Lady Sandites Fall 53-45 at Owasso, Wilson & Morris Score 17 Apiece

For the first time since 2018, the Owasso girls’ basketball team (2-0, 2-0) managed to topple the Lady Sandites (1-1, 1-1) Friday night, winning 53-45 to snap a 12-game losing streak against their former Frontier Valley rivals.

The teams traded leads through the first three quarter and the game was tied 35-35 at the 2:25 mark of the third quarter before the Rams went on a 9-point run and never looked back in the district victory.

Owasso out-rebounded the visiting Sandites 35 to 16, including 15 offensive boards, to make up for an 0-for-9 performance from three-point range.

The Sandites survived as long as they did thanks to a strong 10-for-25 performance outside the arc, including five treys from Taiona “Yonni” Morris.

Morris, a senior Oklahoma A&M commit, had a career night with 17 points to lead the Sandites.

Sakauri Wilson, a Southwestern Oklahoma State commit, also had 17 points to go with 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 5 assists.

Wilson scored 12 in the first half and the girls led by as much as 22-16 before the Rams went on an 8-point run to take the lead. A three-pointer from Tay’Ja Butler helped the Sandites take a 25-24 advantage into the locker room.

After taking their final lead at 32-28, the Sandites gave up a 16-3 run to end the quarter, broken up only by a three-pointer from Tianna Butler at the 2:25 mark.

Morris’s fifth and final three-pointer cut it to 50-45 with 1:21 to play but those would be the last points for the Sandites.

Missouri Southern State-commit Makenna Yokley led her team with 15 points, followed by Seldon Stover and Alex McGarrah with 13 apiece.

Owasso dominated the boards and the turnover battle while committing only 9 penalties to the Sandites’ 16, getting to the free-throw line 18 times.

The Sandites will get a rematch on January 26th at the Ed Dubie Field House, but next up on the agenda is a district trip to Enid (0-1, 0-1) Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The Rams will host Edmond Memorial (1-1, 1-1) on Tuesday.

Owasso 53 CPHS 45

1Q: Owasso 13-11.
2Q: CPHS 14-11.
3Q: Owasso 20-10.
4Q: CPHS 10-9.
Free Throws: Owasso 17-of-26, CPHS 5-of-6.
Field Goals: Owasso 18-of-45, CPHS 15-of-42.
Offensive Rebounds: Owasso 15, CPHS 3.
Defensive Rebounds: Owasso 20, CPHS 13.
Total Rebounds: Owasso 35, CPHS 16.
Steals: Owasso 11, CPHS 6.
Blocks: Owasso 2, CPHS 4.
Fouls: Owasso 9, CPHS 16.

Sand Springs Statistics

Points: Wilson 17, Morris 17, Ta. Butler 6, Ti. Butler 3, Pearce 2.
Offensive Rebounds: Taylor 2, Ta. Butler 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Taylor 4, Wilson 3, Simone 3, Ta. Butler 1, Ti. Butler 1, Pearce 1.
Total Rebounds: Taylor 6, Wilson 3, Simone 3, Ta. Butler 2, Ti. Butler 1, Pearce 1.
Steals: Wilson 3, Morris 1, Ta. Butler 1, Pearce 1.
Assists: Wilson 5, Morris 1, Taylor 1, Simone 1.
Blocks: Ti. Butler 4.
Fouls: Ti. Butler 4, Taylor 3, Simone 3, Pearce 2, Ta. Butler 2, Wilson 1, Garrison 1.

Owasso Statistics

Points: Yokley 15, Stover 12, McGarrah 12, Hill 10, Austin 4.
Fouls: Austin 3, McGarrah 2, Hill 1, Yokley 1, Stover 1, Wilson 1.

Sakauri Wilson Leads Sandites to 48-47 Win Over Owasso

Sakauri Wilson missed a floater with 14.3 seconds left in the game, but secured the rebound. After a brief timeout she was fouled by Kynlie Wilson and hit the go-ahead free throw to make it 48-47.

She missed the second three throw, but once again secured the rebound - her tenth on the night.

The junior earned her first career double-double with 13 points and helped propel No. 11 Sand Springs (10-4, 3-2) to a gritty conference win over No. 14 Owasso (6-5, 1-4).

All night long the 5’5” point guard came through in clutch moments due to her speed, ferocity, and fearlessness in matchups with players who easily outsized her.

“Our big needed help rebounding so it was my time to come in and help rebound, little or not,” said Wilson.

She also recorded three steals and five assists in a rematch of the Sandites’ 51-49 victory over Owasso in the Bishop Kelley Invitational finals.

“My mind was we can’t lose because if we lose, we’re not hosting (a Regional playoff),” said Wilson. “I really want to host and I want to make it to State with them. So that’s my goal. If I have to put my team on my back, then I’ll do it.”

“Once she understands how good she really is and how she can control the game, I think the sky's the limit for her,” said head coach Josh Berry.

Owasso stormed out to a 17-10 lead after the first quarter at the Ed Dubie Field House, but a trey from Kiaryn Taylor tied it up early in the second. The Sandites closed the half on a 9-1 run to make it 28-27.

Chrinasia Elbert put the Rams back on top to open the half and the Sandites didn’t regain the lead till Hailey Jackson hit a deep two to open the fourth on an inbound throw from Wilson.

The fourth quarter saw three tie scores and five lead changes but ultimately the Sandites held on for their 10th consecutive victory against the Rams. The Sandites are 4-0 in one-score games this season.

“I’ve been noticing we’ve got some resilience to us,” said Berry. “Early on, we didn’t fight like that when we got down. But now we’ve got a little resilience. I think they’re believing that we’ve got a chance to be a really good team.”

Jackson led all scorers with 21 points and is averaging 20.6 per outing this season. Makenna Yokley had 16 to lead Owasso.

The Sandites will return to action Tuesday with a home game against No. 9 Jenks (7-2, 4-1).

Owasso 54, Sand Springs 45 (boys)

Owasso (4-6, 2-3) needed a win. The Rams entered the Ed Dubie Field House unranked after losing four of their last five, and they found it in a 54-45 battle with No. 18 Sand Springs (6-5, 1-4).

“(Eric) Savage does a great job with his guys,” said Owasso coach Brian Montonati.

“We knew it was going to be a tough battle, so we’re extremely happy to get away with a win. We needed one of these.”

Brandon Mann scored the first two buckets of the game en route to a 12-point performance and the Rams never trailed in the first half, though a pair of late treys from Kooper Kelly cut it as close as 22-20.

The Sandites opened the third on a 10-point run, however, and a free throw from Blake Johnson gave the home team the lead at 30-29 with 2:38 in the quarter.

“I think we lost a little bit of focus,” said Montonati. “Sometimes that will happen with a young team.”

“I thought as the game went on we got the shots that we needed to get, we were getting to the free throw line, and we locked up on defense. We made a couple of different coverages on the pick-and-roll and it seemed to help us.”

Owasso rode a 13-point streak from the third into the fourth quarter, though Sand Springs once again got as close as 42-41 on a trey from Alijah Roper.

Freshman star and coach’s son Jalen Montonati kept his team out front, however, with a game-best 23-point performance, including 7 in the fourth quarter.

“It’s a blessing to be able to coach my son, but taking that away, he’s an extremely talented young man,” said Brian Montonati.

“When his shot gets going, it kind of changes the different coverages of our team. It was good to see him bounce back after being sick not playing for about a month, to finally start hitting some shots and playing the way we always thought he could play.”

The Rams will host 5A No. 16 Sapulpa (5-9, 1-4) Tuesday before traveling to the Bill Hanson Tournament in Pittsburg, Kansas over the weekend.

“I love the fight of this team,” said Brian Montonati. “I love the swagger of them.”

“We’ve been in some really big games against some really quality opponents and there hasn't been any fear in their eyes. So as long as we stay together, share the ball, play defense, and stay coachable, I think we could end this thing on a good note.”

Sand Springs 48, Owasso 47 (girls)
Sand Springs;10;18;10;10;--48.
Owasso;17;10;11;9–47.

Sand Springs: Jackson 21, Wilson 13, Morris 5, Taylor 5, Fueshko 2, Martin 2.
Owasso: Yokley 16, Austin 11, Elbert 10, McGarrah 8, Wilson 2.

Owasso 54, Sand Springs 45 (boys)
Owasso;15;12;10;17;--54.
Sand Springs;8;12;12;13;--45.

Owasso: Montonati 23, Mann 12, Williams 7, Lewis 5, McLemore 3, Harbaugh 2, Scott 2.
Sand Springs: Kelly 13, Roper 9, Allen 8, Foster 5, Johnson 5, Holland 3, Hooper 2.

Lady Sandites win Bishop Kelley Invitational, Jackson named MVP

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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.