No. 1 Putnam West pulls away for conference title
Putnam West senior Mekayla Furman heard every negative word spoken about her defensive ability. So, she changed the perception. She hit the weight room to strengthen her legs. She focused more. “I got tired of everybody saying I couldn't play defense,” Furman said. Tuesday night, that paid off for the top-ranked Patriots. When shots weren't falling, she remained in tune defensively, which led to more scoring opportunities. And a Big 10 Conference championship. Putnam West pulled away from No. 15 Midwest City for an 82-69 victory for the conference title. “We're a special team this year,” Furman said. “There's never a doubt in my mind that we're not going to win, even when we're down.” Midwest City took a 22-15 lead early in the second, but free throws from Furman ignited 19-8 run to close the half. She broke a 30-all tie with two straight baskets in the final minute. That momentum carried over to the second half when the Patriots opened on a 12-3 run. “It was big,” Furman said. “I was just trying to get my team back in the game. I felt like we lost momentum, but we came out of it.” Furman finished with a game-high 21 points despite starting the night 0 for 5. “That's what she does,” Putnam West coach Davia Brock said. “She comes up in big moments. She's a very smart player. I appreciate the way that she's playing right now.” Tilan Nolan added 13 points and 14 rebounds, while ZaNiya Nelson scored 11 and grabbed 17 rebounds.
Nice momentum
Westmoore might have found its way. After an up-and-down start to the season, the Jaguars have won five straight games to improve to 12-9. The latest comes with a 63-56 upset of No. 3 Moore. Three players scored in double figures. Jaiden Smith led the way with 25, while Shelby Kraus scored 15 and Madison Hays added 11. That helped overcome a 31-point outburst by Moore's Aaliyah Moore.
Sister act
The Crawford sisters put on a show for Piedmont. Sophomore Delanie Crawford scored 18, while senior Regan Crawford added 16 in the secondranked Wildcats' 67-45 rout of No. 10 Lawton MacArthur. Piedmont moved to 18-3 and remained undefeated in Class 5A action.