No. 4 Sand Springs steamrolls Jenks 71-35, Kersgieter is force to be reckoned with

Holly Kersgieter scored 19 Tuesday night against the Jenks Lady Trojans. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

CPHS 71 Jenks 35

1Q Sand Springs 15-6
2Q Sand Springs 15-8
3Q Sand Springs 26-6
4Q All 15-15

Scoring: (Sand Springs) Kersgieter 19, Pennington 15, McGee 11, Johnson 10, Taber 7, Regalado 4, Collins 2, Bunch 2, Boaz 1. (Jenks) Wasson 12, Watson 7, Ruley 7, Meely 4, Gilford 4, Smith 1.

(Sand Springs only)
Offensive Rebounds: Kersgieter 5, Johnson 3, Taber 2, Pennington 2, McGee 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Pennington 6, Kersgieter 5, Collins 4, McGee 4, Regalado 3, Taber 3, Johnson 2, Bunch 2, Grant 1.
Steals: Pennington 2, Bunch 2, Johnson 2, Regalado 1, Taber 1.
Assists: Pennington 6, Taber 3, Kersgieter 2, McGee 2, Johnson 1, Collins 1.
Blocks: Johnson 2, Kersgieter 1.
Fouls: Regalado 4, Taber 3, Johnson 2, Pennington 1, McGee 1, Kersgieter 1.

The Sandites lost their 6'2" Division One-bound center a week ago after Gloria Mutiri sprained her ankle against Union. Her absence was a major factor in the Ladies' first loss of the season Friday at Owasso. Her absence was less noticeable Tuesday night in Jenks as Sand Springs rolled to a 35-point victory for the fifth time this season.

Despite the 30-14 halftime lead, the game was still a slow-starter for the Sandites considering their competition. The Lady Sandites are ranked fourth in Class 6A with a 15-1 record, while Jenks is unranked with a 5-12 record. Sand Springs is 8-1 in the Frontier Valley Conference while Jenks is 3-6.

Oklahoma State University softball-signed senior Sydney Pennington scored the first five points of the night for Sand Springs before sophomore Holly Kersgieter got in on the action with a layup and foul shot. The Trojans' first points came from the charity stripe, shot by Haley Meely. Sand Springs took an 8-2 lead before Rylie Watson hit back-to-back field goals to cut the deficit down. The Sandites had no intention of a close game, however, and Pennington laid up and shot a plus-one, followed by field goals from Kersgieter and Destiny Johnson.

Pennington added four more points in the second period, Kersgieter had two, Kierra McGee got in on the action with four, Johnson added four more, and Isabella Regalado had the final goal of the half on a free throw to make it 30-14.

Sand Springs found the throttle in the third quarter, outscoring their opponents 26-6 with eight from Kersgieter. Sophomore Jacie Taber also got in on the action with a layup and free throw. Starting the fourth quarter 56-20, Kersgieter scored four-straight and Johnson hit a two for the forty-point advantage and Sand Springs pulled their starters.

The second string was more equally matched and the Trojans cut things back down to 63-26 with goals from Tatiana Gilford and Watson. Bailey Boaz, Amari Grant, Jessica Collins, and Ashley Bunch all got in on the action for Sand Springs and finished the evening 71-35.

Kersgieter scored a career-high 19 points for the evening and hauled in ten rebounds for her first ever double-double. She also added two assists and a block. Pennington was next up with 15 points, six rebounds, six assists, and two steals. McGee scored 11 and Johnson scored 10 to put four Lady Sandites in double-digits. Wasson was the lone Trojan to break double digits, scoring 12.

The Sandites will return to action Friday with a home game against 5A No. 16 Bishop Kelley (6-9), who they already defeated 71-36 in the first game of the season. Jenks will travel to No. 16 Union (10-8) next Tuesday.