Mother Nature snuffed out part of The Heart of Oklahoma Tournament and the regular season contest at home against Marlow with the only Dragon action to close out January, a trip to Washington.

Purcell trailed at the end of the third quarter but canned 10 out of 15 charity shots in the third period to post a 46-39 victory over the host Warriors.

Maddox Ward nailed six of seven free throws and finished with 10 points in the victory. He scored eight of the 20 fourth period points for the Dragons.

Jaime Resendiz led the Purcell offense with 17 points doing most of his damage in the first half with 12.

Drew Blair, who finished with seven points, was also hot at the charity stripe canning four of his five attempts.

As a team, Purcell found the bottom of the net on 20 of their 26 free throw attempts while the Warriors were four of 11 at the line.

With the win, Purcell improved to 12-6 on the season heading into Tuesday’s home contest with Bridge Creek.

“It was a really physical match up the first go round, and this one was no different,” head coach Matt Lohn said.

“Coach Smith and his staff did a great job of scouting us, so we struggled to gain any traction on offense early. But, our defense was solid all night, forcing 16 turnovers for 15 points and I thought we did a good job of contesting most of their looks.

“I believe the difference in the game was our ability to get to the free throw line and convert. It allowed us to maintain our lead late and ultimately led to us winning the final quarter, 20-10.

“I was happy to see our focus and discipline be so sharp. It’s a sign of mental toughness and I am looking for us to build consistency with that as we finish conference and prepare for post-season play. This group has a lot of things they still wish to achieve. We’ve got to keep playing one possession and one game at a time,” Lohn concluded.

It was a long night at Washington for Purcell’s girls losing to the Warriors, 72-17.

Washington loped out to a 24-3 lead after the first period and never looked back.

Ali Brady led the Purcell scoring with six points.

“Playing the best team in 3A presents so many challenges,” head coach Toney Cooper said.

“This Washington team may be the best I have faced.

“They have it all from a scoring and defensive perspective. We knew we had to play at our very best to win this game.

“They jumped out on us and never let up. We turned the ball over 27 times, which was a major contributor in the large deficit we found ourselves in,” the coach said.

“Freshman Ali Brady got her first start and led us in scoring. Since the HOOT we have lost two starters to injuries. I was proud of the kids who stepped up going into a very difficult game,” Cooper concluded.

The girls are 6-12 on the season.