photo credit: Ava Mejia
Two of the biggest schools in central Ohio, Olentangy Orange and Olentangy Liberty, came together in Powell on Jan. 17 for their rivalry game, The Challenge, to raise money for the Natalie Gray Foundation.
The Natalie Gray Foundation raises money for brain tumor research. It was started by Natalie Gray after she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in 2021.
The girls’ basketball teams started the battle at 6 p.m. Students who purchased a shirt for the event and arrived by halftime of the girls’ game got in for free.
The girls fought hard holding a 35-33 lead going into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately they fell to liberty 50-59 after fighting all game.
Sophomore Kylie Perone led the girls with 21 points. Eight of those points were in the fourth quarter keeping the final score close.
State ranked #9 Liberty Patriots and #3 Orange Pioneers started their battle at 7 p.m. Liberty started off the scoring early but Orange quickly answered with 12 points before Liberty called the first timeout of the game.
The Pioneers kept their impressive lead all throughout the first quarter scoring 22 to the Patriots 12.
Going into halftime the Liberty boys were trailing Orange 25-37. With senior Devin Brown scoring 13 for Orange.
Halftime did not slow down the Pioneers momentum gained in the first half. In the third quarter senior Keegan Knupp and junior Levi Davis had back to back dunks forcing another timeout.
In the last quarter Liberty started closing the gap to only six. With clutch free throws by senior Ellis Appiah and Junior Treyton Schroder, Orange led by seven.
Orange called the last timeout of the game after the Patriots closed the Pioneers’ lead to only three.
The game ended with an Orange victory. The Pioneers scored 67 while the Patriots scored 63. Brown and Knupp each scored 15, contributing heavily to the Pioneer win.
Even though the Pioneers won the game, the Patriots won The Challenge scoring 263 points through fundraising while the Pioneers scored 167. It was a fun and successful night for everyone while supporting a great cause.
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