One of the biggest strengths for the Sand Springs girls basketball team coming into this season was its depth of size and talent.
That depth was on full display Tuesday night as No. 7 Charles Page High School (5-2, 3-1) rolled to a 68-51 district victory over Putnam City (4-3) despite being down two starters.
“Coming into this year I thought we had quite a bit of depth,” said head coach Josh Berry. “I didn’t want to test that, but that’s where we are right now.”
With Abigail Martin and Kiaryn Taylor on crutches, Hope Bump waiting on OSSAA clearance, Calla Fueshko still recovering from an ACL tear last season, and Sakauri Wilson out till the new year, it was the underclassmen’s time to shine.
The freshman class combined for 45 points and 31 rebounds, led by an astounding double-double from Tianna Butler with 22 points and 18 rebounds.
“That’s a good deal for her to have that coming into the break,” said Berry. “I think she’s got more in her personally. I’m going to expect more out of her. I think the sky’s the limit. She’s got to go and keep playing harder and keep making plays.”
Aaliyah Simone also had a career night with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals, while Neveah Garrison scored 4 points and Kadynce Young scored 2 on the first possession of her career.
“We’ve got a long ways to go,” said Berry. “We’ve got to get some of those freshmen up to speed, but they did a good job making plays and the end of the day it’s about making more plays than the other team and tonight I think we did that.”
Simone scored a layup and a trey to open the game and ensured the Sandites would never trail. Butler added a three-pointer soon after and was 4-of-6 on the evening, showing she’s as much of an outside shooting threat as she is an inside big.
The Pirates opened the second quarter on a 4-0 run to cut it to 15-11 but Yonni Morris went off for eight points in the quarter and the Sandites took a 31-20 lead into halftime.
Putnam City only got within double digits once in the second half, on a free-throw from Kayla Hill at 38-29, but the Sandites went on a 10-2 run and entered the fourth up 48-34.
Butler’s final bucket off the night gave the Sandites their biggest lead at 63-40 midway through the final stanza.
“Kadynce did a great job…scored on her first possession, applied some great pressure for us,” said Berry.
“Neveah did some great things off the bench as far as just walling up and making it hard for them when they were driving. They were getting anything they wanted to early on. I thought she kind of helped set that tone along with Jordan (Gilton).”
Morris put together her sixth consecutive double-digit game with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 6 assists. Tayja Butler also had a strong performance with a career-best 8 points and 4 boards.
“We’ve got a lot of different people that can score the basketball in many different ways,” said Berry. “We’ve just got to find ways for them to do that and be efficient with it. As long as we can do that, I think we’ve got a chance to continue to grow.”
Sand Springs will take the rest of 2023 off before returning to action at the Putnam City Invitational on January 4th.
“That’s a good deal with us missing so many people,” said Berry. “It gives us time not only to rest up but to practice. We’re going to have to play a way different style and we’re just going to have to figure that out over the month.”
Kayla Hill led the Pirates with 22 points, followed by Destinee Hunt with 12. The Pirates will host No. 4 Owasso (6-1, 3-1) on Tuesday to conclude the year.
CPHS 68 PCO 51
1Q: CPHS 15-7.
2Q: CPHS 16-13.
3Q: CPHS 17-14.
4Q: CPHS 20-17.
Free Throws: CPHS 10-of-12, PCO 15-of-24.
Field Goals: CPHS 25-of-59, PCO 17-of-76.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 14, PCO 16.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 33, PCO 18.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 47, PCO 24.
Steals: CPHS 6, PCO 14.
Blocks: CPHS 6, PCO 5.
Fouls: CPHS 19, PCO 15.
Sand Springs Statistics
Points: Ti. Butler 22, Simone 17, Morris 15, Ta. Butler 8, Garrison 4, Young 2.
Offensive Rebounds: Ti. Butler 3, Simone 3, Young 3, Garrison 2, Morris 1, Ta. Butler 1, Gilton 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Ti. Butler 15, Morris 5, Gilton 4, Ta. Butler 3, Garrison 2, Simone 2, Pearce 1, Young 1.
Total Rebounds: Ti. Butler 18, Morris 6, Simone 5, Gilton 5, Ta. Butler 4, Young 4, Garrison 4, Pearce 1.
Steals: Simone 3, Morris 2, Gilton 1.
Assists: Morris 6, Young 2, Ti. Butler 1.
Blocks: Ti. Butler 4, Morris 1, Garrison 1.
Fouls: Ta. Butler 3, Ti. Butler 3, Simone 3, Pearce 3, Gilton 3, Garrison 2, Morris 2.
Putnam City Statistics
Points: Hill 22, Hunt 12, Wright 9, Young 4, Booker 2, Aze 2.
Fouls: Booker 4, Young 4, Hunt 3, Hill 2, Williams 1, Aze 1.
