“Just to see the excitement on their faces — both the team and of our community,” Hushbeck echoed. “The fact it brought everybody together was kind of the high point for me in their high school careers.”
Setting the bar high
As a coach, Hushbeck knows he’s judged by wins and losses.
“I owe these girls a ton,” Hushbeck said. “They’ve added 100 wins to my total and all the accolades I’ve gotten over the past four years is in large part because of them.”
It’s in Hushbeck’s DNA to set the bar high. If Comanche wants to return to the state finals, the bar the senior girls set is the one future teams have to reach for.
“If you hold kids to high standards, they tend to achieve more than they normally would,” Hushbeck said. “We’re going to have to coach our butts off the next couple years to get back, but we’re excited about the challenge.”
Misty Dossey and her four fellow seniors who made history don’t expect the Lady Indians to achieve everything, but they want next groups to strive for greatness.
“I don’t want the girls to think of it as we are leaving. I want them to think of it as we are starting a base for all their achievements,” Dossey said. “They have tremendous potential coming up and on the team now. You can tell when people start to step up and I’ve seen that a lot this year.
“I definitely think these girls can continue to push excellence.”
**All photos generously provided by The Oklahoman, taken by Bryan Terry and Jason Hodges from Comanche for Jason Hodges Photography