Lady Sandites Rout Bishop Kelley 50-33 in Tournament Semifinals

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Freshman Aaliyah Simone had a breakout performance against Bishop Kelley. (Photo by Charity Emigh).

For the sixth time in the past nine years, the Lady Sandite basketball team (4-1) is headed back to the finals at the Bishop Kelley Invitational, but it came at a cost.

The defending tournament champions defeated the host team 50-33 Friday night, but lost Kiaryn Taylor to a potentially season-ending injury.

“We don’t know the severity of it yet, but anytime you get hurt in your senior season, it’s a tragedy,” said head coach Josh Berry. “We’ve just got to pray for her, hope for the best, and see what happens.”

Fresh off a career-best 23-point performance on Thursday, the uncommitted senior was only just starting to scratch the surface of her potential, and she was a key piece of the Sandites’ State Championship aspirations.

“That means there’s got to be somebody else who steps up,” said Berry. “They’ve got to play harder. She did a lot for us talking and getting everybody in position, so somebody else is going to have to be in that role.”

The starting power forward had 6 points and 4 rebounds when she went down with 5:12 left to play in severe knee pain and had to be carried off the court.

The girls already owned a 44-26 advantage at the time of Taylor’s loss and held on to earn a rematch with No. 8 Owasso (4-1), who dealt Sand Springs its only loss of the season last week.

The Sandites never once trailed in the game, jumping out to a 12-7 first quarter advantage before taking a 25-12 lead into the locker room.

Aaliyah Simone hit her first career field goal from three-point range on an assist from Taylor to open the second quarter and went on to have a breakout game with 9 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 steals.

“She’s another one that’s a big-time freshman for us,” said Berry. “She’s got a lot of potential, she’s just got to keep getting better day by day. She’s going to help us out now, but she’s going to help us out tremendously down the stretch.”

In the third quarter the Sandites led by as mitch as 36-14 before a late 7-0 run from the Comets kept things interesting. A late trey from Simone gave the visitors a 41-21 lead to enter the fourth.

Sakauri Wilson used Thursday’s mismatch against Edison Prep as a rest and recovery opportunity but returned to the lineup Friday to lead the team with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 7 steals, and 5 assists.

“She’s always on one-hundred percent whether she’s hurting or not hurting, feeling sick or not feeling sick, so that’s the good thing about her,” said Berry. “You know you’re going to get a hundred every time she steps out there.”

Tiaona Morris also had 14 points for the Sandites to go with 4 steals and 3 assists.

Sand Springs will face off against Owasso Saturday at 7:00 p.m. to defend their last year’s tournament title. It will be a rematch of last year’s 51-49 title game, also against the Rams.

“They’re a good team, well coached, we’ve just got to see if we learned from last Friday,” said Berry. “They’re definitely going to give us everything they can and we’ve got to be able to withstand it and make runs ourselves.”

On Thursday, the Sandites got a pep talk from a Bishop Kelley staff member who has some experience winning titles at Sand Springs.

The Comets’ freshman basketball and varsity golf coach, Linda Garrett, spoke to the Sandites in their locker room following their 58-24 victory.

Garrett was the head coach at Sand Springs in the 1990s and led the Sandites to back-to-back State finals appearances, winning the program’s only gold ball in 1994.

“It was great,” said Berry. “It was just letting them see what a Sandite is from a Sandite coach that’s done it before, that’s been on championship teams.”

“They really like it, they responded well. I think it gave them a little boost of energy.”

Bishop Kelley (2-2) will play No. 15 Mustang (3-2) Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in the third-place match. Mustang fell 47-38 to Owasso in its semifinal.

CPHS 50 BK 33

1Q: CPHS 12-7.
2Q: CPHS 13-5.
3Q: CPHS 16-9.
4Q: BK 12-9.
Free Throws: CPHS 3-of-5, BK 10-of-22.
Field Goals: CPHS 19-of-47, BK 11-of-37.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 5, BK 12.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 15, BK 16.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 20, BK 28.
Steals: CPHS 17, BK 11.
Blocks: CPHS 1, BK 3.
Fouls: CPHS 17, BK 11.

Sand Springs Statistics

Points: Wilson 14, Morris 14, Simone 9, Ti. Butler 6, Taylor 6, Ta. Butler 1.
Offensive Rebounds: Wilson 1, Morris 1, Taylor 1, Ta. Butler 1, Simone 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Wilson 4, Pearce 3, Taylor 3, Ti. Butler 2, Morris 1, Ta. Butler 1, Simone 1.
Total Rebounds: Wilson 5, Taylor 4, Pearce 3, Morris 2, Ta. Butler 2, Ti. Butler 2, Simone 2.
Steals: Wilson 7, Morris 4, Simone 4, Ti. Butler 2.
Assists: Wilson 5, Morris 3, Taylor 1, Ta. Butler 1, Ti. Butler 1.
Blocks: Taylor 1.
Fouls: Taylor 4, Morris 3, Ta. Butler 3, Simone 2, Pearce 2, Wilson 1, Ti. Butler 1, Crain 1.

Bishop Kelley Statistics

Points: Strandmark 10, Jolin 5, Rabb 5, Blankenship 5, Grisaffe 4, George 2, Weber 1, Dale 1.
Fouls: Grisaffe 3, Weber 3, Evans 2, Jolin 1, Strandmark 1, Rabb 1.

Sakauri Wilson Scores 26 as Sandites Defeat Edmond Memorial in Season Opener

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A fast start and suffocating defense led the Lady Sandite hoopers to a statement 41-33 win over Edmond Memorial in Tuesday’s season opener at the Ed Dubie Field House.

“It was a hard one to start off with,” said head coach Josh Berry. “I think they just played great. We executed. We’ve got a lot to work, but you like to work on it with a win, so I’m just glad for that.”

Southwestern Oklahoma State-committed senior Sakauri Wilson piled on 26 points in an East vs. West matchup that heralded the new district era of Oklahoma prep hoops.

The OSSAA has shifted to district play for the first time in basketball, throwing conference rivalries out the window. The West side of the state has historically been seen as a more dominant region in basketball, but districts 3 and 4 will put that to the test this season.

The East side got its first big win as the Sandites took down one of last season’s State semifinalists.

Wilson scored 8 unanswered points to end the first quarter with a 15-8 advantage.

Avery Hjelmstad, a heavily recruited Division I prospect, gave her team its only lead at 8-7, but was held to only four points in the first half as the Sandites took a 25-12 lead into the locker room.

Wilson, meanwhile, tallied 19 first-half points, including three treys.

“She’s a special player,” said Berry. “She carried the load offensively, but I thought Yanni (Morris), Tayja (Butler), Tianna (Butler), and Kiaryn (Taylor) did some great jobs defensively.”

“To hold somebody like that to 12 points at halftime, as a team, I think that’s really where we won the game today is defensively.”

Wilson was the only Sandite with a field goal in the first half but Morris and Taylor found the backboard in the third quarter and the Sandites took a 39-22 advantage into the fourth.

Memorial tried to rally, scoring 11 in a row to cut it to 39-33 but Wilson ended the night with a pair of free throws to put the game away.

Sand Springs had the better shooters both in the field and at the charity stripe and won the turnover battle as well with 10 takeaways,

Notably, the Sandites got the win without two of their potential starters. Hope Bump, a junior transfer from Claremore whose dad joined the coaching staff this season, is still waiting for clearance from the OSSAA.

They were also missing Abigaile Martin, who saw substantial playing time last season but is out with a likely season-ending injury.

Janiyah Williams, a heavily recruited five-star prospect, was held to only 11 points to lead the Bulldogs while Hjelmstad only had 8.

The Lady Sandites will return to action Friday at 6:30 p.m. with a district road game against Owasso (1-0, 1-0) while Edmond Memorial will host Putnam City (1-0, 1-0) on Friday.

CPHS 41 EDM 33

1Q: CPHS 15-8.
2Q: CPHS 10-4.
3Q: CPHS 14-10.
4Q: EDM 11-2.

Field Goals: CPHS 10-of-37, EDM 11-of-50.
Free Throws: CPHS 16-of-22, EDM 11-of-16.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 7, EDM 15.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 15, EDM 12.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 24, EDM 27.
Steals: CPHS 10, EDM 6.
Blocks: CPHS 2, EDM 1.
Fouls: CPHS 16, EDM 21.

Sand Springs Statistics

Points: Wilson 26, Morris 6, Taylor 6, Pearce 2, Ti. Butler 1.
Offensive Rebounds: Ti. Butler 2, Pearce 2, Taylor 1, Ta. Butler 1, Simone 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Wilson 5, Taylor 4, Morris 3, Ti. Butler 2, Ta. Butler 1, Simone 1, Pearce 1.
Total Rebounds: Wilson 5, Taylor 5, Ti. Butler 4, Morris 3, Pearce 3, Simone 2, Ta. Butler 2.
Steals: Ti. Butler 4, Wilson 2, Morris 2, Ta. Butler 1, Simone 1.
Assists: Wilson 2.
Blocks: Taylor 1, Ti. Butler 1.
Fouls: Taylor 3, Ti. Butler 3, Simone 3, Wilson 2, Morris 2, Ta. Butler 2, Pearce 1.

Edmond Memorial Statistics

Points Williams 11, Hjelmstad 8, Johnson 6, Hawkins 4, Aska 2, Morris 2.
Fouls: Hawkins 4, Johnson 4, Williams 4, Hjelmstad 2, Morris 2, Booker 2, Aska 1, Kirk 1, Jordan 1.

Sandite Basketball Tips Off Tuesday at Home Against Edmond Memorial

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The Charles Page High School varsity basketball teams will tip off the season Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House in a district double-header against Edmond Memorial.

The varsity girls will play at 6:30 p.m. while the boys will play at 8:00 p.m.

The girls are in their fifth year under head coach Josh Berry, who holds a 68-30 record at Sand Springs and a 166-143 record overall.

The Lady Sandites went 18-9 overall last season and 9-5 in the final year of Frontier Valley Conference play. They ended their season in the Area consolation finals, one round short of the State tournament.

The girls graduated Fayth Walker and All-State selection Hailey Jackson, but return Sakauri Wilson, Taiona Morris, and Kiaryn Taylor, who are all receiving attention from college recruiters. Abigaile Martin, Calla Fueshko, and Patience Pearce are all impactful returners.

The Sandites also picked up a big-time transfer in Hope Bump, a junior star at Claremore who was an All-Conference second-team selection in the Metro Lakes who averaged 18 points and 9 boards last season.

The boys went 10-14 overall and 3-11 in FVC play under head coach Eric Savage, who holds a 123-121 record after ten seasons at Sand Springs and a 428-214 record overall.

The boys graduated Michael Foster, Jax Marshall, Kade Holland, Sam Hayes, and Luke Hooper, but will still return a talented lineup anchored by Alijah Roper, Kooper Kelly, Blake Johnson, and Khalil Allen.

Junior transfer Deke Thompson will be a high-profile addition from Jenks as an All-Conference Honorable Mention last season. Marcus Mitchell, Zane Fueshko, and Colin Shope all return a wealth of experience from last season.

The OSSAA shifted to district play this season, meaning the Sandites will say goodbye to old rivals like Sapulpa, Broken Arrow, Bixby, Muskogee, Booker T. Washington, and Jenks. Shockingly, the Highway 97 Rivalry is not on the schedule this season.

Edmond Memorial will be the first district opponent for the Sandites in the new era. The Bulldog boys went 12-11 last season while the girls were 22-5.

The Lady Sandites’ last meeting with the Bulldogs was a 50-46 victory in the Area consolation playoffs in 2021. If the boys have ever played Edmond Memorial, it was before Sandite Pride’s records.

Hailey Jackson shines in All-State Basketball

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Hailey Jackson is no stranger to Chieftain Field House, having played there three times this past season.

Her high school career came to a close on the Sapulpa court just four months ago in a 63-38 defeat at the hands of Booker T. Washington in the Area playoffs.

It was a fitting setting for her final game representing Sand Springs, and this time she emerged triumphant as the Large East girls throttled the West 80-55 in the Oklahoma Coaches Association All-State game on Wednesday, July 26th.

“It feels really good (to be named All-State,” said Jackson. “It was one of my to-do’s.”

Jackson scored 6 points with 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block in 16 minutes of action from the bench.

All players saw equal playing time as both teams did full substitutions at the four-minute mark of each quarter.

Jackson entered the game with a 15-7 lead and hit her first bucket in the second quarter to go up 35-18. She added the East’s next score as well at 37-21, and scored another layup in the third to lead 59-40.

The East featured several of Jackson’s former conference foes, including Bixby’s Gracy Wernli and Gentry Baldwin, Sapulpa’s Stailee Heard, and Broken Arrow’s Taneya Howard.

It also included a former teammate in Sophia Regalado, who played varsity her freshman year at Sand Springs before finishing her high school career at Holland Hall.

“We haven’t talked that much but every once in a while we will,” said Jackson. “It was good (catching up) and hearing all of her accomplishments since freshman year.”

The two never spent any time on the court together as Regalado was part of the starting rotation. The Oklahoma Wesleyan-signee scored 3 points on an early trey to go up 8-3 and finished with 3 rebounds, a steal, and an assist.

Jackson will continue her career at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas where she’ll be reunited with fellow Sandite Journey Armstead, who was also an All-State selection in 2022.

“It feels really good,” said Jackson. “I’ve been playing with her for a little while. She’s always been my point guard so it feels good to get back together with her.”

Sand Springs head coach Josh Berry was also in the stands and was introduced alongside Jackson prior to the game.

“Her growth from her freshman year to now just shows how much work she’s put in,” said Berry. “It’s just fun to see her out here enjoying it. Another All-Stater in the books for Sand Springs is always a good thing too.”

Lady Sandites Beat Stillwater, Advance to Area Playoffs

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For the ninth time in the past decade, the Lady Sandite basketball team is advancing to the Area playoffs Thursday night at Sapulpa at 7:30 p.m.

6A-East No. 6 Sand Springs (17-8) is scheduled to play its fourth game of the year against No. 7 Owasso (13-11) after the two teams finished as runners-up in their regions.

The winner of that game will play the loser of No. 1 Booker T. Washington (19-5) vs. No. 5 Broken Arrow (17-8) Saturday at 1:30 p.m. for a ticket to the State Tournament.

Sand Springs won 58-43 against No. 11 Stillwater (8-16) in the first round of the Norman regional on Thursday with three Lady Sandites in double digits. Hailey Jackson scored 19, Sakauri Wilson scored 15, and Kiaryn Taylor added 12.

On Saturday, however, No. 3 Norman (19-4) extended its win streak to nine with a 63-36 victory.

The host Tigers went on a 14-0 run to end the first quarter up 16-3 and though the rest of the game was closer, the Sandites could never muster a comeback attempt

“There were a lot of things that we missed tonight - a lot of opportunities that we let go,” said head coach Josh Berry.

“If you want to win, you’ve got to make those plays in these games.”

Sand Springs struggled with accuracy, shooting only 26% in the field, and also faced a distinct size advantage as the average Norman starter had three inches on the average Sandite starter.

“We showed it earlier in the year, beating some good teams,” said Berry. “When we play together we can beat anybody in the state.”

“But when we don’t, and we play like today where we’re not in one accord, then we can be beat by anybody.”

The team initially funneled its offense through Jackson as the six-foot senior took seven shots before any other Sandite attempted one. The Tigers often two-manned her in the paint, however, and Jackson didn’t get hot till the second half when she scored 12 of her game-best 17.

Wilson got rolling in the second quarter, where she scored all eight of her points, but was shut down in the second half.

By halftime the Tigers led 30-13 and pushed their advantage to 45-21 entering the fourth.

Nessa Begay and Kayla Jones scored 16 to lead Norman, followed by Keeley Parks with 12.

“We missed a lot of transition baskets and transition opportunities that we had early on and it just dug us in a hole,” said Berry.

“Defensively we missed some things and we just dug that hole too early and it’s hard to get out of that with this group. And we shot the ball bad. We couldn’t buy a bucket.”

On Thursday the Owasso Rams will be looking to snap an 11-game losing streak against the Sandites that dates back to 2018. The Sandites won the first three meetings this year 51-49, 48-47, and 45-36.

“That’s a good team, well coached,” said Berry. “We’ve got to go out there and play because this is a brand new game and a brand new season. Win or go home time.”

“We’ve just got to relax, have fun, enjoy each other, trust each other, believe in each other.”

Boys

The 6A-East No. 11 boys (10-13) suffered a 61-48 defeat against No. 6 Moore (17-6) in the Regional knockout round Friday at Bixby.

The Lions went on a 14-0 run to end the first quarter up 21-7 and the Sandites never recovered despite winning the fourth quarter 20-10.

Alijah Roper scored a career-high 23 points to lead all scorers but was the only Sandite in double digits.

Moore was led by Tristan Hankins with 19, Darian Grant with 15, and Malachi Lee with 11.

The Sandites have missed out on making it to Area the last two seasons but have made it past the first round of Regionals 7 out of the last 10 seasons and are poised for success next year as they return 3 of 5 starters and 65% of their scoring power.

Lady Sandites Beat Union and Owasso, Receive Regional Assignment

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The Sand Springs girls’ basketball team should be battle tested and ready when the Regional playoffs arrive Thursday.

The 6A-East No. 6 Lady Sandites went 2-1 in a tough final week to the regular season, ending the year 16-7 overall and 9-5 in the tough Frontier Valley Conference.

“We’re a team that’s still learning every day,” said head coach Josh Berry. “We’re up and down, but hopefully we’re going to be going up over this next week, which I think we will.”

The Sandites were on upset alert Tuesday against No. 16 Union (5-18) on Senior Night but survived 48-43 behind a 23-point performance from Hailey Jackson.

On Thursday, however, they suffered a 58-30 drubbing at No. 1 Booker T. Washington (17-5) as the team struggled with a 20% field goal performance, their worst since a season opening loss at Sapulpa.

“The best thing is to see if you can come back and regroup the next night and play, and we were able to do that,” said Berry.

The Sandites stormed out to a 26-12 halftime lead at No. 7 Owasso (12-9) on Friday in a game that the Rams probably felt due to win. The first two meetings between Sand Springs and Owasso were decided by a total of three points, but the Sandites only trailed once in the rematch.

The visitors surrendered an uncontested opening bucket to Laila Hamilton, a senior who has missed the entire season to injury. The senior tapped in the final bucket of her career and exited the game to applause, and fortunately the Sandites’ charity didn’t come back to haunt them.

After taking their biggest lead of the game at 29-12 to open the third, the Sandites suddenly found themselves on the ropes after Owasso used a 16-2 swing to make it a one-score game entering the fourth.

“(Thursday) we might have lost this game, but today they stayed together, they kept their composure, and they found a way to win, and that’s the most important part,” said Berry.

Jackson broke the Rams’ momentum with a three-point play to open the fourth and scored seven of her 15 points in the final stanza to secure the team’s 11th consecutive win against Owasso.

Jackson’s 15 led all scorers, while Sakauri Wilson added 11 and Taionna Morris had 10.

“We played a few tough teams this past six games,” said Berry. “I think that we did well, we held ourselves well. I’m proud of them for the season that we had but now everybody’s 0-0 and let’s just go see what happens.”

Sand Springs will travel to Norman Thursday for a first-round Regional playoff against No. 11 Stillwater (8-15) at 6:00 p.m.

No. 7 Norman (17-4) will host No. 14 Muskogee (6-15) in the other semifinal. The finals will be Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

“We’re going to need a lot of people to pitch in,” said Berry.

“We always say ‘I don’t know how we’re going to win, but however it is that night, just be ready. It might be your night, it might be somebody else’s night. Just be ready.’”

Boys

The 6A-East No. 11 Sand Springs boys (10-13) suffered a tough final week to the regular season, falling 66-37 to No. 8 Union (12-10) on Tuesday, 86-69 to No. 4 Booker T. Washington (12-8) on Thursday, and 57-34 to No. 5 Owasso (13-8) on Friday.

The Sandites led Union 22-20 at halftime on Senior Night but the RedHawks got hot in the third quarter for a 42-35 lead before starting the fourth on a 19-0 run. Michael Foster, Alijah Roper, and Kade Holland scored 8 apiece.

Thursday was a similar affair as the Sandites led the Hornets 36-34 late in the second quarter before Washington went on a 12-0 run to enter the half with a double-digit advantage that it never relinquished. Kooper Kelly scored 16, Holland 12, and Khalil Allen had 10.

On Owasso’s Senior Night the Rams jumped out to a 19-2 first-quarter lead and never trailed. Blake Johnson, Zane Fueshko, and Sam Hayes scored 6 apiece to lead the Sandites.

The boys ended the season with a 3-11 record in conference action, an improvement over the past two one-win seasons in the brutally tough Frontier Valley.

Sand Springs will return to action Friday at the Bixby Regionals with a first-round elimination game against No. 6 Moore (16-6).