The Norman High School Tigers and Lady Tigers traveled to Piedmont Tuesday to take on the Piedmont teams and both teams went back to Norman with Ws.
The Lady Tigers topped the Lady ‘Cats in the first game, 58-40. Piedmont boys also lost, 53-45.
In the boys’ game, Bryce McConnell’s layup gave the Wildcats the first bucket, but the Tigers built a lead off turnovers, including a steal. Carter Hainrihar hit a trey with 2:35 to go in the first quarter and Piedmont pulled within a point at 7-6, Norman.
Beau Billingsley for Norman made it 9-7 on a hard drive into traffic and a twisting layup. McConnell then hit a 3-pointer and tied it at 9-9. Hudson Hite hit a fade-away jumper in the lane and gave Piedmont an 11-9 lead. The first quarter ended 11-11.
Piedmont’s Kingston Jones hit a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a lead to begin the second quarter, 14-11. Turnovers held the Wildcats from extending their lead. Norman took the lead at the end of the second quarter 22-19.
In the second half, Norman’s Isaiah Amous, 6 feet 5 inches, used his footwork and hook shots to build a lead for the Tigers. On Piedmont’s offensive end, an assist by Diron Carter to Hudson Hite turned into a three-point play that pulled Piedmont within two points. Then the Wildcats hit a cold stretch.
The third quarter ended with Norman ahead by ten, 35-25. Piedmont had 11 turnovers before the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter Amous continued to dominate inside the lane and had 27 points for the night. Piedmont’s Preston Lee and Hudson Hite hit treys and kept the Wildcats within eight of the Tigers. Diron Carter hit a trey late, but the final score was Norman 53, Piedmont 45.
In the girls’ game, the Lady Wildcats jumped out to an early lead behind Kenley Crawford on offense finding seams in the Tigers’ defense to drive to the basket and Rylie Burnett driving, the floor and laying in a bucket to make the score 10-2.
But the Tigers roared back. Blythe Crawley for Norman drained three 3-pointers and Norman built a 13-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Tigers extended their lead to seven points on a layup by Keeley Parks. Blythe Crawley hit another trey to extend their lead to 22-14 with 3:24 to go in the second quarter.
Rylie Burnett kept the Lady ‘Cats in the game with drives to the bucket made with athletic moves. Yet, the Lady Tigers built a 10-point lead with a 1:20 to go in the second quarter. The first half ended 31-19 in the Norman Lady Tigers’ favor.
In the third quarter, back-to-back treys from Piedmont’s Burnett and Kenley Crawford helped close the gap, but Norman kept a double-digit lead. Kenley Crawford picked up her fourth foul with 2:53 to go in the third quarter. The third quarter ended with the score, 46-30, Norman.
Piedmont stayed within 20-points of the Lady Tigers in the fourth quarter. The final score was Norman, 58 and Piedmont, 40.
The boys’ teams will play after the girls.
The Lady Wildcats have a 1-2 record and Norman is 2-0 going into the home contest at Piedmont’s Wildcat Athletic Center.
Norman beat Moore Tuesday, Dec. 3 71-44.
In a recent outing, the Piedmont basketball teams traveled to northeast Oklahoma for the Bixby Invitational Tournament Dec. 5-7.
The girls and the boys were both the consolation bracket champions of the tournaments.
The boys beat Tulsa McLain 52-37 to claim the consolation trophy.
The girls beat Choctaw Saturday, Dec. 7 for the consolation trophy by a score of 49-41. On Thursday, Dec. 5 the girls played Booker T. Washington and lost 77-47.
The boys are coached by Head Coach Brian Beale. The girls are led by Head Coach Joe Crawford.
Read full coverage in the Piedmont-Surrey Gazette sports section.
Basketball games for the 6A District 2 Lady Wildcats and Wildcats start at 6 p.m. followed by the boys’ team games at 7:30 p.m. Home games are at the Wildcat Athletic Center, 12100 Edmond Road NW, Piedmont, Ok, 73078.
The 2024-2025 schedule shows the following results, dates, opponents and locations:
Dec. 3, Putnam City North, girls lost, 84-45.
Dec. 5, Booker T. Washington, girls lost, 77-47.
Dec. 7, Choctaw, girls won, 48-41.
Dec. 10, Norman, girls lost, 58-40. Boys lost 53-45.
Dec. 17, at Moore.
Dec. 20, home v. Capitol Hill.
Jan. 7, at Choctaw.
Jan. 9-11, at Weatherford Tournament.
Jan. 14, at Edmond Santa Fe.
Jan. 17, v. Lawton Eisenhower.
Jan. 23-25, at Newcastle/Deer Creek
Jan. 28, home v. Northwest Classen.
Jan. 31, at Norman.
Feb. 4, v. Moore.
Feb. 7, at Capitol Hill.
Feb. 11, v. Choctaw.
Feb. 14, v. Edmond Santa Fe.
Feb. 18, at Lawton Eisenhower.
March 10-15, at State Fair Arena 6A state tournament.
Read The Piedmont-Surrey Gazette and follow piedmontnewsonline.com for updates to local news and sports coverage. Games are livestreamed by krefsports.tv.
