NORMAN – Putnam City North junior Kiana Gray’s last second heave was off and the Lady Panthers lost, 65-62, to Norman in the finals of the Joe Lawson Memorial Invitational Tournament at Norman High School.
With the win, Norman avenged a 44-35 North loss to North in the title game last season.
Gray’s long shot was miracle in itself. After Norman senior Keeley Parks hit two free throws to make it 65-62. North senior Brandie Harrod hurled a baseball pass down the court and Gray caught the ball and put a shot up all in one motion but it was just off the mark.
North had a chance because of Gray, who hit a long, contested three in front of the North bench with one second left to make it 63-62. The Lady Panthers fouled Parks, who hit two free shots to set up the final sequence.
After an 18-8 start in the first quarter for North (including a 10-0 run), Norman answered by outscoring North 16-8 in the second quarter. From there, it was a tight ballgame.
Gray and senior Nini Geretta were named to the All-Tournament team. Norman’s Parks was named Most Valuable Player.
Geretta paced North with 17 points with four 3-pointers. Nykaiya Dillard added 13 points. Harrod added 12 points.
Parks scored a game-high 31 points.
The Lady Panthers struggled at the free throw line, hitting 12-of-30 from the stripe.
UP NEXT
The Lady Panthers (8-1, 2-0) head back to Norman (8-0, 2-0) for a 6A-2 matchup Tuesday (Dec. 17) at 6 p.m.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norman (8-0) | 8 | 16 | 18 | 23 | 65 |
| Putnam City North (8-1) | 18 | 8 | 17 | 20 | 62 |
PUTNAM CITY NORTH – Nini Geretta 17, Nykaiya Dillard 13, Brandie Harrod 12, Tehlia Kutsoati 8, Kiana Gray 7, Raya Shawareb 5.
