The Henryetta varsity basketball program kicked off 2024 Tuesday evening with a trip to Creek County and Kellyville High School for a showdown with the Kellyville Ponies and Lady Ponies.
Tuesday’s second-half opener did not go the way the HHS cage squads had hoped with the Knights and Lady Knights winding up on the losing end of a pair of outcomes.
The Henryetta ladies remained winless on the season at 0-7 after suffering a 49-31 setback in the opening contest, while the Knights dropped to 3-4 on the year with an 82-75 defeat in the nightcap.
The Henryetta cage squads were back in action Thursday with opening-round action at their annual home tournament – the Henryetta Invitational – with the Lady Knights taking on Bristow in a first-round battle at 6 p.m., while the Knights closed out Thursday’s opening day of tournament action at 7:20 p.m. against the Metro Christian junior varsity team.
Following the home tournament, the Henryetta squads will travel to Morris next Friday (Jan. 12) for a county showdown with their arch rivals, the Morris Eagles and Lady Eagles.
In Tuesday’s girls contest, the Lady Knights came out of the opening frame with a narrow 10-7 advantage, while Kellyville cut the HHS lead to one, 19-18, at halftime after taking the second period by an 11-9 margin.
The Lady Knight offense fizzled in the final two quarters, being outscored 15-5 and 16-7, respectively, to suffer the 49-31 defeat.
McKayla Greenhaw led the offensive attack for Henryetta in the loss, finishing with a team-best 12 points. Other Lady Knight scorers in the second-half opener were Kassidy Lee and Allie Davis with five points apiece, Zoe Boatright and Raychel Morrison three each, Graci Lollis two, and Maddie Rock one.
In Tuesday’s boys battle in Kellyville, the host Ponies took the opening period by a slim 18-15 margin, then took a 42-28 lead into the halftime break after escaping the second quarter with a 24-13 advantage.
The Knights attempted to overcome the double-digit halftime deficit in the second half. The Henryetta gentlemen came out of the back-and-forth third stanza with a 23-21 margin to make it a 63-51 contest with eight minutes remaining in regulation.
The Knights torched the nets for 24 points in the final frame, but Kellyville answered with a 19-point total in the fourth quarter to hand the Henryetta gentlemen an 82-75 setback.
Talon Weaver had the hot hand offensively for Henryetta in the loss, finishing with a season-high 36-point performance, which included scoring 21 of the Knights’ 47 points in the second half. Skylar Greenhaw and Nick Hudson joined Weaver in double-digit scoring on Tuesday with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Other Knight scorers at Kellyville were Hunter Gobin with six, Will Perez five, Jacob Nail four, and Maverix Randleman three.
— Girls Game
Kellyville 49, Henryetta 31
Henryetta: 10 – 9 – 5 – 7 (31) Kellyville: 7 – 11 – 15 – 16 (49) Henryetta Scoring: McKayla Greenhaw 12, Kassidy Lee 5, Allie Davis 5, Zoe Boatright 3, Raychel Morrison 3, Graci Lollis 2, Maddie Rock 1.
— Boys Game
Kellyville 82, Henryetta 75
Henryetta: 15 – 13 – 23 – 24 (75) Kellyville: 18 – 24 – 21 – 19 (82) Henryetta Scoring: Talon Weaver 36, Skylar Greenhaw 11, Nick Hudson 10, Hunter Gobin 6, Will Perez 5, Jacob Nail 4, Maverix Randleman 3.
