Lady Sandites Place 2nd at Bishop Kelley Invitational, Morris & Wilson Make All-Tournament Team

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Yonnie Morris and Josh Berry with the Bishop Kelley Runner-Up trophy.

In a rematch of last year’s Bishop Kelley Invitational finals, this year it was No. 8 Owasso (5-1) that came out on top, defeating No. 7 Sand Springs 49-31 to dethrone the reigning champs.

“You’ve got to take your hats off to them,” said head coach Josh Berry. “They played well, they executed. We didn’t execute as well at times, but that’s kind of what happens when you have to change some stuff on the fly.”

The Sandites bullied their way to the finals with wins of 58-24 against Edison Prep (1-4) and 50-33 against Bishop Kelley (2-3), but lost Kiaryn Taylor to a knee injury against the Comets. She will go in for an MRI Monday to find out of the extent of the damage.

“We’ve just got to play a different style of basketball and what that may look like, we don’t know yet,” said Berry. “We’ve just got to find the best five that will give us a chance to win.”

Aaliyah Simone got her first start in Taylor’s absence and finished with 8 points, second only to Taiona “Yonnie” Morris’s 10 points.

Freshman Jordan Gilton was also called up for her first varsity action to provide some size in the paint.

“This was her first varsity game,” said Berry. “I think she gave us some really good energy, she provided some good physicality and a great attitude tonight.”

Sand Springs hung tough with the Rams throughout most of the game before suffering a fourth-quarter shutout.

Although they never once led in the game, they only trailed 14-11 after a deep buzzer-beater three from Simone to end the first quarter. Morris added another late three to end the half in a 26-23 deficit.

Sand Springs only trailed 38-31 to enter the fourth quarter but went 0-for-9 on field goals in the deciding stanza.

“We didn’t make as many shots as we have in the past,” said Berry. “The ball didn’t fall for us tonight and it fell them.”

Sand Springs did a lot of things right.

In their first meeting with the Rams, the Sandites gave up 15 offensive rebounds. On Saturday they only gave up 5. Last week the Rams secured 11 steals, but on Saturday they only had 5. In their first meeting the Sandites gave Owasso 26 free throws, but on Saturday they only gave up 17 opportunities.

Owasso had one big leg up on the Sandites, and that was three-point shooting. Sand Springs was 10-of-25 outside the arc versus Owasso’s 0-for-9 performance in the first game. But in the rematch Sand Springs was 3-of-17 while Owasso was 5-of-10.

Morris and Sakauri Wilson were both named to the All-Tournament team. Morris scored 36 points with 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 13 steals over three games while Wilson had 19 points with 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 11 steals over two games after sitting out during the tournament opener.

Oklahoma State softball-commit Jayelle Austin led all scorers with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The teams will get yet another rematch on January 26th in district action but there are many more games to be played before then.

Owasso will host No. 19 Union (5-2, 2-0) in district play on Tuesday while Sand Springs will host Putnam City (4-2, 2-1).

“You don’t take anybody lightly because you never know how the ball’s going to fall,” said Berry. “We’ve got to play our ball. We’ve got to get back to that and see what happens on Tuesday.

Owasso 49 CPHS 31

1Q: Owasso 14-11.
2Q: Tied 12-12.
3Q: Owasso 12-8.
4Q: Owasso 11-0.
Free Throws: Owasso 12-of-17, CPHS 4-of-9.
Field Goals: Owasso 16-of-42, CPHS 12-of-41.
Offensive Rebounds: Owasso 5, CPHS 3.
Defensive Rebounds: Owasso 25, CPHS 12.
Total Rebounds: Owasso 30, CPHS 15.
Steals: Owasso 5, CPHS 8.
Blocks: Owasso 1, CPHS 4.
Fouls: Owasso 10, CPHS 13.

Sand Springs Statistics

Scoring: Morris 10, Simone 8, Ti. Butler 6, Wilson 5, Pearce 2.
Offensive Rebounds: Ti. Butler 2, Pearce 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Morris 3, Ta. Butler 3, Wilson 2, Ti. Butler 1, Pearce 1, Garrison 1, Gilton 1.
Total Rebounds: Morris 3, Ta. Butler 3, Ti. Butler 3, Wilson 2, Pearce 2, Garrison 1, Gilton 1.
Steals: Wilson 4, Ti. Butler 3, Morris 1.
Assists: Wilson 1, Morris 1, Simone 1.
Blocks: Ti. Butler 4.
Fouls: Wilson 4, Pearce 3, Morris 2, Simone 2, Ta. Butler 1, Gilton 1.

Owasso Statistics

Scoring: Austin 18, Stover 9, McGarrah 9, Yokley 6, Hill 4, Wilson 3.
Fouls: Yokley 3, McGarrah 2, Wilson 2, Stover 1, Austin 1, Tease 1.