PORT CITY CLASSIC: Muns makes surprise return, Knight tallies career highs as shorthanded Lady Zebras fall to Catoosa

Jan. 21—CATOOSA — When Jadyn Muns retired her basketball sneakers after the 2019 season, she never expected to return to the court in a playing capacity.

However, when members of the Claremore girls team reached out to her in desperation, she couldn't ignore the call to action. Less than 29 hours later on Thursday night, she found herself in a starting role for the Lady Zebras in the Port City Classic at the Catoosa Activity Center.

Muns was a much-needed addition for Claremore, which lost its top-two leading scorers — Hope and Grace Bump — earlier this week after the duo chose to leave the team for personal reasons.

The senior, who earned All-State honors in softball last fall, didn't disappoint in her homecoming. After nearly three years away from the sport, Muns scored eight points and grabbed two rebounds in a tightly contested 34-29 loss to host Catoosa.

The Lady Zebras play Edison, which lost to Tahlequah 79-11, in the consolation bracket at 1 p.m. Friday.

"All the girls started texting me and saying that two of their starting people quit, so I just wanted to help my girls out and do what's best," Muns said. "I played my freshman year but haven't played since. It was nice; it was really relieving. I had my girls behind my back, and it was fun."

Muns' first points came at the free-throw line in the third quarter, and her first field goal — a 3-pointer — gave Claremore a 19-18 lead shortly thereafter. She later hit a shot at the buzzer to put the Lady Zebras in front 23-21 entering the fourth.

Her final points trimmed the deficit to one at 28-27 late in the fourth, but the Lady Indians closed with a 6-2 run.

Claremore coach Michael Hughes was understandably impressed with Muns and her performance, stating she officially joined the team at around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

"For her to come in and play the minutes she played, she played great," Hughes said. "She's going to do nothing but get better for us. I wish she would've been here all year long, but we have her now, and we're content. We'll move forward with what we got, and over the next few weeks we'll see a lot of her."

Muns wasn't the only Lady Zebra to come through against seemingly insurmountable odds.

Laya Knight, also a senior, registered a double-double of 12 points and 16 rebounds, which were career highs in both categories. Eight of her rebounds were of the offensive variety.

Knight said it took some time adjusting to a revamped roster 12 games into the season, but she couldn't let the circumstances hinder her performance.

"I knew as long as we tried our hardest, we'd be good," Knight said.

Hughes attributed Knight's career night to her teammates' ability to get her the ball in good situations, as well as her tendency to play her hardest every time she is on the court.

"As always, she plays so hard, and that always helps when you do that," Hughes said. "She's getting better, and she's been getting better all year long. Tonight she has a double-double, and you can't ask much more of her."

Unfortunately for Claremore, the learning curve was evident early on.

The Lady Zebras committed 20 first-half turnovers while scoring only four points through the first 16 minutes.

Despite those hiccups, the halftime deficit was a manageable four points (8-4). Although turnovers remained an issue in the second half, finishing with 34 total, Claremore experienced vast improvements in scoring with 25 points.

They even led by as many as five after a three-point play from Aubrey Silversmith to open the fourth period. The freshman finished with five points and seven rebounds.

The Lady Zebras went on to win the rebounding battle 39-28 and force 22 turnovers overall.

Catoosa's Baylee Wiginton scored nine of her game-high 14 points in the fourth quarter, hitting seven free throws during that stretch to carry the Lady Indians to victory.

Ta'Nei West (eight points, one rebound), Jessica Benson (seven points, four rebounds) and Frankie Jeremiah (two points, six rebounds) had notable performances as well for Catoosa.

The Lady Indians play Tahlequah in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday.

"Had we not had a girl foul out with four to play — because we were up (five) at that point — I think we probably win," Hughes said. "But it's a learning experience. The kids we had on the floor today, half of them have played and half of them haven't. We haven't played together ever, so to come out here and lose by five, there's no shame in that.

"Hopefully we just continue to get better as a team and gel together. We'll be all right."