The Preston varsity basketball program traveled to Ada this past Saturday to battle the host Ada Cougars and Lady Cougars.
The Preston varsity basketball program traveled to Ada this past Saturday to battle the host Ada Cougars and Lady Cougars.
The Okmulgee County cage squads, ranked second and fifth, respectively, in Class 2A, proved to a formidable foes for the Class 4A Top 20 teams for most of the 4-quarter contests, but found themselves on the short end of a pair of double-digit setbacks.
The Lady Pirates saw a 2-point halftime lead turn into a 57-45 loss to the 17th-ranked Lady Cougars in Saturday’s opening contest, while the Pirates’ early lead became a 60-45 defeat to the 12th-ranked Cougars in the nightcap.
The Preston cage squads were back in action Tuesday at Eufaula and will close out the week with backto- back home games against Wewoka (Friday) and Beggs (Saturday), respectively.
In Saturday’s girls contest at Ada, the Lady Pirates came out of the opening frame with a narrow 1311 advantage. The Preston cage squad kept their 2-point lead at halftime, 29-27, after both teams tallied 16 points in the second period.
Ada took the third quarter by a 22-13 margin to take over the lead, 49-42, with eight minutes of action remaining.
The Lady Pirates were limited to three points in the final frame, while the host Lady Cougars put up eight points in the stanza to hand the Preston squad the 57-45 setback.
Jadyn Roberts was tops offensively for the Lady Pirates with a team-best 21 points. Adrianne Wilson also reached double figures in the loss with 16 points. Other Lady Pirate scorers against Ada were Emilie Stidman and Savannah King with three points each and Pheobey Finch two.
In Saturday’s boys battle with Ada, the Pirates came out of a back-and-forth opening frame with a narrow 14-13 margin. The host Cougars took a 30-23 lead at halftime following a 17-9 advantage in the second quarter.
The Preston squad cut the deficit to six, 40-34, after edging their foes 11-10 in the third period.
The visitors were unable to overcome the narrow deficit in the final stanza, as Ada came out of the quarter with a 20-11 margin, putting the Pirates on the short end of a 60-45 decision.
The Preston squad was led in scoring by the duo of Malachi Ligons and Jervais Goree with 12 points each.
Other Pirate scorers in the Top 15 battle were Giorgio Dunn-Spencer with nine, Keyton Smith six, Kareffren Bagby five, and Tucker Webb one.
--- Girls Game
Ada 57, Preston 45
Preston: 13 - 16 - 13 - 3 (45) Ada: 11 - 16 - 22 - 8 (57) Preston Scoring: Jadyn Roberts 21, Adrianne Wilson 16, Emilie Stidman 3, Savannah King 3, Pheobey Finch 2. --- Boys Game
Ada 60, Preston 45
Preston: 14 - 9 - 11 - 11 (45) Ada: 13 - 17 - 10 - 20 (60) Preston Scoring: Malachi Ligons 12, Jervais Goree 12, Giorgio Dunn-Spencer 9, Keyton Smith 6, Kareffren Bagby 5, Tucker Webb 1.
