Class 6A girls basketball: Edmond North holds off Norman, repeats as state champion

NORMAN — After the champions rushed toward the trophy and gloriously paraded it in front of Edmond North’s student section, Elle Papahronis embraced Laci Steele.

Just as they did a year earlier, the childhood friends stood on the court at Lloyd Noble Center with shiny gold medals around their necks. This time, it was the final moment of their high school basketball careers.

“I may get emotional because these girls have brought this program on the map,” said Edmond North coach Pete Papahronis, sitting between daughter Elle and a misty-eyed Steele in the postgame news conference. “Not themselves only, but (they’re) four-year starters, (and) in my opinion, the best senior tandem in the state of Oklahoma.”

Saturday afternoon, they lifted their team out of an unfamiliar scenario to reach the pinnacle of Class 6A success again.

The Huskies escaped a nail-biter against Norman, 65-58, to secure their status as back-to-back state champions and polish off an undefeated season. After trailing by as many as 13 points, West top-ranked Edmond North made a tremendous comeback.

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Call it the fancy bow on the gift that Elle Papahronis and Steele have given to Edmond North’s girls basketball program.

Through four starting seasons, the dynamic duo has lost only a dozen games.

This year, the Huskies (29-0) rolled past every opponent, usually in dominant fashion. But in the state finals, they had to win differently. East third-ranked Norman (22-5), featuring star sophomore guard Keeley Parks, led 16-6 at the end of the first quarter while Edmond North was shooting 2 for 11 from the field.

It was a wake-up call.

“I didn’t want the last thing that I would remember about high school (to be) losing my last game,” said Elle Papahronis, who had a monster game with 30 points and 12 rebounds. “I don’t know. I think I just blacked out. I was like, I have nothing to lose. I’m going to go out, and I’m going to do everything I can to win this game with myself and with my teammates.”

Last season, older sister Toni provided a similar description of her state title game when she made the winning basket against Bixby. Saturday, with Navy basketball player Toni in the audience at Lloyd Noble Center, Elle put the team on her shoulders.

In the third quarter, Papahronis went on a 7-0 run to bring the Huskies back into the game, and Steele — who finished with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists – continued the spark. First, Papahronis hit a 3-pointer to give Edmond North a 39-36 lead. When Steele added a basket, the Huskies were up 45-36.

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Parks handled her first championship game appearance with poise, pouring in 27 points and six steals, but Norman was short-handed in the end as three players fouled out. Meanwhile, Allison Heathcock boosted the Huskies with 10 points, and Kate Melton provided four fourth-quarter points and five rebounds.

Pete Papahronis commended Norman and said he understood why teams were rooting against the Huskies. It wasn’t anything personal, but it’s natural for people to pull for a good upset. Heck, Papahronis himself said he pulls for the underdog in March Madness.

But when it’s his own team, he looks at the situation a little differently.

It’s a win for his basketball family.

“I’m happy for my daughter,” Pete Papahronis said. “I’m happy for her all the time. But I got 10 daughters out there.

…I’m just thrilled to death, and I love every single one of them.”

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSSAA girls basketball: Edmond North beat Norman for Class 6A title