Henryetta and Morris renewed their hardwood rivalry this past Friday at the Henryetta Event Center.

After the final buzzer sounded, both Okmulgee County schools managed to come away with a victory to split the first regular-season meeting between the arch rivals.

Friday’s girls contest went to the visiting Morris Lady Eagles by a 53-22 margin, while the host Henryetta Golden Knights rallied from a 9-point deficit early in the second half to take the nightcap by a 56-50 advantage.

Both county cage programs were back in action Tuesday with home contests. Henryetta squared off against their third-straight county opponent in a 7-day period, hosting the Beggs Golden Demons and Lady Demons, while Morris welcomed the Kellyville Ponies and Lady Ponies to town for a key conference battle.

The two county schools will close out the week competing in the Large School portion of the 2023 Muscogee Nation Invitational Tournament, which is scheduled to get underway Thursday and con- tinue through Saturday.

In Friday’s girls game at Henryetta, the Lady Eagles escaped the first period with an 18-7 margin, then took the second stanza 14-5 to send the county battle to the halftime break with Morris leading by double digits, 32-12.

The visitors came out of the final two quarters with margins of 10-5 and 115, respectively, to walk away with the 53-22 decision.

The Lady Eagles were led in scoring by Skylar Phillips with 11 points, followed by Maddie Moore with nine and Jessica Wilson eight. Other Morris scorers in the county battle were Kaleah Barnett with seven, Emma Duclos six, Marti Yaerger five, Lillian Giddens three, and Taylon Ray and Reagan Bowling two each.

Henryetta’s top scorer on Friday was Brooklyn Baughman with eight points. McKayla Greenhaw was next offensively for the Lady Knights with five points, followed by Allana Lawrence and Graci Lollis with four each and Kassidy Lee one.

In Friday’s boys game at Henryetta, the Eagles led 17-13 after one and 3226 at halftime.

The Knights cut the Morris lead to two, 41-39, with a 13-9 advantage in the third period, then outscored their rivals 17-9 in the final frame to walk off their home floor with the 56-50 victory.

Morris’ Tucker Kelsey and Henryetta’s Nick Hudson finished with 19 points each to lead their respective teams in scoring on Friday.

Jordan Short (16) and Skylar Greenhaw (13) joined Hudson in double figures in the county battle, while Cody Smith (11) also reached double-digit scoring for the Eagles.

Austin Palmer was next offensively for Henryetta with four points, followed by the duo of Jacob Nail and Will Perez with two each.

Other Morris scorers in the county contest were Jerrick Raines with eight, Ryan Benavidez six, and Xavier Harjo and Koen Burgess three apiece.

--- Girls Game

Morris 53, Henryetta 22

Morris: 18 - 14 - 10 - 11 (53) Henryetta: 7 - 5 - 5 - 5 (22) Morris Scoring: Skylar Phillips 11, Maddie Moore 9, Jessica Wilson 8, Kaleah Barnett 7, Emma Duclos 6, Marti Yaerger 5, Lillian Giddens 3, Taylon Ray 2, Reagan Bowling 2.

Henryetta Scoring: Brooklyn Baughman 8, McKayla Greenhaw 5, Allana Lawrence 4, Graci Lollis 4, Kassidy Lee 1.

--- Boys Game

Henryetta 56, Morris 50

Morris: 17 - 15 - 9 - 9 (50) Henryetta: 13 - 13 - 13 - 17 (56) Morris Scoring: Tucker Kelsey 19, Cody Smith 11, Jerrick Raines 8, Ryan Benavidez 6, Xavier Harjo 3, Koen Burgess 3.

Henryetta Scoring: Nick Hudson 19, Jordan Short 16, Skylar Greenhaw 13, Austin Palmer 4, Jacob Nail 2, Will Perez 2.