Piedmont girls on fire to start season, ranked atop Class 5A with playoff run ahead after break
By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor
The top-ranked Wildcat girls have started the 2018-19 season on a roll, cruising to a 6-1 record before Christmas break with wins over three ranked opponents.
The way the team plays with all out effort on the defensive end and an offensive attack that can strike from anywhere on the court is what should have Class 5A shaking with postseason play on the horizon.
The Cats are averaging 56.9 points per game. The team’s ability to make shots inside and out has led to an astounding 43.4-percent from the floor, including nearly 50-percent on two-point attempts. Piedmont also averages seven three-point makes per game. Coach Eric Carr’s team has also made it a statement to get everyone involved, leading to 14 assists per game as well.
Three players are averaging double digits scoring for Piedmont so far this season, including sophomore Delanie Crawford, her sister, senior Regan Crawford and senior Maci Attalla.
Delanie Crawford leads the team with 17.1 points per game with three makes per game from three-point range. That versatility from long range allows others to score in different ways.
Attalla gets it done on the inside with 14.3 points per game, most of her scoring coming from inside the paint or near the basket. Regan Crawford averages 10.6 points per game, shooting 40-percent from inside the arc with her ability to drive to the basket and pull up for a jumper.
Sophomore Maddy Lee and juniors Tyeshia Anderson and Rain Peyton also find ways to score offensively either off the bench or in starting roles. The trio is averaging 12 points per game combined in seven games played apiece. Lee and Anderson are each averaging over two assists per game as well.
Defensively, the Cats are holding teams to 40 points per game for an average differential of nearly 17 per. Regan Crawford is leading the way with 2.3 steals per game while Attalla, Anderson and Delanie Crawford are all averaging over one per game. The team has finished with double-digit takeaways in two games, including 16 against Carl Albert on Dec. 4.
The team has crashed the boards well, averaging 29.6 rebounds per game with nine per coming on the offensive end. Attalla leads the way with seven total per game while Delanie Crawford is averaging 5.3. Lee, Anderson and Regan Crawford are averaging just over two per game apiece as well.
The Wildcats open the second semester with a top-10 match up against No. 7 Lawton Mac at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City on Jan. 8 at 12 p.m. before heading to the 2018 Bethany Tournament the following weekend.
The team has seven top-20 match ups remaining, including top-10 games against Lawton Mac, Class 4A No. 10 Weatherford and Class 6A No. 9 Ponca City.
Scofield, Wildcats look to bounce back in second half after slow start to 2018-19 season
By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor
Coach Wil Scofield and the Piedmont boys are looking to bounce back from a tough start against a schedule no team wants to face to start the season.
The Wildcats went 1-6 before entering Christmas break with losses four teams ranked inside the top-7 at the time of the game, including two losses to No. 5 El Reno and losses to No. 3 Carl Albert and Class 6A No. 7 Norman North. The team closed out the semester on a high note, however, knocking off No. 19 Guthrie at home.
“These guys know that we can play with those team,” Scofield said of the teams that have defeated the Wildcats this season. “We jumped out on Norman North and just blitzed them and guys were playing together and moving. The day before that we play a good McKinney North team and had a chance to win.
“I think the biggest thing is knowing they can play with anyone on any given night.”
In three of the losses, the Wildcats came within at least six points of winning. They lost to El Reno in the opening game of the year, 73-67, lost to McKinney North (Tex.) in the opening game of the Durant Tournament, 54-49 and fell to Class 6A Shawnee at home, 70-68.
Scofield points to the defensive end and thinks there is plenty of room for improvement. He also believes his team can get the job done and find ways to play stronger defense down the stretch.
“We can be better on that end,” Scofield said. “That’s what we’re focusing on. We need to make sure we’re more precise with positioning and movements and making sure we’re exactly where we need to be on stuff like setting screens. We’re really excited about the break, it’s coming at a good time for us.”
The Wildcats are giving up 64 points per game and only averaging 24.6 rebounds per game as well. The team doesn’t turn the ball over much, but just has trouble stopping teams and crashing the boards.
“I’m always big on the defensive end,” Scofield said. “You have to hand your hat on that end because when you don’t shoot well or play well offensively, it will be there to save you. It’s something you can control 100-percent of the time, you can’t always control if shots go in.
“I know our guys can get better on that end. We have the athletes and size and length. We’ll continue to focus on it as we hit the second half.”
Offensively, the Cats average just over 58 points per game while shooting over 43-percent from the field with eight makes per game from three-point range.
The team averages over 10 assists per game as well and is only turning the ball over at a rate of 11 per game.
Three players average in double digits for the Cats, including seniors Dylan Hahn, Hunter Oden and Rylan McDaniel.
Hahn leads the team with 18.3 points per game while also leading the way with just under six rebounds per game and 3.1 assists per game as well.
Oden is averaging 14.7 points per game with 4.7 boards per. Oden is leading the way for the team behind the three-point line with three makes per game on 37-percent shooting.
McDaniel is averaging 12.8 points per game with just under three helpers per game and two rebounds per.
“No question, Dylan and Hunter are going to carry the load for us offensively,” Scofield said of how his team is going to have to score down the stretch. “They’re definitely going to be the guys there with the way they handle the ball and can shoot.
“We also have to get other guys involved too, getting to the basket and finding guys for open looks. We’ll have guys step up as the season goes along, I have no doubt.”
The Wildcats open the second semester with a match up against No. 9 Lawton Mac at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Jan. 8 at 1:30 p.m. before heading to the 2018 Bethany Tournament the following weekend.
The team returns home Jan. 29 against Western Heights at 8 p.m.
