It was a great start and a perfect ending for head coach Pete Papahronis and the Guthrie girls basketball team in their season debut inside the school gymnasium.
The Lady Jays jumped out to an 8-0 start and kept their distance with a 65-45 win over El Reno. Guthrie begins the season at 1-0 as El Reno falls to 1-2.
Papahronis earned his first win as the girls head coach after coaching the BlueJays to two state titles and five state tournament appearnaces in nine seasons for the Jays.
Senior Melinda Murillo was the scoring spark in the first half while freshmen Micayla Haynes provided the second half scoring. Murilllo scored seven of her 14 points in the first quarter and Haynes piled on eight of her game high 17 points in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Kamber Smedley and junior Cassidy Jones each provided nine points.
Haynes was one of three freshmen (Jillian Chappell and Aaliyah Allison) to play key roles for the team. Haynes was named the F&M Bank Player of the Game.
Post game radio interview with Pete Papahronis (allow time to buffer).
Despite the quick start, El Reno closed the gap thanks to a 11-4 run in a span of 4:30 to close out the opening quarter with a 12-11 Guthrie lead.
At the half, the Lady Jays cushion their lead to eight, 27-19, with Murillo supplying five points and Jones four.
Guthrie was able to extend a double-digit lead three minutes in the third period, but the Indians scored six straight to pull back within four, 33-29. From that point, Guthrie would go on an 11-4 run and eventually pull away for good.
The Lady Jays were impressive on the defensive side by taking six charges with Jones taking two of those.
Up next, Guthrie will entertain Piedmont Friday night inside the GHS gym beginning at 6:30. The game can be heard on 105.1 FM and on Guthrie Sports Page.
Guthrie Scoring: Micayla Haynes 17, Melinda Murillo 14, Cassidy Jones 9, Kamber Smedley 9, Jillian Chappell 6, Aaliyah Allison 4, Rachel Freie 4, Alma Robinson 2
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