The Sandites struggled throughout their Thursday evening game in Moore, but pulled away late in the fourth quarter for their tenth-straight win. The Class 6A No. 5 ranked Charles Page High School girls basketball team (13-2) prevailed 55-46 over unranked Southmoore (5-11) in the first round of the John Nobles Invitational at the Douglas H. Frederick Sports Complex.

University of Kansas-committed senior Holly Kersgieter lifted her team over the Sabercats with a 26-point performance and was the only Sandite in double-digits. Madison Crandall led Southmoore with sixteen and Erin Bean contributed twelve.

Destiny Johnson laid up on the opening tipoff and Kersgieter scored twice in the paint for a 6-0 lead before Bean got the Sabercats on the board. Both teams had trouble scoring in the opening period and went a combined 7-of-24 on field goals. Reagan Padilla and Morgan Ashton exchanged twos to close the quarter with a narrow 8-6 Sandite advantage.

The Sabercats took their first lead of the game on the opening play of the second quarter with a three-pointer from Torie Simon. Kersgieter responded with five and Johnson added two for a 15-9 lead. Isabella Regalado and Madison Burris also made their way into the scorebook, but Southmoore ran away with a nine-point streak to reclaim the lead at 23-19. A frustrated coach Tobey Nightingale benched four out of five starters for the remainder of the hal. Padilla and Jade Shrum rattled off a trio of free throws to close the half 23-22.

Kersgieter started the second half hot, scoring twice in transition, once on a steal and once on a rebound, before Bean got the Cats on the board. Kersgieter totaled eleven points in the quarter and Padilla hit a late three for a 42-35 lead to start the fourth.

Once again the Sabercats clawed their way back into the game and trailed by only a single point twice in the final stanza. The Sandites finally put the game away in the last minute with three steals, three trips to the free throw line, and a three-pointer from Regalado, riding an eight-point streak to the win.

The game marked the twelfth time this season that Kersgieter has led the team in scoring, and the 37th time in her career. It was also her seventh career game of 25+ points. Sophomore Darrian Jordan got her third career start, filling in for Jacie Taber who is out with injury. Jordan didn’t score any points, but collected five board for the Sandites. Padilla had her best performance since the season-opener with nine points.

The Sandites will return to action Friday at 4:00 p.m. against No. 2 Norman North (14-1), who defeated Durant in the quarterfinals. The Timberwolves boast the third-best defensive record in Class 6A, but are only sixteenth offensively, winning by an average score of 54-40. Sand Springs is the exact opposite with the third-best offensive record, and are sixteenth defensively with an average score of 63-49.

CPHS 55 SMHS 46
1Q: CPHS 8-6.
2Q: SMHS 17-14.
3Q: CPHS 20-12.
4Q: CPHS 13-11.
Free Throws: CPHS 15-of-23, SMHS 8-of-14.
Field Goals: CPHS 18-of-45, SMHS 16-of-39.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 6, SMHS 6.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 20, SMHS 17.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 26, SMHS 23.
Steals: CPHS 9, SMHS 4.
Blocks: SMHS 3, CPHS 2.
Fouls: CPHS 16, SMHS 16.

(Sand Springs Stats)
Scoring: Kersgieter 26, Padilla 9, Johnson 8, Burris 6, Regalado 5, Shrum 1.
Offensive Rebounds: Kersgieter 2, Regalado 2, Jordan 1, Padilla 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Johnson 6, Kersgieter 4, Jordan 4, Regalado 3, Padilla 1, Shrum 1, Hughes 1.
Total Rebounds: Johnson 6, Kersgieter 6, Regalado 5, Jordan 5, Padilla 2, Shrum 1, Hughes 1.
Steals: Johnson 4, Kersgieter 3, Burris 2.
Assists: Johnson 1, Burris 1.
Blocks: Regalado 1, Burris 1.
Fouls: Regalado 4, Burris 4, Johnson 3, Kersgieter 2, Jordan 2, Padilla 1.

(Southmoore Scoring): Crandall 16, Bean 12, Ashton 6, Atkinson 5, Haywood 4, Simon 3.