Cold shooting leads to forgetful loss to Cats

The Guthrie Lady Jays basketball team this season was 3-0 coming off a loss, but Piedmont stopped that trend, Tuesday evening, inside the Piedmont gymnasium.

Guthrie held two different 2-points leads in the first half, but Piedmont controlled the game. The Lady Wildcats snap a three-game losing streak with a 43-24 win and for the first time this season, Guthrie has dropped back-to-back games.

The Lady Jays, who were without the services of senior Allyson Chadd due to injury, could never get going offensively with the exception of the second quarter.

In the quarter, Guthrie scored 12 points, but in the three other quarters combined managed just 12 more points. In total, the Lady Jays shot just 19% from the field, but were 8-of-10 from the free throw line. Piedmont shot 45% from the field and were 4-of-9 from the free throw line.

Piedmont held Guthrie to zero field goals in the first quarter and jumped out to a 6-3 lead. Senior Jill Davis hit her first three-point shot to begin the second quarter to tie the game at six and minutes later Ashley Shields and Mikaela Murillo hit back-to-back buckets to take a 10-8 lead.

Davis gave head coach Terry Carris a spark off the bench with six points coming from beyond the arc. Davis finished 2-for-4 from the field and was named the Farmers and Merchants Bank Player of the Game.

However, Piedmont finished the half with an 11-5 run in the final 3:40 to take a 19-15 halftime lead. In the second half, Piedmont kept their distance by five or more points and held the Jays to just nine second half points.

Guthrie Scoring: Jill Davis 6, Gracynn Smith 5, Melinda Murillo 5, Mikaela Murillo 4, Macey Brown 2, Ashley Shields 2