By Blake Colston
Sports Editor
MIDWEST CITY – This time, in the final minute, Piedmont made all the key plays.
Rylie Burnett forced a turnover, Jillian Crawford gathered up the loose ball and put in the game-winning layup with 48.7 seconds to play as Piedmont’s defense swarmed Carl Albert down the stretch to push the seventh-ranked Lady Wildcats past the No. 2 Titans, 45-44.
“These are the ones we keep talking about and this time we made timely shots and made big plays when it mattered. This is really good for our kids,” head coach Eric Carr said.
Crawford led all scorers with 19 points while senior guard Khloe Carr scored 12 as the Lady Wildcats (12-6) reversed their late-game woes with a crucial resume-boosting victory.
Carl Albert (14-3) got one final shot, but Ella Watkins’ tight defense turned the Titans’ final chance into a heave from just inside the 3-point line that didn’t even draw iron.
“The coolest thing about it was that we got a defensive stop to win it,” Carr said.
Piedmont stymied the Titans for most of the night. PHS held Carl Albert’s potent offense to its lowest scoring output of the season, 16 points below the Titans’ average.
“We stayed close on their shooters and made sure most everything they had was rushed and pressured a little bit,” Carr said.
PHS improved to 6-0 against Class 5A competition this season. The Lady ‘Cats also took command of the race for a Suburban Conference regular season championship, but Piedmont, which is a handful of plays away from a 15-3 record, isn’t satisfied.
“One thing I like about this team is that we’re excited about this win, but our business isn’t done,” Carr said. “Our kids are really even keeled, and they know we’ve still got work to do.”
Piedmont hosts No. 14 Guthrie Tuesday night at the Wildcat Athletic Center.
