The Muldrow High School basketball teams made it a happy homecoming by sweeping NOAA Conference foe and county rival Sallisaw on Friday night at Roger Sharp Activity Center.
Thanks to a buzzer- beating basket by Claire Tabor, the Lady Bulldogs pulled one out of the fire, winning 31-30 over the Lady Diamonds.
The Bulldogs also had to rally to defeat the Black Diamonds 55-49.
On Dec. 12, the Muldrow teams split their road contests against Inola. The Lady Bulldogs downed the Lady Longhorns 44-35, but the ’Dogs lost to the ’Horns 55-40.
In the Muldrow girls’ homecoming win over Sallisaw, the Lady Bulldogs (5-1 overall, 1-0 in NOAA Conference play) trailed 30-29 with 2:50 left in the game. The Lady Diamonds had a chance to add on to their lead, but missed a shot with about eight seconds left.
The Lady Bulldogs got the ball and called timeout. Once they got it across the timeline, Muldrow coach Jana Armer once more called timeout with about four seconds left. She drew up the play, which was for senior Claire Tabor to get the ball and drive the baseball toward the basket and take a short-range jump shot, which she did with about two- or three-tenths of a second left for the win.
The loss perhaps was costly as senior Kennedi Wight injured her left knee just as the first-half buzzer sounded, with Muldrow winning 14-13. The senior player did not return to the game. Armer said Wight was looked at by a doctor on Monday, but no further information was available as of press time.
For the game, Wight still led Muldrow on the night, despite not returning in the second half, with six points, all scored in the first quarter. Homecoming queen Grinstead and London Hardin each had five points, followed by Tabor and Katelynn Moore with four points each, Makynlee Morton with three points, Chloee Clark with two points and Kennady Moore and Kayla Ellinberg with a free throw apiece.
In the Muldrow boys’ homecoming victory, the ’Dogs (3-3, 1-0) trailed 24-22 at halftime, but they opened the third quarter with a 19-4 run, capped by a pair of Teaguen Collins free throws with 2:31 left in the third quarter to give Muldrow its largest lead of the night at 41-28. A buzzer-beating basket by Collins gave Muldrow a 43-35 lead going into the fourth quarter.
However, the ’Dogs almost saw the lead evaporate as the Black Diamonds opened the final period with a 9-2 run, capped by a free throw by Cooper Cox with 4:58 left to play, to cut the Sallisaw deficit to 45-44. However, the Black Diamonds were not able to take the lead down the stretch as the Bulldogs finished the game on a 10-5 run to seal the deal.
For the game, Muldrow put a trio of players into double figures, led by Collins and Parker Sevenstar each with 16 points, followed by Kashan Bukhari with 13 points. Jesse Kilinc with four points, while Irvan, Drew Prewett and Kenoy Releford scored two points apiece.
In the Muldrow girls’ road win over Inola, the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 9-3 lead after a quarter and a 21-11 halftime advantage, but the Lady Longhorns used a 9-7 third quarter to cut their deficit to 28-20 entering the final period. Muldrow kept Inola at bay with a 16-15 fourth quarter.
For the game, Wight scored a game-high 18 points and Grinstead added 13 points to lead Muldrow, followed by Katelynn Moore with five points and Tabor and Kayla Ellingberg with four points apiece.
In the Muldrow boys’ loss to Inola, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-13 lead after a quarter, but the Longhorns outscored them 27-16 from the start of the second quarter until ending the third quarter to take a 40-30 lead into the fourth period.
In defeat, Sevenstar led Muldrow with 10 points, followed by Prewett and Deshawn Wilson each with eight points, Anstine with five points, Kilinc with four points and Collins with a free throw.
