No. 3 CPHS Girls Basketball dominates No. 13 Mustang 42-24 in State Quarterfinals

Isabella Regalado is one of three starting sophomores who will be anchoring the Lady Sandites in the years to come. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

CPHS 42 MHS 24

1Q CPHS 12-4
2Q CPHS 11-4
3Q CPHS 8-7
4Q CPHS 11-9

Free Throws: CPHS 4-of-9. MHS 10-of-15.
Field Goals: CPHS 18-of-48. MHS 7-of-31.
Fouls: CPHS 10. MHS 9.

Scoring: (CPHS) Kersgieter 16, Pennington 9, Johnson 8, McGee 3, Regalado 3, Mutiri 3. (MHS) Niehues 8, Haywood 7, Foreman 4, Metzinger 3, Brown 2.

(CPHS only)
Offensive Rebounds: Kersgieter 4, Pennington 1, Mutiri 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Pennington 6, McGee 5, Kersgieter 3, Mutiri 3, Regalado 1.
Steals: Johnson 3, McGee 3, Kersgieter 2, Pennington 1, Regalado 1.
Blocks: Mutiri 2.
Assists: Pennington 1, Johnson 1, Kersgieter 1.
Fouls: Mutiri 4, Regalado 2, Pennington 2, Johnson 1, McGee 1.

The No. 3 ranked Charles Page High School Girls' Basketball team (24-1) took on No. 13 Mustang (17-11) in the first round of the OSSAA 6A State Championship Thursday afternoon at Memorial High School and rolled to their tenth-straight victory by a final score of 42-24. They will advance to the State Semi-Finals Friday morning at the Oral Roberts Mabee Center where they will meet with No. 4 Deer Creek (25-2) at 9:00 a.m.

The Sandites made their first two attempts from three point range and missed both, but they found their usual niche in transition as sophomore Holly Kersgieter snagged a steal on the Broncos' first possession and turned it into a layup. Fellow sophomore Destiney Johnson struck next for the Sandites, then Kersgieter sank a three for the 7-0 lead.

Next it was time for the upperclassmen to shine as Ohio State Volleyball-commit Gloria Mutiri sank one from the charity stripe and Oklahoma State Softball-signed senior Sydney Pennington scored on a steal for the double digit lead. Johnson got back in the action with another steal and layup for the 12-0 lead and the Broncos used their second timeout.

Mustang finally got on the board with a steal and layup from Mia Brown, then Ellise Foreman added another basket to cut the lead to 12-4 shortly before the buzzer. The Broncos tried to go to work in the second period and scored four straight after an opening basket from McGee, but after a brief timeout, Sand Springs went right back to furthering their lead. Kersgieter scored four, Pennington added three, and Mutiri had two in the final minutes to take a 23-8 advantage into the locker room.

Mustang opened the second half with a pair of free throws from Abby Niehues but Sand Springs retaliated as Pennington hauled in a defensive rebound and sent it down court to Kersgieter for two. Sophomore Bella Regalado struck from three point range to put three sophomores in the scorebook. By the end of the third the Sandites had pushed their lead to 31-15.

Kersgieter, McGee, and Pennington went on a five point run to open the fourth, then the Broncos did the same to negate the damage. But Sand Springs wouldn't be stymied and Pennington and Johnson hit back to back layups for the 40-20 lead with 4:30 left to play. The offense fizzled out from there and the Sandites held on for a 42-24 victory.

Kersgieter led all scorers with 16 points as the only player in the game with double digits. Pennington posted nine and Johnson had eight. Neihuis led the Broncos with eight points.

The Lady Sandites' Friday morning opponent won their quarterfinal 49-42 over No. 6 Booker T. Washington (22-6), who the Sandites defeated 56-44 in the Area Championship.