WARR ACRES – Putnam City West ran their record to 10-0, winning the Putnam City Invitational girls title Saturday night (Jan. 6), capping off the tournament with a 63-49 win over Norman North.

Teams played a round-robin style rather than a bracket. The Lady Patriots were the only team to go undefeated in tournament play.

Against the Timberwolves, the game started tight at 5-5 but wouldn’t stay that way for long. West went on a 18-0 run in the first quarter, punctuated by a Shamar Bert 3-pointer from the top of the key.

The reason for the offensive burst wasn’t an offensive adjustment.

“We changed up the defense,” West coach Ja’Ron Jefferson said. “It always starts on the defensive end. Now, if our offense is going and our defense, it’s a whole problem.”

It was a problem Norman North (6-5) couldn’t solve as they would play catch-up from that point.

Senior Caya Smith, an Oklahoma commit, paced the Lady Patriots with 17 points and was named to the all-tournament team. Sophomore Kiana Gray added 15 on five treys. Fellow sophomore Da’Nae Jefferson added 12 points and also made the all-tournament team. Both Jefferson and Gray hit key shots in the fourth quarter when Norman North was trying to make a run.

Jefferson said his team’s conditioning was a key to closing out games.

“Being able to get up and down the floor, that kind of wear teams out, helped us out a lot.” Jefferson said. “Because we wasn’t (sic) making shots this weekend.”

Coming out the tournament and back into district play, Jefferson knows what he wants to work on in practice.

“I got out of this what we need to continue to work on which is communicate on defense and rotate early, not late,” Jefferson said.

For his role, Jefferson was named Outstanding Coach of the tournament.

UP NEXT: The Lady Patriots host Westmoore Friday (Jan. 12) in a Class 6A District 2 matchup.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	F
Norman North	8	11	15	15	49
Putnam City West	21	7	17	18	63

Putnam City North 61, Putnam City 38

The Lady Panthers brought their “chaos” defense, shutting down the Lady Pirates after a tight start in the win over their sister school.

North (11-3) pressed Putnam City, giving the Lady Pirates fits, something coach Logan Martin has been preaching to her team.

“(It’s ) the key to our success,” Martin said. “We’ve got to play really hard and speed people up.”

North outscored PC, 15-6 in the second quarter and 18-8 in the third quarter, taking command.

While the Lady Pirates sped up, North got double-digit scoring from junior Nykai Dillard and senior Neveah Sanchez with each scoring 16 points.

Martin praised but of her top players.

“(Dillard’s) had a great last three games. She’s a huge spark for us,” Martin said. ” (Dillard) and then Nevaeh Sanchez. Both have been our hustle players.”

Putnam City (4-7) is looking for answers, mired in a five-game skid after a 4-2 start. The Lady Pirates were more competitive in the final two games of the tournament after a blowout loss to Douglass on the opening day.

“This is something that’s great for my team to experience,” Putnam City coach Porsche’ Young said. “I feel like they need to go against this type of competition so they can kind of see where we’re at and where we can grow from.”

“I’m looking for the small victories. It may not look like it on the scoreboard, but if we’re getting better than what we were at the day before, then I’m glad with that,” Young said. “It’s all about effort. My girls give me effort, they play hard, what more can I ask for at this point?”

Sophomore point guard Promise Wright led Putnam City with 14 points. Juniors Kayla Hill and Paishintz Booker each added nine. Booker was named to the all-tournament team.

UP NEXT: The Lady Panthers host Norman North Tuesday (Jan. 9) in a Class 6A District 1 matchup.

The Lady Pirates travel to play Union Tuesday (Jan. 9) in a Class 6A District 3 game.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	F
Putnam City North	13	15	18	15	61
Putnam City	13	6	8	11	38

Putnam City Invitational
Final Girls Bracket Standings
1. Putnam City West (3-0)
2. Douglass (2-1)
3. Putnam City North (2-1)
4. Sand Springs (1-2)
5. Norman North (1-2)
6. Putnam City (0-3)

Putnam City Invitational
Girls Bracket
THURSDAY, Jan. 4
Douglass 77, Putnam City 26.
Sand Springs 57, Norman North 50.
Putnam City West 51, Putnam City North 40

FRIDAY, Jan. 5
Norman North 65, Douglass 57.
Putnam City North 58, Sand Springs 54.
Putnam City West 58, Putnam City 41.

SATURDAY, Jan. 6
Putnam City North 61, Putnam City 38.
Douglass 42, Sand Springs 34..
Putnam City West 63, Norman North, 49.

Putnam City Invitational Girls All-Tournament Team
Caya Smith – Putnam City West
Da’Nae Jefferson – Putnam City West
Brianna Jones -Douglass
N’Kiyah Burge  – Douglass
Paishintz Booker – Putnam City
Outstanding Player – Seleh Harmon – Norman North
Outstanding Coach – Ja’Ron Jefferson – Putnam City West