Earlsboro’s Wildcats and Lady Wildcats each moved to 1-1 on the season with victories over host Strother Tuesday night.
The Lady Wildcats posted a 66-59 overtime win while the Wildcats recorded a last-second 42-40 triumph.
The Yellowjackets led 12-8 after the first quarter of the girl’s game, but were down 26-25 at intermission. Earlsboro was the dominant team in the third quarter, but Strother knotted the score at 54-all by the end of regulation.
The Lady Wildcats prevailed in overtime, 12-5.
Megan Maloy led Earlsboro with 21 points, including 16 in the first half. She hit four treys on the night.
Loren Brannon and Miracle Gentry were also double-digit point contributors for the Lady Wildcats with 15 and 12, respectively.
Kyla Hawkins and Jordan Lasley scored eight apiece.
Gentry hit back-to-back foul shots to put the Lady Wildcats up by one late in the game, and Lasley’s 3-for-4 effort from the charity stripe in OT iced the game.
“Offensively, I thought we played consistently,” said Earlsboro head coach Mark Maloy. “Defensively, we’ve got to get better. But, we hung in there and pulled one out.”
Earlsboro’s boys led 8-6 after one quarter and 22-17 at the break. The loss of key player Dion Wild in the third quarter allowed the hosts to close in and tie the score at 40-all with little time left to play.
Zach Miller, who ultimately scored eight points for the Wildcats on the night, drove the length of the court and sank a shot with three seconds remaining to pull up the 42-40 final.
“We’re happy to get our first win,” said Earlsboro head coach Russell Parsons.
Wild, who came out with an injured knee, led the Wildcats with 12 points. Defensively, he limited Strother’s Dakota Little — who had been averaging 30 points per game — to just nine points on the night.
“He did a good job containing him,” Parsons said. “I thought our defensive effort was good.”
Austin Hopper scored nine points for the Wildcats, and Kyle Crow and Doyle Stryker pitched in with seven and six, respectively. The Wildcats as a team were 7-of-8 from the foul line.
Earlsboro will visit Dale Friday, with the Lady Wildcats and Lady Pirates tipping off at 6:30 p.m. The boys’ game will follow.
SEMINOLE, Okla. —
