Lady Sandites win Bishop Kelley Invitational, Jackson named MVP
/The Sand Springs girls basketball team didn’t start the year the way it would have liked to, but, since a road loss at Sapulpa, the Sandites have won seven in a row and look poised for another successful season.
Hailey Jackson averaged 22.3 points per game and earned MVP honors over the weekend as the Sandites (7-1) swept the Bishop Kelley Invitational for the fifth time in their last six visits.
In the finals matchup against Owasso (2-2) Jackson scored 20 points and was complemented by 20 from Sakauri Wilson, who also received All-Tournament accolades.
“I don’t think they’ve both really even scratched the surface,” said head coach Josh Berry. “I think we’ve got a couple other ones that have the potential to be just as good and big as they are.”
“It’s going to take more games and a little bit more confidence and I think everybody will see a couple of these other ones end up stepping up in some of those roles.”
With only nine players on the varsity roster, everybody saw solid playing time at the tournament. Taiona Morris was out sick and Kiaryn Taylor missed the Thursday game against Bishop Kelley (1-4).
Patience Pearce and Abigaile Martin scored career highs of 6 and 7 points respectively, against the Comets. Jackson led all scorers with 22 and Wilson added 12.
The Sandites stormed out to a commanding 35-17 halftime lead before the Comets battled back and cut it as close as 44-39 late in the fourth. The Sandites held on to win their tenth straight against their former conference foes, 51-44.
In the semifinals the Sandites won 45-43 against Mustang (3-3) behind a 25-point effort from Jackson.
Sand Springs led by as much as 10 points after the first quarter but Mustang took a 31-28 advantage into the fourth and didn’t relinquish the lead till a seven-point run late in the game.
Tied at 43-43 with five seconds left, Taylor scored the go-ahead bucket on an inbound throw from Walker.
The finals game saw only seven lead changes and the Sandites led for all of the fourth quarter save for a brief tie at 41-41, but neither team ever led by more than six.
Martin hit a big three-pointer to go up 48-44 on an inbound throw from Wilson late in the fourth.
“(Martin) is one of them that ain’t practiced all week (due to sickness) and she’s been just gutting it out so I’m proud of her for that,” said Berry. “She made a big shot at the end and she played pretty big for us today.”
Wilson sank a pair of crucial free throws with 30 seconds left to go up 50-46 but Alex McGarrah hit a three to make it a one-point game.
Wilson added one more free throw in the final seconds but Makenna Yokley’s last-ditch three-pointer was short and the Sandites escaped with the win.
“I’m just proud of the girls,” said Berry. “They fought.”
“We had contributions from different players at different times. That’s what it’s going to take for us, along with big contributions from Hailey and from Sakauri. We really missed (Taiona Morris) this weekend. Once we can get her back, we just hope the others can continue getting better like they did with her out.”
Earlier in the week the Sandites notched their first conference win, 56-46 against Muskogee (1-3) behind a 23-point effort from Wilson and 14 points from Jackson.
The varsity boys also got their first win of the year against the Roughers (2-2) on Tuesday, 38-30, led by Michael Foster with 11 points and 7 rebounds.
Patience Pearce scored 11 points in a 37-35 JV girls win, while Blake Johnson scored 12 in a 33-31 JV boys loss.
Sand Springs will host Bixby on Tuesday and the boys will compete in the Memorial Invitational festival over the weekend.
