Lady Sandites Go 3-0 at She Got Game Classic

After a lopsided defeat at Sapulpa to start the season, the Charles Page High School girls basketball team rebounded with a 3-0 performance at the She Got Game Classic in Mansfield, Texas over the weekend.

“I thought we learned a little bit from Tuesday and I thought we got better,” said head coach Josh Berry. “It’s going to be a growing process of everybody learning their new roles.”

Senior star Hailey Jackson averaged 23.3 points per game at the festival, earning MVP honors in each game.

“She wasn’t very aggressive that first game (against Sapulpa),” said Berry. “We’ve been talking about her being extra aggressive each and every game this year.”

“She did a great job of just staying aggressive the whole game while we were down there and hopefully she can continue to do that for us.”

On Thursday the Sandites won 63-60 against Boswell (5-6) behind a 24-point effort from Jackson, a career-high 18 points from Sakauri Wilson, and a career-high 16 points from Kiaryn Taylor.

Jackson scored 24 again in a 42-25 rout of Austin Westlake (6-9) on Friday.

On Saturday the Sandites rolled to a 60-26 win over Medgar Evers (0-2) behind a 22-point performance from Jackson. Freshman Calla Fueshko also had a breakout performance with 9 points.

“Kauri Wilson did a great job early on, especially that first game, of scoring the ball and finishing. We had a lot of production from different players throughout the weekend.”

“I know Kiaryn Taylor had a good game the first game where she was able to finish. Yanni (Morris) that last game where she got to see the ball go in the hole some.”

“I think that’s just kind of what it’s going to take is for some of our ones that aren’t used to doing those things consistently to just be more consistent. I thought defensively we got better.”

The Sandites lost their season-opener 61-21 to Sapulpa (2-0, 2-0) in conference play but will get a rematch in February.

Sand Springs was outgunned by a Sapulpa lineup that shot 43.6% in the field with nine players in the scorebook. Mataya Hall scored 15 and Taylor Bilby added 12 for the home team, while Jackson led the Sandites with 5 points and 8 rebounds.

The Lady Chieftains have now won four straight in the Highway 97 Rivalry series.

Sapulpa’s boys team (1-1, 1-1) snapped a three-year losing streak to the Sandites with a 60-51 victory.

Freshman Fabian Harris led the Chieftains with 18 points and Kylen Edwards added 14. The Sandites were led by seniors Michael Foster and Kade Holland with 12 apiece.

In junior varsity action, the Sapulpa girls won 38-37 despite a 21-point performance from Fueshko. The Sand Springs boys triumphed 38-35 on a buzzer-beater three from Krus Smith to avoid overtime.

The Sandites will return to action Tuesday with conference home games against Muskogee. The girls will play at 6:30 p.m. and the boys will play at 8:00.

Sandite Basketball Preview: Boys and Girls Poised for Success in 2022

The Charles Page High School varsity basketball season will officially tip off Tuesday, November 29th at Sapulpa.

The Sandite basketball teams went different directions last season. The boys will look to get back to form as they seek their first winning season since 2020, while the girls will look to build momentum off of last season’s state semifinal appearance.

After graduating a talented senior class that accounted for 75% of last season’s scoring, the boys will look to build a new identity behind a mostly young, inexperienced roster.

Fans can expect big things from sophomore Kooper Kelley, the lone returning starter, who averaged 6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1 steal last year.

Junior Alijah Roper also saw extensive action last season, averaging 2.9 points over 21 games. 6-foot-5 sophomore Blake Johnson also played in 21 games, averaging 1.3 points and 1.8 rebounds.

Kade Holland, Luke Hooper, Michael Foster, Jax Marshall, Mark Lair, and Sam Hayes will provide the team’s senior leadership.

The Sandites went 5-18 last season and were 7-11 in 2020, but have seen tremendous success under tenth-year head coach Eric Savage with four winning seasons, two Regional championships, and two State tournament appearances.

Savage holds a 423-218 head coaching record over 21 years and is 118-125 at Sand Springs.

The Lady Sandites are entering their fourth season under head coach Josh Berry, who holds a 50-21 record at Sand Springs and a 148-134 career mark.

The girls went 23-4 last season for their best record since 2017, winning the school’s eighth Regional title and seventh Area championship.

Sand Springs took big losses in Journey Armstead, Layne Kirkendoll, and Leyshia Morris, but still has lots of star power ready to make a name for itself.

6-foot senior Hailey Jackson averaged 13.9 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals last season, with three double-doubles and a career-best 31-point performance against Broken Arrow.

Juniors Taiona Morris and Sakauri Wilson also return as starters after combining for 11.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.9 steals per game last year.

Kiaryn Taylor, Fayth Walker, Abigaile Martin, Patience Pearce, and Tay'Ja Butler all saw solid playing time last season and will give the Sandites strong rotational depth. Freshman Calla Fueshko is also expected to make an impact.

When the girls tip off against Sapulpa at 6:30 p.m. they will be looking for their first Highway 97 Rivalry win since 2019. The boys, however, have won three straight meetings with Sapulpa since 2019.

The girls will then travel to the She Got Game Classic in Dallas over the weekend. The home opener for both teams will be December 6th against Muskogee with the girls playing at 6:30 p.m. and the boys at 8:00 p.m.

Taya Freese leads seniors to powder puff championship

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Taya Freese doesn’t play any sports, but perhaps if the OSSAA had girls football she might be a household name in Oklahoma. 

The senior put on a show Thursday night at Memorial Stadium, leading the senior powder puff team to wins over the juniors and underclassmen. 

“It was a crazy experience,” said Freese. “I didn’t expect any of it, but it was very fun. It was kind of competitive but fun at the same time; it was a perfect mix.”

The Charles Page High School powder puff games aren’t held every year. COVID-19, lack of volunteers, and low interest have caused it to be canceled in years past, but the Senior Celebration committee pulled off a successful event this time around, raising $2722 for the annual celebration of the school’s seniors. 

Every year, the night of graduation, the town puts on an all-night lock-in celebration with free food, games, entertainment, and giveaways at the Case Community Center. 

The powder puff teams are all coached by high school boys, and the boys also put together all-male cheer teams for the halftime entertainment. 

The juniors won the first game of the evening, 6-0 against a combined underclassmen team of sophomores and freshmen.

After a scoreless regulation, Hailey Jackson made a key interception for the Hoosier Mommyz in overtime, then caught the game-winning 10-yard touchdown pass from Lilly Oakley to knock off the Benchwarmers. 

The juniors met their match in the Bad News Babes, however, and the seniors won 6-0 behind a 22-yard touchdown run from Journey Armstead late in the first half. 

Oakley and Jackson both intercepted Freese to keep the game close, but Karsen Lynch picked off Oakley on the final drive to seal the win. 

In the senior vs. sophomore game, Freese connected on a 40-yard pass to Avery Tanner to set up a 19-yard touchdown run from Lynch. 

Freese also appeared to toss a 43-yard TD to Tanner as the first half expired, but it was called back as the Benchwarmers apparently called for a timeout just before the snap. 

Getting to play together with a team was a special experience for Freese. “I’ve never played a sport before, so playing this was a first for me.”

“I just tried to teach her what I was taught,” said coach Ty Pennington. “She’s got a cannon.”

Pennington just wrapped up a three-year career as the Sandites’ starting quarterback and enjoyed getting to coach. “It was kind of cool, a different experience”

He was most impressed with Journey Armstead. “She played great on both sides of the ball.”

Sand Springs Girls Basketball wins Area Championship 50-46 against Putnam City West

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

For the seventeenth time in school history and the first time since 2019, the Sand Springs girls basketball team is headed to State. 

The 6A-East No. 2 Lady Sandites (22-3) won their seventh Area Championship in school history 52-46 against No. 3 Putnam City West (19-6) in front of a rowdy Thursday night crowd at Will Rogers High School.

The Patriots trailed 46-35 halfway through the final period but clawed their way back to make it a one-score game in the closing moments. 

Hailey Jackson scored an easy layup for the last bucket of the game on a pass from Leyshia Morris with 19 seconds to play, then the Sandites got a turnover with 12 seconds remaining when Kierra Brown was whistled for palming the ball.

Morris inbounded the ball to Journey Armstead who ran out the clock and cemented her team in the Sandite history books.

It was an emotional night for Sand Springs coach Josh Berry, who got his head coaching start at Rogers in 2010. This will be his first trip to State with a girls’ team since taking the Ropers there in 2011.

“This is a big moment for me, for them,” said Berry. “I’m proud. I told them to just leave it all out there and I think they did that.”

Sand Springs never once trailed in the game and the Patriots only tied it once at 8-8 late in the first quarter. Kiaryn Taylor made a buzzer-beating putback to end the first stanza 12-8.

Sakauri Wilson scored five free throws in a nine-point run early in the second quarter that gave the Sandites their first double-digit lead at 21-10, and they took a comfortable 29-21 advantage into the locker room.

Putnam West hit the gas in the fourth quarter and won the second half, but the Sandites did just enough to stay on top. 

The highly physical game saw 42 fouls, including 24 in the first half. Caya Smith fouled out with 1:43 in the third quarter and Shamar Bert fouled out with 1:09 left to play. 

“I thought we did what we needed to do to win,” said Berry. “I don’t think it was the prettiest game on either side, but I’ll take the win whatever which way we can get it.”

No Sandites fouled out of the game, but most of the team was in foul trouble, and Wilson and Jackson ended the night with four apiece.

“I trust the ones that are coming in off the bench,” said Berry. “They can go in and they can do what they need to do when we do get in foul trouble. We’ve got a little bit of depth over there.” 

All seven Sandites who saw action earned their way into the scorebook, led by Jackson with 16 points and 6 rebounds, and Armstead with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

“That’s what I told them, we’ve got to do it by committee. That’s the beauty of this year’s team; it’s not just one person that has to score all the points. A lot of them are able to do it, and so we’re just proud of them.”

Brooklyn Fisher scored 16 apiece to lead the Patriots, followed by Brown with 13. 

Sand Springs will return to action Thursday, March 10th at the University of Oklahoma’s Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, where they’ll begin the hunt for their first gold ball since 1994.

Putnam West will play No. 9 Stillwater (13-13) in the Area consolation finals Saturday at 3:00 p.m. at Will Rogers. Stillwater won its Area game 75-73 over No. 5 Tahlequah (22-3). 

CPHS 50 PCW 46
1Q: CPHS 12-8.
2Q: CPHS 17-13.
3Q: PCW 10-9.
4Q: PCW 15-12.
Free Throws: CPHS 19-of-29, PCW 10-of-22.
Field Goals: CPHS 15-of-47, PCW 16-of-52.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 11, PCW 9.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 28, PCW 18.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 39, PCW 27.
Steals: CPHS 4, PCW 9.
Blocks: CPHS 2, PCW 2.
Fouls: CPHS 19, PCW 23.

Scoring: (CPHS) Jackson 16, Armstead 14, Wilson 8, T. Morris 7, L. Morris 2, Taylor 2, Kirkendoll 1. (PCW) Fisher 16, Brown 13, Bert 9, McHenry-Guzman 4, Smith 2, Ray 2.

Lady Sandite Basketball wins Regional Championship, 47-35 against Putnam City North

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader

For the first time under head coach Josh Berry, the Lady Sandites are Regional Champions.

The 6A-East No. 2 Lady Sandites (21-3) won their ninth consecutive game and eighth Regional title in school history, 47-35 against No. 7 Putnam City North (12-11) Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

“It’s very big,” said Berry. “Anytime you can go and get a Regional title in a tough game, it’s big. It’s big for the program, it’s big for the girls, it’s big for the seniors.”

The Lady Sandites won three Regional titles in a row from 2017 to 2019, but this is the first for any current member of the team.

Down 16-5 after the first quarter, the Sandites dominated the Panthers 16-2 in the second quarter and never trailed again, taking a 21-18 lead into the half on a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Sakauri Wilson.

“We just weren’t playing very hard in the beginning,” said Berry. “They played harder, they made shots. It’s the playoffs, everybody can play. It’s going to be a game of runs. They can make their runs, but we have to make our runs and make sure we’re the last ones to make a run.”

Paris Hardwick scored seven points in the first quarter for the Panthers, but was held to a pair of free throws in the second. 

Journey Armstead scored six for Sand Springs in the third quarter and the home team took a 34-24 lead into the final stanza. 

Putnam cut the deficit to 40-33 with 1:31 to play, but Auhnesty Hawkins fouled out and sent Wilson to the free throw line for two. 

Wilson went five-of-six on free throws in the final minutes and ended the night with a season-best 13 points and five rebounds.

Armstead led the Sandites with 15 points and eight rebounds, and Hailey Jackson added nine points and eight rebounds. Hardwick led the Panthers with 15 points.

“They’re good,” Berry said of Wilson and Armstead. “They’re great ball handlers so they’re able to control it down the stretch.”

“Our bigs tonight, they controlled the paint later on. Yanni (Taiona Morris) made some big shots for us to kind of get us there, and we had some good contributions off the bench when Layne (Kirkendoll) got in foul trouble, so I think it was a good team effort.”

The Lady Sandites will return to action Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the Area Championship. They will play No. 3 Putnam City West (19-5) at Will Rogers High School. Coincidentally, Berry also coached two seasons at Rogers early in his career.

Putnam North will play in the Area consolation bracket Thursday at 8:00 p.m. against No. 11 Owasso (11-13) in an elimination game at Cleveland High School.

CPHS 47 PCN 35
1Q: PCN 16-5.
2Q: CPHS 16-2.
3Q: CPHS 13-6.
4Q: CPHS 13-11.
Free Throws: CPHS 15-of-23, PCN 5-of-9.
Field Goals: CPHS 14-of-40, PCN 14-of-41.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 12, PCN 10.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 18, PCN 14.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 30, PCN 24.
Steals: CPHS 7, PCN 4.
Blocks: CPHS 0, PCN 2.
Fouls: CPHS 12, PCN 18.

Scoring: (CPHS) Armstead 15, Wilson 13, Jackson 9, T. Morris 5, L. Morris 2, Taylor 2, Kirkendoll 1. (PCN) Hardwick 15, Mcloud 6, Powell 6, Geretta 2, Hawkins 2, Vicks 2, Sykes 2.

Sand Springs Sports Roundup: Girls Basketball wins first playoff

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Inclement weather couldn’t stymie the Sandites for long, and the Charles Page High School girls basketball team rolled to a 70-50 win against Muskogee in the first round of the regional playoffs Saturday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

In a game that was originally scheduled for Thursday, the 6A-East No. 2 Sandites (20-3) won their eighth consecutive game to extend their season by an extra week against No. 15 Muskogee (2-14).

“They’re a good team,” said head coach Josh Berry. “They make shots and they don’t quit. You look at their record and you don’t see what they really are. They’re well-coached and they’re going to play hard.”

The Roughers held pace with the Sandites throughout the first half, entering the second quarter 12-12 and leading by as much as 23-19.

Journey Armstead and Kiaryn Taylor hit back-to-back three pointers to end the first half with a 35-29 advantage, however, and the Sandites never trailed again.

“We had everybody in foul trouble in the first half, but once we got in and got settled down, I think everything took care of itself,” said Berry. 

The two teams combined for 37 fouls overall and 22 in the first half, with 45 free throw opportunities. Muskogee made the most of their trips to the charity stripe, shooting 14-of-18, while the Sandites went 18-of-27.

Zhayn Mayes scored 17 to lead the Roughers, followed by Akira Eubanks with 16, but the Sandites had three double-digit scorers.

Armstead led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Hailey Jackson with 15 and Taiona Morris with 10. Morris also collected a team-high five steals, and Layne Kirkendoll added 9 points with 9 rebounds. 

“Layne did good tonight,” said Berry. “Kiaryn played well, Yanni (Taiona Morris) played well. It’s about that - different people stepping up and finding a way to win and I think we did that tonight. I think that’s a team effort.”

Next up for the Sandites will be a rematch with No. 7 Putnam City North (12-10), who won its game 53-47 in double overtime against No. 10 Ponca City (9-12). 

The Lady Sandites previously beat the Panthers 50-33 at the Jenks/Union tournament in January.

“Hopefully we guard and don’t let them shoot some open shots, and make some shots,” said Berry. 

“Tonight we made some shots and we haven’t done that in a long time either. We made quite a few threes. We need to continue to do that, continue to share the basketball, and play for each other.”

The regional championship will be played Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at Sand Springs, and both teams will advance to the area playoffs.

Boys Basketball

The No. 14 Sand Springs boys (5-17) had their Regional playoff game postponed to Monday at 8:00 p.m. The Sandites will play No. 3 Putnam City West (17-5) in an elimination game.

Wrestling

Mitchell Smith (30-7) placed third in the 145-pound bracket at the OSSAA 6A State Championship on Saturday. It was the junior’s third trip to state but his first medal, and he was the only Sandite to earn a medal.

Smith won his first match 2-1 but gave up a 7-4 decision to West Champion Layton Schneider in the semifinals. In consolation he won 6-3 against Bixby’s Caden Kelley and 3-2 against Yukon’s Boston Powell.

David Ritchey and Zander Grigsby both won their wrestle-in matches, Carter Goodman won his quarterfinal, and Blake Jones won a consolation match to help the team to a 13th place finish overall.

Six of the Sandites’ state qualifiers will return next year, with Jones being the lone senior. Jones wrapped up his career with an 82-42 record as a four-time State qualifier. 

Track and Field

Several Sandite alums competed in the Summit League Indoor Championship for Oral Roberts University on Saturday. 

Aden Baughman placed 8th in the 800 meter run. Joel Mackey placed 14th in the 60 meter and 15th in the 200. Mitchell Mefford placed 14th in the weight throw. 

Soccer 

The Lady Sandite soccer team is off to a strong start in preseason action, winning 4-0 against Sapulpa before sweeping the Skiatook scrimmage tournament and outscoring their foes 11-0. They suffered their first loss 1-0 at Owasso. 

The season will officially begin March 1st at home with non-district matches against Tulsa NOAH. The girls will play at 6:00 p.m. followed by the boys at 8:00 p.m.

Baseball

Sandite baseball took its first preseason loss, 13-5, at Owasso. The Sandites previously routed Glenpool 16-5, Tahlequah 8-0, and Lawton MacArthur 11-0, and tied Westmoore 2-2. Their season will begin March 1st at Guthrie.