Edmond North girls continue to be a dominant force with latest Mustang Holiday Classic title

MUSTANG, OKLAHOMA - While the bodies in the jerseys may have changed, the grit and hustle that has become synonymous with Edmond North girls basketball has apparently not. 

That was on display throughout the weekend as the two-time defending Class 6A state champions walked away with their third straight Mustang Holiday Classic championship. 

“Going into this tournament, it's been as loaded as it's ever been,” Edmond North coach Pete Papahronis said. “There are good teams up and down the deal. They're always special, but this one was really special.

"The caliber of teams, we've got two, three returning state champions in the girls' bracket. So to come out victorious, it means a lot.”

Facing host Mustang (7-4) in the title game Saturday, Edmond North (8-0) rolled to a 49-26 victory at the Mustang Activities Center. Led by a suffocating defense, the Lady Huskies bullied their way to the title.

“The key is just the same as it has been every year,” said North senior Allison Heathcock. “We are winners. We know how to win.

"Just working hard and focusing on our game, it just works out for us every time.”

Heathcock led all scorers with 18 points and nine rebounds. The Creighton signee was named Most Outstanding Player as she scored 70 points in three games. That is one point shy of the tournament record which had been set by Bethany’s Zya Vann and Broken Arrow’s McKenzie Mathurin earlier in the day.

Papahronis took the blame for his star not ending the day with the record.

“She probably would've broken the record,” Papahronis said. “That was my fault. I only played her 22 minutes (in Friday's semifinal win against Bethany) and then I pulled her out (Saturday).”

Heathcock was joined on the all-tournament team by Kate Melton, who posted four points, two assists and two rebounds. But more importantly, she was able to help lock down the Broncos' backcourt.

“We've played Mustang in multiple finals of this tournament, and I think this year, we just focused on our defense,” Melton said. “Our defense led us to that win by a larger margin.

"I think just all around defensively, we were really good today.”

Mya Alston paced Mustang with 10 points. No other player scored more than four points in the defeat.

North and Mustang played right before the Christmas break in a game the Lady Huskies won, 57-37. So both squads knew kind of what to expect from each other.

However, if there was any chance of a letdown, that evaporated after they watched the Broncos knock off previously unbeaten Seiling in the semifinals.

“After watching Mustang play last night, they looked phenomenal against Seiling (in Friday's semifinals)," Papahronis said. "They put up 70 points, they were executing, and I saw that. It had us thinking. So I went back and watched film all day.

"We talked. I said, this is not the Mustang team that we played a couple of weeks ago in our place, but my girls just came out (Saturday) defensively and just wreaked havoc. They weren't able to get into what they do. I think that was a key.”

Edmond North has had enough success that they don’t need to send messages. But with several opposing coaches and players in attendance, this weekend was a good reminder to the rest of the state that rumors of their demise may have been premature.

“We lost two phenomenal players (referring to 2023 seniors Laci Steele and Elle Papahronis). Great players. They're playing at the next level, our defense never ends,” Pete Papahronis said. “Our stops, our intensity, our aggressiveness, our discipline, all those things are our culture that we have, I think never ends.

"Yes, we may have less talent or more talent than at certain years, but I think we're going to be competitive, and I think we're competitive this year. I don't know how far we can go; I know that night in and night out you can lose to anybody, but night in and night out, you can beat anybody.”

-- Michael Kinney | @SBLiveOK