By Blake Colston
Sports Editor
Saturday’s Class 5A girls regional title game between Piedmont and Guthrie didn’t lack for intensity or physicality.
With six seniors and one experienced sophomore in its rotation, that kind of game suited Piedmont just fine.
“When teams play physical, it amps us up,” senior guard Macy Lee said after scoring a team-high 14 points as PHS beat Guthrie 52-43 inside the Wildcat Athletic Center. “It makes us want to play harder and better for each other.”
FINAL: @LadyWildcats_ 52, Guthrie 43. Piedmont wins the regional title and is now one win away from reaching the state tournament. #OKpreps pic.twitter.com/wOMEOLjhmp
— Blake Colston (@CBlakeColston) February 25, 2023
Joining Lee in double figures in Piedmont’s regional championship game victory were seniors Jillan Crawford (13) and Khloe Carr (10) as the Lady ‘Cats won for the 11th time in 12th games. Rylie Burnett and Ella Watkins added six points apiece.
“We’ve all been together since we were eighth grade and we trust each other,” Lee said. “We know we can all score and play our role that we’re meant to play at that time.”
Piedmont raced out to a 25-14 lead after one quarter thanks to hot shooting that included Lee making 4 for 4 from beyond the arc, but Guthrie answered with a 9-0 run to open the second quarter.
The Blue Jays briefly took the lead, but Piedmont reclaimed the advantage for good on a deep 3-pointer from Carr that broke a more than five-minute scoring drought.
Piedmont limited Guthrie (13-11) to 14 points after halftime.
Blue Jays’ point guard Anjewl Murillo fouled out with 4:43 remaining in regulation. She finished with 14 points to lead Guthrie but was held to two points in the second half.
“That hurt them a lot because she makes everything happen for them,” Piedmont head coach Eric Carr said of Murillo. “But outside of that, we did a good job of guarding like we needed to in the second half to control the game.”
Piedmont (18-6) will play El Reno (16-5) Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Area Finals at Mustang High School. The Lady Wildcats won the only previous meeting between the two squads, 39-35 in El Reno on Dec. 16.
“We always love playing El Reno. They’re a great team and it’s really exciting to play for a chance to go to state,” Lee said. “It’s a great feeling.”
