Winningest Lady Sandite Basketball season in years comes to end with Area loss to Owasso

/ Catoosa High School/

Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No.11 Lady Sandites (17-9) fell in an early hole to No. 9 Owasso (19-8) after Leiloni Culley hit a two to draw first blood. Freshman Holly Kersgieter was not far behind her, tying it up, but then Terryn Milton hit back to back baskets for a 7-2 lead that the Rams would hold for the duration of the first.

Freshman Isabella Regalado hit a two to for the Sandites to start the second period down 11-10, but the Rams began pushing their lead as Mya Bhinhar and Rachel Skalnik hit baskets to make it 16-10. Junior Oklahoma State softball-commit Sydney Pennington hit a two to get the Sandites back into the game, but then it was Milton and Bhinhar with back-to-back baskets.

Pennington, freshman Destiny Johnson, and senior Cierra Scott ran up four from the charity stripe over the course of the second period, but that was all the Sandites would manage as Owasso increased their lead to 29-16 by half time.

Despite being in a heavy hole, the Sandites had already proven once this season their ability to rally against the Rams in their first meeting of the season when the girls exploded for a 16-5 second-quarter and ultimately won that game.

Sand Springs came into the half firing on all pistons as Gloria Mutiri hit a two and sank her “and-one” free throw, followed by a three-point basket by Cierra Scott to put the game back within single digits.

Milton sank the first Ram basket of the half, then Pennington hit a free throw and Cierra Scott forced a turnover on the corresponding possession getting in some great defensive coverage for a jump ball call. Unfortunately Sand Springs also gave up a turnover and Jordan Kunka and retook a 10-point lead.

Bhinhar added a free throw, but missed the second and Pennington rebounded it and returned it for a layup. Bhinhar retaliated with a two-pointer, but Mutiri hit one of her own then Kersgieter sank a three to make it 37-30.

Bhinhar hit the basket again, Scott added a pair from the charity stripe, then Kunka and Skalnik hit three freebies of their own before Kersgetier hit a two to finish off the period within single digits at 43-34.

Milton scored first to start the fourth, going 1-1 from the free throw line off a foul by Pennington. Kersgetier had a three-pointer fall short, but Bhinhar was right on line to retake a significant 46-34 advantage.

Sand Springs went on a run as Pennington and Scott each hit layups and Scott got the “and-one” to make it 47-39. It was Owasso’s game from there however as Pennington sent Milton to line for a 1-1 and the Lady Ram sank both. Bhinhar hit a two, Milton hit another free throw, then Culley added a basket for their biggest lead of the game at 54-39.

Kunka sent Mutiri to line for a 1-1 and the Lady Sandite sank both. The clock was too low for a realistic return by that point, however, and ultimately the Rams prevailed to State with a 58-42 victory.

Lady Sandite basketball stays alive in playoffs with close victory over Union

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Freshman Destiny Johnson scored a team-high 15 points in a 41-32 playoff win over Union Thursday night.

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Photography by: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director

The No.11 Lady Sandites (16-7) will play at least two more games after defeating Union (8-15) Thursday night at the Sapulpa Chieftain Center. The way the playoffs are structured, they'll now get to play in the Regional Championship game Saturday at 1:30, but even if they lose that game they still get to advance to the Area tournament. 

Whatever was going on with the girls against Union isn't going to fly against the No.4 Chieftains (20-3). The basket seemed to have a lid on it Thursday night as the girls experienced their lowest scoring win of the season.

The Lady Sandites only had a 10-4 lead to start the second period, and Selena Hitchcock would be the only Sandite to score in that quarter as they barely held their lead 13-11 at the half. The first basket wouldn't even be scored 4:00 minutes into the period when Taylor Malham sank a pair of free throws. 

Both teams kicked it up a notch in the third period as sophomore Gloria Mutiri started things off with a pair of back-to-back two-pointers, followed by a two from Sydney Pennington. Union's Michaela Bethel followed with a pair of twos of her own, but then Sandite freshman Isabella Regalado followed suit with two more. The two teams scored as many points in the third period alone as they did in the entire first half, and the Sandites held the lead 26-22. 

This time it was freshman Destiny Johnson who kicked off the period with back-to-back two-pointers and she added four more baskets before the quarter was over to tie her career-high and lead the game with 15 points, shooting at 55% on field goals and 80% on free throws. 

The lone Sandite senior, Cierra Scott, also had a solid night, scoring 6 and leading the team in rebounds with 8. 

The Sandites brought home the victory 41-32, their third over Union this season. The first time was a 59-39 runaway, but two weeks ago the Redskins narrowed it to 51-41. 

It's fitting that the Regional Championship is also a Highway 97 rivalry game and a chance to play back the Chieftains for losses of 54-43 and 54-40 earlier this season. It won't be easy, however. Sapulpa ravaged Jenks 73-49 in their battle Thursday and will have the home court advantage. 

Photo gallery for this event can be found at:
http://www.sanditepride.com/photo-galleries/160225unionbball

Sandite of the Week: Delvin Jordan, Jr.

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

This week Sandite Pride would like to recognize Charles Page High School junior Delvin Jordan as Sandite of the Week for his outstanding upset win at the OSSAA 6A East Regional Championship. 

Jordan was one of seven Sandite wrestlers to claim the title of Regional Champion this weekend as the team placed first overall at Tiger Field House in Broken Arrow, and qualified ten wrestlers for State.

Jordan pinned his first three opponents en rout to the finals. First to fall was Jackson McNeil (Mustang) in 1:17, followed by Brennon Melvin (Enid) in 1:35, and #10 Sam Wilson (Jenks) in 2:35.

The final round pitted him against Nic Roller of Bixby. Roller was last year's State Runner-Up and hadn't been beaten since. Undefeated 19-0 for the season, Roller had already beaten Jordan 7-3 at the Yukon Tournament in January and was the heavily favored candidate for State Champion this year. This time Jordan came out on top with a 6-3 decision that was nearly a first period pin that ended in nearfall points after time ran out.

Roller and Jordan have also stood in each others' way on the gridiron as well. Roller was the star runningback for the Spartans in their State Championship run this fall. Jordan was one of the leading linebackers for the Sandites. Jordan sacked Roller multiple times in the Sandites' regular season 20-0 shutout of the Spartans, but three weeks later Bixby caught up with Sand Springs in the State Championship game and avenged themselves 38-28 to retain their State Title. 

Sand Springs and Bixby have developed quite the rivalry in recent years as Bixby has knocked the Sandites out of the playoffs in back to back years, but Sand Springs dealt the Spartans their first shutout in over a decade. With Roller as the heart of the Spartan offense, it will be particularly sweet to see Jordan potentially get some payback for December's heart-breaker.

Jordan has an 18-5 record this season and this marks his second time qualifying for State. In the brackets released Sunday, Jordan has been pitted against Markeylo Cavers of Midwest City in the quarter finals. Cavers has a 31-11 record this year, but the two have not met before this season. If Jordan wins that round he will go up against either Seth Mischler (Union) or Mason Lancaster (Putnam City). He hasn't met Lancaster yet, but he has defeated Mischler 4-2 at Dual State where the Sandites were Runners-Up. Roller is on the opposite side of the bracket from Jordan, so the two could get a rematch in the finals.

Jordan tied with Jacob Taber at 87 for second-most tackles this season, and has the edge in unassisted tackles. He has 15 for losses of 64 yards and 8 sacks for 36 yards. He also has one pass-breakup, two blocked kicks, four fumble recoveries, one defensive touchdown, and is the only player on the team with a safety.

Jordan is the son of Portia Pouncil and Delvin Jordan, Sr. who was the starting quarterback for the Sandites from 1993-1994 under head coach L.D. Baines. 

Sandite of the Week is a weekly recognition given to any one person with significant ties to the Sand Springs community who accomplishes remarkable achievements during the Sunday through Saturday week preceding the award. Prior achievements may be noted in the article, but do not bear direct influence on the selection committee which only considers prior week accomplishments. Candidates may be nominated by anyone by emailing SanditePrideNews@gmail.com. Bylaws prevent the giving of the award to anyone for two consecutive weeks, but any recipient may be nominated and awarded again in the future, so long as the weeks are not consecutive. Final selection is made by a majority vote of a three-person staff committee. 

Businesses or organizations seeking to sponsor the Sandite of the Week award may contact the above email for inquiries.

The Path to State, Part 4: Sandites upset Union 3-0 at Regionals

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Lady Sandite pitcher Kennedy “Goose” Salyers stepped up to the mound. It was two o’clock on a Wednesday, and the Southeastern Oklahoma State University-committed senior had just pitched a 6-0 shutout against Claremore in round three of the Regional championship.

With only thirty minutes between games, the Charles Page High School varsity fast pitch softball team was tired, and they were only a third of the way through a triple-header uphill battle. The Union Redskins were far and above the better team over Claremore, and this would not be an easy game. Especially since Union had already beaten Sand Springs 5-2 in the second game of the season.

Sammi Ibison was the first batter up. With a full count, she connected for a fly ball into left field and was caught out by Caley Thompson. Next were Erika Reed and Sammi Dutton, both put out on infield flies by second-baseman Kimi Presnell, and just like that the Sandites were off to a good start.

Now it was Salyers turn at bat, and Paige Boyle was pitching for the Lady Redskins.

The first day of Regionals was marred by errors as the Sandites lost 2-1 to Claremore and barely scrapped by Ponca City 4-3, whom they had scored 21-0 against over two games earlier in the season. The 6-0 shutout in game one of day two was a step in the right direction, but if the Sandites were going to stand a chance against Union, they would need to come out hard and fast to make a statement early on in the game.

Salyers connected on an infield hit for a single and the home team was the first on base. Cameron Clemons replaced Salyers as a curtesy-runner, and Stella Millican bunted for a single-by-error thanks to Boyle.

Sydney Pennington swung hard for a fly ball to left field. Dutton scooped it up and sent it to third to force out Clemons, but third-baseman Clara Bewaley tried for a double play to out Pennington at first and instead threw the ball clear over Britton Clark’s head, resulting in a double-by-error for Pennington.

Up to the plate walked Jessica Schuler, a Northeastern State University-commit, first-baseman, and frequent home-runner. She never crossed home plate on her own this game, but she did connect for a sacrifice fly to centerfield that scored Millican and drew first blood.

The Sandites had brought their “A-game.”

The second inning played much like the first. No Redskins landed base hits, and Brylee Dickensen was struck out.

Jessica Collins was first at bat for Sand Springs and found second base on an error by Lexi Dobson. Caley Thompson bunted for a single, and Rachel Blair brought Collins home on a bunt single due to an error by Bewaley. Both teams had guns blazing, but the Sandites were shooting holes in the Redskins’ defense, and the Redskins were shooting themselves in the foot.

Finally, Union pulled their defense together. Over the next two innings, Boyle allowed only base hit, and struck out three Sandites. Salyers was right there with her, though, allowing only two base hits, no runs, and two strikeouts.

By inning five, the Sandites were tired of being sent to the dugout. Pennington hit a groundball into left field for a single, and Schuler drew a walk. Then, Kali Mallory, the catcher, entered the game and brought Pennington home with an RBI single and a 3-0 lead.

The Redskins had gotten their act together and stopped allowing errors, but the Sandites were equally disciplined, and the mistakes Union had made in the beginning were too costly to overcome.

Ibison, Reed, and Dutton all came out swinging, but each was put out before reaching base in the sixth.

Boyle registered her fourth and final strikeout of the evening, and didn’t allow another base hit for the duration of the game, but neither did Salyers, who struck out the final two batters of the game and brought in the win.

Both pitchers had excellent records, but Salyers stole the show, throwing 55.2% strikes, allowing only three hits, for a .428 WHIP and 0.00 ERA.

Boyle’s record was outstanding as well, but there was no stopping Sand Springs. She threw 45.7% strikes for a 1.66 WHIP and 2.33 ERA.

Sand Springs had a solid .375 batting average, with Pennington leading the pack with a perfect 1.00 with three hits on three at bats for four bases, a 1.333 slugging average, and one run.

Union was held to a meager .125, with Tonie Weese leading with one base hit on one at bat for a single. Britton Clark hit a double and Sammi Dutton hit a single for a team total of only three base hits and zero walks.

Defensively, Kali Mallory led the Sandites with six putouts. Lexi Dobson led Union with five putouts in right field.

Ultimately the game boiled down to errors, as Union committed four and the Sandites were flawless.

It was an incredibly impressive game, but Sand Springs was now twice as tired as Union, having played two games back-to-back with one more game to go.

The next game would start in only thirty minutes.

Game Stats, Click to Enlarge

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