Lady Panther’s clutch against Prague, win 55-50

Lady Panther’s clutch against Prague, win 55-50

By Justin Scrimshire

ONL Sports Reporter

The Lady Panther’s hosted the Prague Red Devils on Tuesday, Dec. 17 inside the Tom Condict Panther Dome. The contest looked to be a difficult one with Prague ranked 11th in class 3-A.

Prague established the upper hand early, jumping out to a 10-2 lead. Emily Harris scored in the opening moments of the game, but the Lady Panthers were set back by a series of turnovers. With just over two minutes remaining in the quarter, Prague sent Abby Harelson to the free throw line on a foul and she went two-for-two, narrowing the lead 10-4.

Okemah was able to keep Prague from scoring the remainder of the quarter and Sophie Turner banked five points in the final two minutes of the quarter to narrow the lead, 10-9, heading into the second.

Prague went on an 8-0 run, extending their lead 18-9 to open the second quarter. Five minutes remained in the half before Cameron Duncan scored the Lady Panthers first points of the quarter. Duncan would then be fouled twice in the following minutes and made all four of her free throws. Jordy Tilley was also fouled and cut the lead 16-19, after making one of her free throws.

With four seconds remaining in the first half, Prague scored and looked to take a 16-21 lead into halftime. However, Sophie Turner got the last word when she sank a jump shot at the buzzer, injecting the Lady Panthers with momentum as they went into halftime, 18-21.

The game became a tale of two halves as Okemah came out swinging in the third quarter. Sophie Turner, Cameron Duncan and Abby Harelson all scored in the opening minutes of the third, sending the Lady Panthers on a 10-0 run and took the lead for the first time in the game.

Prague didn’t score again until 4:21 was left in the third. Jenna Berryhill added to the team effort shortly thereafter, making her first basket of the game. The Lady Panthers were aggressive on defense and Prague was sent to the free throw line several times during the third because of it. The Red Devils converted 5 of their 8 attempts at the free throw line. Despite that, and with the aid of four more points from Cameron Duncan, Okemah held a 34-33 lead heading into the final quarter.

Prague began the fourth quarter with back-to-back scoring opportunities and retook the lead 37-34, setting up a wild showdown for the rest of the game. Both teams traded points as the clocked ticked down into the final minute.

Prague sank a three-pointer with thirty-seven seconds remaining and led 50-48. Sophie Turner responded by driving to the basket and scoring while also drawing the foul. Her free throw gave Okemah a 51-50 lead. Prague turned the ball over on a double dribble with sixteen seconds remaining. Sophie Turner was fouled again on the inbound and banked both of her free throws, extending Okemah’s lead 53-50.

After a time-out, Prague missed their scoring attempt and Cameron Duncan was fouled on the rebound. With four seconds remaining, Duncan made both of her free-throws and the score widened, 55-50. On the Prague inbound, Jenna Berryhill intercepted the pass and sealed the victory for Okemah as time expired.