Harrah holds off fiery finish from Lady Jays

It was a furious ending to a game that simply was not going the way the Guthrie Lady Jays basketball team was hoping for their first game in their own gym against Harrah.

Trailing by 13-points in the fourth quarter, Guthrie pulled within three-points with under 20 seconds to play after a 15-5 run in 80 seconds. However, Class 4A’s 10th ranked Panthers held on for a seven-point win, 34-27.

Guthrie (0-3) struggled from the field by shooting just 26% from the field on 12 of 47 shooting, but Harrah was not much better (11-29) at 38%. Both teams combined for 38 turnovers with 21 coming from Harrah.

Perhaps, the deciding factor in the game was the ability of Harrah to reach the foul line. The Panthers hit 11 of 22 attempts while Guthrie managed just 2 of 4 from the stripe.

After a 15-10 Harrah (5-2) halftime lead, that saw just four field goals for the home team, the Panthers kept their distance, but could not pull away. Guthrie hit just three field goals in the first 14:33 of the second half, but in the final 1:27 of the game drilled five field goals. However, five Harrah free throw’s ended the hope of a rally and the first win.

Senior Mikaela Murillo made seven of her 15 attempts and finished with 15 points to lead the way for the Lady Jays. Murillo’s younger sister, Melinda Murillo, and Gracynn Smith each added six points.

Guthrie will be in action next Tuesday when they participate in the Duncan Tournament. The three-day event will begin on Tuesday, December 27. In the first round, Guthrie will play Elgin (4:00) and the next day will face either Duncan or U.S. Grant. The bottom of the bracket will be Tahlequah, Madill, Norman North and Iowa Park.