CPHS Basketball: Girls fall 63-55 to 5A No. 3 Tahlequah at Port City Classic

The No. 3 team in Class 5A was just a hair too much for the 6A No. 13 Sandites, and Tahlequah improved to 11-2 on the season with a 63-55 win over Charles Page High School (6-6) in the Port City Classic semifinals. Sand Springs played from behind for the entire second half, but rallied from 11 down to as close as 60-55 in the final minutes.

Journey Armstead started the Sandites up 4-0 before Tahlequah streaked back with eight in a row. Not to be outdone, the Sandites had a ten-point streak of their own to take a 15-10 advantage into the second quarter.

Armstead scored 11 points in the first quarter alone but went down with an injury early in the second. By the time she rejoined the game the Tigers had rallied to a 25-22 lead and rode that momentum to a 31-26 halftime advantage.

Tatum Havens drilled a three to open the second half and Corey Rainwater added a pair of free throws for their first double-digit lead, and Kacey Fishinghawk added another three to make it 39-28. The Sandites cut it to 48-40 to end the third but threes from Havens and Lydia McAlvain put them right back up 54-43 with four minutes to play.

Sand Springs cut it to 60-55 with under a minute to play, but although momentum was on their side, the clock was not, and the girls were in substantial foul trouble. Armstead finished the game with 17 points to lead all scorers, followed by Hailey Jackson with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Accuracy was the deciding factor as both teams completed 19 field goals apiece, but the Sandites shot only 35.8% while the Tigers made 57.5% of their attempts. Sand Springs also struggled at the charity stripe, making only 54.5% of their 22 attempts, while Tahlequah was rewarded on 66.7% of their free throws.

Lady Sandite Basketball will return to action Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in a third-place match-up against Frontier Valley foe Owasso (2-11). They previously beat the Rams 65-41 in a conference game on Tuesday. Tahlequah will take on 4A No. 6 Verdigris (8-1) in the championship match at 7:00 p.m. Verdigris beat Owasso 44-30 in their semifinal. Both games will be played at Verdigris High School.

THS 63 CPHS 55
1Q: CPHS 15-10.
2Q: THS 21-11.
3Q: THS 17-14.
4Q: CPHS 15-14.
Free Throws: THS 18-of-27, CPHS 12-of-22.
Field Goals: THS 19-of-33, CPHS 19-of-53.
Offensive Rebounds: THS 5, CPHS 17.
Defensive Rebounds: THS 17, CPHS 11.
Total Rebounds: THS 22, CPHS 28.
Steals: THS 10, CPHS 11.
Blocks: CPHS 1.
Fouls: THS 21, CPHS 23.

(Sand Springs stats)
Scoring: Armstead 17, Jackson 13, Wilson 7, Kirkendoll 5, Jordan 5, L. Morris 4, Cheney 3, Hampton 1.
Offensive Rebounds: Armstead 4, Jackson 4, Kirkendoll 3, Wilson 2, Cheney 2, Jordan 2.
Defensive Rebounds: Jackson 5, Kirkendoll 2, Cheney 1, Hampton 1, T. Morris 1, Jordan 1.
Total Rebounds: Jackson 9, Kirkendoll 5, Armstead 4, Cheney 3, Jordan 3, Wilson 2, Hampton 1, T. Morris 1.
Steals: Wilson 4, L. Morris 3, Jordan 2, Armstead 1, Jackson 1.
Blocks: Jackson 1.
Assists: Wilson 2, Kirkendoll 2, Armstead 1.
Fouls: Wilson 4, Cheney 4, Jackson 3, Kirkendoll 3, Jordan 3, Armstead 2, L. Morris 2, Hampton 1.