The varsity basketball programs from Preston and Henryetta met for the first time in 20232024 Tuesday evening at the Jim Waller Event Center in Preston.
The host Preston cage squads walked off their home floor with a pair of double-digit victories over their county rivals with the Lady Pirates taking the opening contest against the Lady Knights by a 65-18 margin, while the Pirates completed the home sweep with a 60-49 decision in the nightcap.
Both county cage programs are scheduled to be in action Friday against county foes with Preston traveling to Beggs for a showdown with their arch rivals, the Beggs Golden Demons and Lady Demons, while Henryetta will host its arch rival, the Morris Eagles and Lady Eagles in a county hardwood matchup.
Henryetta will also be in action Saturday with a trip to Okmulgee for a county meeting with th Okmulgee Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs in a special 3 p.m. start time and will travel to Beggs on Tuesday for a showdown with the Beggs cage squads in the final contest in a 5-game, 10day, schedule against Okmulgee County opponents.
After Friday’s trip to Beggs, the Preston cage squads will return home Tuesday for a meeting with Eufaula and will also be at home next Thursday against Oklahoma Union and will close out next week’s busy hardwood schedule next Friday at Wewoka.
In Tuesday’s girls county matchup in Preston, the Lady Pirates took a low-scoring first period by a 6-2 margin, then outscored the Lady Knights 24-9 in the second stanza for a 30-11 halftime lead.
The Preston ladies closed out the home victory by taking the final two quarters by margins of 22-2 and 13-5, respectively, for the 65-18 decision.
Savannah King led a trio of double- digit scorers for Preston with a game-high 18 points. Joining King in double figures on Tuesday were Anistyn Garner with 16 and Emilie Stidman with 11. Other Lady Pirate scorers in the county contest were Shaunassi Jordan with eight, Taylan Starr six, Josie Cope four, and Kyliann Doke two.
Henryetta’s top scorer on Tuesday was Maddie Rock with six points, followed by Zoe Boatright with four points. The quartet of Kassidy Lee, Graci Lollis, Allie Davis, and Raychel Morrison rounded out the Lady Knight scoring at Preston with two points apiece.
In Tuesday’s boys county showdown in Preston, the Pirates came out of the opening frame with a 20-8 margin and went into halftime leading 25-13 after both teams tallied five points in a low-scoring second period.
The scoring picked up in the third quarter with Preston coming out on top 22-16 to extend its lead to 18 points, 47-29, with eight minutes remaining in regulation.
The visiting Knights did their best to overtake the host Pirates in the final stanza, but only managed a 20-13 advantage in the frame to award the host Preston squad the 60-49 victory.
Tanner Young had the hot hand offensively for the Pirates in the county battle with 19, followed by Pheonix Finch with 17 and Jervais Goree with 14. Jayden Smith was next offensively for Preston with six points, followed by Giorgio Dunn-Spencer with three and Kent Rice with one.
Henryetta’s Skylar Greenhaw led all scorers with a game-high 20 points. Talon Weaver joined Greenhaw in double-digit scoring for the Knights in the county meeting with 12 points. Other offensive contributors for Henryetta on Tuesday were Nick Hudson with seven, Nathan Nail and Will Perez three apiece, and Hunter Gobin and Jacob Nail two each.
— Girls Game
Preston 65, Henryetta 18
Henryetta: 2 – 9 – 2 – 5 (18) Preston: 6 – 24 – 22 – 13 (65) Henryetta Scoring: Maddie Rock 6, Zoe Boatright 4, Kassidy Lee 2, Graci Lollis 2, Allie Davis 2, Raychel Morrison 2.
Preston Scoring: Savannah King 18, Anistyn Garner 16, Emilie Stidman 11, Shaunassi Jordan 8, Taylan Starr 6, Josie Cope 4, Kyliann Doke 2.
— Boys Game
Preston 60, Henryetta 49
Henryetta: 8 – 5 – 16 – 20 (49) Preston: 20 – 5 – 22 – 13 (60) Henryetta Scoring: Skylar Greenhaw 20, Talon Weaver 12, Nick Hudson 7, Nathan Nail 3, Will Perez 3, Hunter Gobin 2, Jacob Nail 2.
Preston Scoring: Tanner Young 19, Pheonix Finch 17, Jervais Goree 14, Jayden Smith 6, Giorgio Dunn-Spencer 3, Kent Rice 1.
