Lady Sandites Topple Trojans 50-33 in Playoffs, Play Choctaw Saturday

The No. 8 ranked Charles Page High School girls basketball team (20-7) used a balanced team effort and an explosive second half to take down No. 15 Jenks (15-12) in the first round of the Area consolation playoffs Thursday night in Sapulpa, winning 50-33 in a game they controlled from start to finish.

Sand Springs never once trailed, though the Trojans hung fairly close through the first half, only down 21-17 to start the third and 36-25 entering the fourth.

Back-to-back-to-back three pointers from Taiona Morris, Tianna Butler, and Aaliyah Simone early in the fourth put the game firmly out of reach.

“We made shots,” said head coach Josh Berry. “That third quarter we finally made some shots and made a couple threes, got a couple layups in, so it kind of opened up for them.”

It was the Sandites’ first meeting of the season with their former conference foes and their 20th consecutive victory over the Lady Trojans in a streak dating back to 2013.

The teams traded buckets to a 4-4 tie before a three-pointer from Sakauri Wilson gave Sand Springs the lead for the remainder of the game. Wilson also scored the Sandites’ first two buckets, on putbacks, and had 11 points and 4 rebounds in the first quarter alone.

Sand Springs dominated the boards early on but Jenks boxed out better after the first quarter and the two teams matched up fairly well in that regard.

Sand Springs had the better defense, however, and came away with 11 steals on the night while holding Rice-commit Jill Twiehaus to only 11 points.

“She’s a great talent,” said Berry. “We just wanted to make her work for every single shot that she gets.”

While Wilson was limited offensively in the second half, her teammates stepped up and four different Lady Sandites finished in double digits.

Freshman Tianna Butler had 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks while Hope Bump had 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 steals.

“We have multiple people that can score the basketball so that’s a good thing,” said Berry. “Hopefully they all score the ball come Saturday.”

Morris started the night 0-of-9 on first-half field goals but dialed it in for the second half to score 10 points.

“She’s gotten so much better,” said Berry. “She just keeps getting better and better as the year goes on. I just tell her ‘keep playing hard, focus on that part of it, the ball’s going to find the hole eventually.’ She’s too good for it not to find the hole.”

Sand Springs will return to action Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the Area consolation finals at Sapulpa against No. 3 Choctaw (24-1), who suffered its first loss of the season 34-31 against No. 5 Owasso (21-5) in the championship game.

“Great team, good coach,” said Berry. “It’s gonna be a battle. You go out there and you fight from start to finish. Whatever happens happens.”

CPHS 50 Jenks 33

1Q: CPHS 14-8.
2Q: Jenks 9-7.
3Q: CPHS 15-8.
4Q: CPHS 14-8.
Free Throws: CPHS 5-of-9, Jenks 6-of-17.
Field Goals: CPHS 19-of-52, Jenks 13-of-42.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 9, Jenks 10.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 14, Jenks 14.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 23, Jenks 24.
Steals: CPHS 11, Jenks 4.
Blocks: CPHS 4, Jenks 6.
Fouls: CPHS 14, Jenks 9.

Sand Springs Statistics

Points: Wilson 16, Ti. Butler 11, Bump 10, Morris 10, Simone 3.
Offensive Rebounds: Wilson 3, Ti. Butler 3, Bump 2, Morris 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Bump 4, Ti. Butler 4, Simone 3, Wilson 2, Morris 1.
Total Rebounds: Ti. Butler 7, Bump 6, Wilson 5, Simone 3, Morris 2.
Steals: Bump 6, Ta. Butler 2, Wilson 2, Simone 1, Ti. Butler 1.
Assists: Bumps 2, Morris 2, Wilson 1, Ti. Butler 1, Ta. Butler 1.
Blocks: Ti. Butler 3, Bump 1.
Fouls: Bump 3, Wilson 3, Simone 3, Ti. Butler 3, Morris 2.

Jenks Statistics

Points: Ifeoma 12, Twiehaus 11, Dodder 4, White 3, Anderson 2, Jones 1.
Fouls: Jones 3, Ifeoma 2, White 1, Dodder 1, Sykes 1, Zhang 1.