Journey Armstead Offered by Queens University at Charlotte

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Photo by Andrew Carpenter/Blue Dragon Sports Information.

An undefeated start to her sophomore season has earned Journey Armstead an offer to play at the Division I level.

The 2022 Charles Page High School alum announced on X Wednesday that she had been offered by Queens University of Charlotte, a private school in North Carolina.

The Royals are an NCAA Division I program competing in the Atlantic Sun (ASUN) Conference. Queens is 5-5 in the current season but has yet to begin conference play. Last year the Royals went 8-21 under now fourth-year head coach Jen Brown.

'Queens is in a rebuilding effort and has improved its win total each of the past two seasons despite moving up to the Division I level for the first time last season. They were previously in the Division II South Atlantic Conference.

Armstead is averaging 10.6 points per game while shooting 45.4% in the field this season at Hutchinson Community College. She also averages 4.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists.

The Blue Dragons are 12-0 at Christmas break and ranked No. 11 in the NJCAA. Hutchinson also benefits from another former Sandite in freshman Hailey Jackson. The Dragons will return to action on January 3rd at No. 3 Butler (12-0).

Hailey Jackson Scores 26 to Lead Hutchinson Past Cowley

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Hailey Jackson scores a career-high 26 points to lead the No. 11 Blue Dragon women to a 12-0 record in the first semester after a 72-47 victory over Cowley on Saturday at the Sports Arena. (Billy Watson/Blue Dragon Sports Information)

Freshman Hailey Jackson poured in a career-high 26 points and the Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team turned in another impressive defensive performance as the No. 11 Blue Dragons rolled to their 12th-straight victory to start the 2023-24 season.

Jackson is a 2023 Charles Page High School alum. 2022 CPHS alum Journey Armstead had a season-high eight assists, her seventh career game of eight or more assists.

The Blue Dragons held their eighth opponent this season to less than 30 percent shooting as Hutchinson closed the first semester of play with a 72-47 victory over the Tigers at the Sports Arena.

Hutchinson is now 12-0 overall and 6-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Blue Dragons open the second semester at No. 3 Butler on January 3 and will return to the Sports Arena on January 6 against Northwest Tech. Cowley is now 7-6 overall and 1-6 in the conference.

Jackson knocked down a Blue Dragon individual and personal high five free throws in seven attempts to power her career-high 26-point performance, which ties for second most by a Blue Dragon this season. Overall, Jackson was 9 of 14 from the field. Jackson added seven rebounds and two steals.

The Blue Dragon defense held Cowley to 25.0 percent shooting (12 of 48) and just 2 of 18 from 3-point range. The Blue Dragons also forced 22 Tiger turnovers, which Hutchinson turned into a 24-8 advantage in points off turnovers.

Leading 12-8 after one quarter, the Blue Dragon defense clamped down on Cowley in the second stanza, holding the Tigers to 2 of 12 shooting. The Dragons didn't allow Cowley to score for the first 7 minutes, 12 seconds – that scoreless streak was 9 minutes, 18 seconds going back to the end of the first quarter.

The Blue Dragons held Cowley 22 points under its season scoring average.

Hutchinson shot 40.9 percent (27 of 66), hitting 9 of 31 from 3-point range and 9 of 16 from the free-throw line. The Dragons out-rebounded Cowley 45-30 and grabbed 20 offensive rebounds.

Hutchinson's 12-0 start is the ninth-best start in program history.

Undefeated Hutchinson Tops Cloud County, Armstead Surpasses 200 Career Assists

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Photo Courtesy of Andrew Carpenter/Blue Dragon Sports Information.

The No. 11-ranked Hutchinson Community College women's basketball team won a convincing 77-50 Jayhawk Conference victory over the Cloud County Thunderbirds (6-5) on Wednesday at the Arley Bryant Gym.

The Blue Dragons won their 11th consecutive game to start the season and remain unbeaten in Jayhawk Conference play at 5-0.

The Blue Dragons raced out to a 23-9 lead, then went through a 6-minute, 36-second scoring drought and Cloud County pulled within 23-18. A Hailey Jackson three-point play ended the drought and sparked the Blue Dragons to a 15-3 run to close the half and take a 36-21 lead at halftime.

Jackson was one of two Blue Dragons to score in double figures with 11 points. She also had eight rebounds, a career-high five assists and two steals. Journey Armstead finished with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Jackson graduated Charles Page High School in 2023 and Armstead is a 2022 Sand Springs alum.

The Blue Dragons came out cold in the second quarter as Cloud County chipped away with a 9-0 run over the first 5:28 of the period. Hutchinson's scoreless streak ended at 7 minutes, 16 seconds when Jackson scored inside and was fouled with 3:34 to play in the quarter.

The Dragons' largest lead of the game was 29 at 77-48 after an Armstead free throw with 2:09 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Armstead has 26 assists in her last four games and surpassed the career 200-assist mark with 206 assists.

Hutchinson closes out the first semester on Saturday with a 5:30 p.m. matchup against Cowley (7-5) at the Sports Arena.

Hailey Jackson and Journey Armstead Lead Hutchinson to 10-0 Start

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Hailey Jackson drives to the hoop during a dominant second quarter as the No. 15-ranked Blue Dragons roll to a 86-46 victory over Colby on Sunday at the Sports Arena. (Andrew Carpenter/Blue Dragon Sports Information)

Charles Page High School alums Hailey Jackson and Journey Armstead have led No. 14 Hutchinson Community College to a 10-0 start after a 98-47 Jayhawk Conference victory over the Pratt Beavers (6-4, 1-4) on Saturday.

The Blue Dragons are now 4-0 in Jayhawk Conference play.

Jackson led her team with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting with five rebounds against Pratt while Armstead finished with 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

The Dragons started last week with an 86-46 win over Colby Community College (4-5, 0-4) on Sunday. Jackson connected on a pair of 3-pointers and was 6 of 8 from the floor to finish with 16 points and four rebounds. Armstead scored 11 points and finished with a season-high nine assists and six rebounds.

On Wednesday, Hutchinson prevailed 73-48 over the Independence Pirates (6-4, 1-4). Jackson scored 16 points on 4 of 7 shooting from the field and 8 of 9 shooting from the free-thrown line. She just missed a double-double with nine rebounds and had a season-high four steals. Armstead scored 12 points with seven assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Hutchinson will return to action Wednesday at Cloud County Community College (6-4, 2-3).

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.”