By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor
MUSTANG – Just 24 hours after tearing open Christmas presents and celebrating the holidays, the top-ranked Wildcats unwrapped their second top-10 win of the season.
Piedmont (6-1) opened the 2019 Holiday Classic with an impressive, 51-31 victory over Class 6A No. 9 Midwest City (6-1) Thursday inside the Mustang Event Center. The Cats were fueled by an efficient outing offensively and a strong showing defensively, which included holding the Bombers to just 13 points over the second and third quarters.
Midwest City came in having won six straight to open the season, including wins over 2A No. 3 Dale, 6A No. 14 Putnam City West and 5A No. 5 Carl Albert. However, after a slow start by both teams, the Cats proved to be too much to handle on both ends. Eric Carr’s squad shot just under 50-percent from the floor and scored 31 points in the middle two quarters to all but seal the victory.
Junior Delanie Crawford recorded a double-double, scoring a game-high 20 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. Senior Tyeshia Anderson also scored in double digits, dropping 15 points while pulling down four boards. The duo combined to shoot a red hot 14-for-22 from the floor. Senior Rain Peyton and junior Maddy Lee combined for 10 points, each scoring five. Freshman Jillian Crawford scored four points and sophomore Triniti Harmon chipped in two.
The Wildcats dominated the boards, winning the battle 34-24, and the team’s effort defensively helped limit the Bombers to just 10 makes on 46 shots. Piedmont forced 16 turnovers as well.
Crawford drilled a three-pointer to open the game and after falling behind 5-3, Piedmont rallied back to take a 8-5 lead into the second quarter. The Cats entered halftime up 22-13 and the fourth quarter with a 39-18 advantage. They closed the game with a 12-11 run.
The win, which comes on the heels of a 51-36 win over No. 4 El Reno on Dec. 17, moves the Cats into the Holiday Classic semifinals where they will face either 6A No. 3 Edmond North (7-1) or 6A No. 15 Bixby (2-4) on Friday at 7 p.m. The tournament championship is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday.
Piedmont breaks for nearly two weeks following the Holiday Classic before returning to regular season action against No. 12 Lawton MacArthur Jan. 7 at Collette Fieldhouse. The Cats defeated Mac 63-58 on Dec. 10.
