Kiaryn Taylor Leads Sandites to 58-24 Win over Edison Prep

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Walking pneumonia didn’t stop Kiaryn Taylor from walking all over the Edison Eagles Thursday morning in the first round of the Bishop Kelley Invitational.

Despite being just a day into her run of antibiotics, the uncommitted senior power forward put together a career-best performance with 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 steals to power the Sandites to a 58-24 victory.

“We’ve been needing her to do that all year long,” said head coach Josh Berry. “We’re going to need her to be consistent on doing that and she will be. She’s really been under the weather since the start of the season.”

“She’s been battling through some things and for her to go ahead and have a game like that I think is good for her confidence and good for the team confidence.”

No Sakauri Wilson? No problem. The Sandites’ leading scorer rode the bench for some recovery time against the outmatched Eagles after taking some bangs and bruises over the past two weeks.

Her absence led to a slow start for the Sandites, who fell into a 12-0 deficit after missing their first 14 field goal attempts.

Taylor got the Sandites on the board with a free throw and a Patience Pearce putback ended the drought in the field, igniting a 29-0 run.

“We didn’t finish early and we didn’t play hard,” said Berry. “In the second quarter I guess we just decided we wanted to play harder.”

After ending the first quarter down 12-5, Taylor dialed in to open the second quarter, stealing three consecutive possessions away from the Eagles. In the second quarter alone she scored 13 points with 5 steals, picking off Eagle passes at will while dominating the paint.

“She had a big quarter,” said Josh Berry. “Somebody was going to have to step up with Kauri being out.”

“I thought (Taiona Morris)’s intensity on the defensive end and her disruptiveness kind of helped us with that, along with Kiaryn, and everyone else just kind of followed their lead.”

Micah Musick finally broke that streak in the final minute of the half but the Sandites didn’t slow down, taking a 34-16 advantage into the locker room.

Edison was equally outmatched in the third quarter as the Sandites extended their lead to 51-21, taking a 30-point advantage into the fourth quarter for the second time this week. Sand Springs finally eased off the gas in the final eight minutes.

Taylor’s 23 points were a career high and enough to lead the Sandites. Taiona Morris added 12 points with 6 rebounds, 8 steals, and 4 assists, and freshman Tianna Butler also had a career night with 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.

“(Tianna)’s one of the most talented freshmen in the state,” said Berry. “She’s offensively skilled and talented enough to do whatever she wants to do out there on the court.”

“She can really shoot it, she can get to the basket, and she can rebound and finish when she makes her mind up. As soon as she gets that part of it, that’s going to help us out too.”

Sand Springs had more offensive rebounds against the Eagles than they had in their first three games combined while also coming away with an impressive 21 steals.

“We’re not going to be able to out-rebound a lot of groups, but if we can get a lot of pressure, if we can get steals, deflections, and takeaways, then we can offset some of the rebounding problems that may occur,” said Berry.

Following a tough 53-45 loss at Owasso last week, the Sandites have responded by outscoring their last two opponents 118 to 55 even while severely shorthanded.

The Sandites are still waiting for OSSAA clearance for Claremore transfer Hope Bump. They also lost Abigaile Martin to a season-ending injury and they’re still waiting for Calla Fueshko to return from an ACL tear last season. When those two pieces work their way into the lineup, Sand Springs should be especially dangerous.

Edison was led by Musick with 14 points as the only Eagle in double digits. They will head to the consolation bracket Friday at 10:00 a.m. against Tulsa Central (1-3).

Sand Springs will play in the semifinals Friday at 7:00 p.m. against the host Comets (2-1) who defeated Tulsa Central 47-34 in their first-round game. Sand Springs defeated Kelley 51-44 last year en route to their fifth championship at the tournament.

CPHS 58 Edison 24

1Q: Edison 12-5.
2Q: CPHS 29-4.
3Q: CPHS 17-5.
4Q: CPHS 7-3.
Free Throws: CPHS 8-of-11, Edison 4-of-13.
Field Goals: CPHS 22-of-64, Edison 10-of-26.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 18, Edison 5.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 15, Edison 15.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 33, Edison 20.
Steals: CPHS 21, Edison 8.
Blocks: CPHS 3, Edison 1.
Fouls: CPHS 10, Edison 7.

Sand Springs Statistics

Scoring: Taylor 23, Morris 12, Ti. Butler 10, Pearce 6, Ta. Butler 5, Garrison 2.
Offensive Rebounds: Pearce 5, Morris 4, Ta. Butler 3, Taylor 3, Ti. Butler 2, Crain 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Taylor 5, Ti. Butler 5, Morris 2, Pearce 1, Garrison 1, Crain 1.
Total Rebounds: Taylor 8, Ti. Butler 7, Morris 6, Pearce 6, Ta. Butler 3, Crain 2, Garrison 1.
Steals: Morris 8, Taylor 6, Ta. Butler 2, Garrison 2, Ti. Butler 1, Pearce 1, Crain 1.
Assists: Morris 4, Ta. Butler 3, Ti. Butler 3, Taylor 1.
Blocks: Ta. Butler 1, Ti. Butler 1, Crain 1.
Fouls: Pearce 2, Garrison 2, Morris 1, Taylor 1, Ta. Butler 1, Ti. Butler 1, Crain 1.

Edison Statistics

Scoring: Musick 11, Lyons 4, Galbreath 4, Brown 3, Peel-Thompson 2.
Fouls: Lyons 2, Musick 2, Chatman 2, McIntosh 1.