Boys Win Glenpool Classic, Ambrielle Chambers is Sandites' First-Ever Girls JH State Champ

The Charles Page High School boys’ wrestling team brought home its third team title of the season from the Glenpool Warrior Classic on Friday, defending their prior year’s crown with five individual champions.

The team title was decided by half a point and came down to the heavyweight placement round where Mason Harris took first place while Broken Arrow’s Kahlen Thompson settled for third.

No. 4 Broken Arrow settled for second place, followed by Owasso in a distant third place.

Harris (30-2) earned a 9-3 decision over Christian Heritage’s Chase Graham for his 15th win in a row and second consecutive tournament title, making his way to the finals with three consecutive pins.

Also winning titles were Dawsen Briscoe, Kase Skaggs, Zander Grigsby, and Jaxon Trotter.

Briscoe (20-11) earned his first gold medal of the season after pinning all four of his foes at 106 pounds. In the finals he trailed 2-0 after giving up a first-period takedown to Owasso’s Chace Hill, but he started the second period on top and worked the Ram over for a fall in 2:57.

Skaggs (32-7) followed it up with a win at 113. The junior lightweight has now won nine matches and two tournaments in a row, also taking home gold at the Nathan Hale tournament two weeks ago.

Skaggs earned one technical fall and one pin in pool play before eking out a pair of decisions in the championship bracket. In the finals he took Sapulpa senior State-placer Cavin Peper to overtime, scoring a pair of third-period takedowns after trailing 3-0. He added a third takedown for the 6-4 sudden victory win.

Zander Grigsby (34-1) picked up his fourth tournament title of the season and has now won 12 matches in a row since his only loss of the year. Grigsby pinned his first three opponents in the first period at 165 pounds. In the finals he won a 10-2 major decision against Jenks junior Josh Henderson.

Trotter (33-7) won his second title in a row after winning the Skiatook tournament last month. He pinned his first three opponents at 175 before dominating the last two by way of technical superiority. In the semifinals he won 16-1 in only 2:48 and in the finals he defeated Glenpool senior Mason Buzbee 17-2 in 3:27.

David Ritchey (16-7) took third place at 120, only losing an 8-5 semifinal decision to Owasso senior State-placer Bryson Humphries. In the placement round he pinned Glenpool’s Jayden Worledo in 1:04.

Jayden Pait (14-2) placed third at 138, pinning his first three opponents before falling 15-3 to Broken Arrow State Champion Jake Miller in the semifinals. In the consolation finals he pinned Sapulpa State qualifier Ethan Peterson in 1:42.

Peyton Callis (32-10) placed third at 190, pinning two opponents before losing 4-2 to Jenks State qualifier Owen Jones in the semifinals. In the placement match he won a 16-0 technical fall against Broken Arrow senior Braden Jones in 3:26.

Jesse Moore placed fifth at 144, Preston Reyna placed fifth at 150, Hunter Spencer placed sixth at 126, Colt Hood placed seventh at 126, Brody Ensten placed seventh at 157, Gage Gunn placed eighth at 132, and Isaac Sensintaffar placed ninth at 157.

The Sandites (10-1) will return to action Friday at noon against No. 4 Stillwater (13-2) in the first round of Dual State at the Stride Bank Center in Enid. The winner of that dual will face the winner of No. 1 Edmond North (15-1) vs. No. 8 Edmond Deer Creek (12-7) at 2:00 p.m. The Championship finals will be at 6:30 p.m.

Junior High

The boys took seventh place and the girls took fourth place at the Junior High All-State tournament, led by freshman Ambrielle Chambers as the Sandites’ first-ever girls State Champion.

The junior high State tournament is arguable tougher than the high school tournament because there are no divisions based on school size.

Chambers pinned her first five opponents in the first period while outscoring them 15-1. In the 108-pound finals she won a 9-5 decision over Union’s Lydia Suniga with a takedown, two reversals, and three nearfall points.

Kenzie Johnson was runner-up at 87 pounds, pinning each of her first three opponents in the first period before falling to Lawton Eisenhower’s Emalyn Johnston-Stewart in the finals. She actually led 4-0 early in the match before giving up a takedown in the second.

Bailey Copeland was runner-up at 94 pounds, pinning her first three opponents before falling to Edmond North’s Alexandria Skidmore in the finals.

Kasen McAffrey was runner-up at 138 pounds, only dropping a close 1-0 decision to Ft. Gibson’s Brendan Bell. He started the tournament with a major decision, three falls, and a technical fall, outscoring his opponents 35-2 without giving up a single takedown.

Griffin Sensintaffar was runner-up at 87 pounds, losing a 6-5 decision to Hobart’s Jett Kline in the finals. He pinned his first four opponents and added an 11-0 major decision in the semifinals.

Ryder Richardson placed sixth at 76 pounds in the 6th and 7th-grade division and Jaxon Grigsby placed sixth at 128 in junior high.

Sandites Beat Enid, Putnam City, and U.S. Grant in Perfect Week

A 77-23 rout of U.S. Grant capped a perfect week for the Charles Page High School boys’ basketball team (13-6, 5-5), which has now won three in a row since a 61-43 loss to No. 2 Owasso last Friday.

All 14 varsity players saw substantial playing time in the Saturday afternoon district makeup game that easily could have eclipsed 100 points had the Sandites not limited themselves to their third string for the entirety of the fourth quarter.

“We got back late last night after a tough win on the road,” said head coach Eric Savage. “We just knew we had to come out early with some emotion and some intensity. Didn’t want to be flat.”

“I thought we came out and shot the ball well early and everybody got off to a good start, then we were able to get up and down the lineup and give everybody some significant minutes today.”

Kason Evans scored back-to-back buckets to open the game and Deke Thompson added a trey for a 7-0 lead before Dontay Phillips got the visitors on the board. The Sandites responded with a 17-0 run and took a 29-4 advantage into the second quarter.

After Phillips’s second bucket late in the first, Sand Springs went on a 24-0 streak and ultimately took a 58-7 lead into halftime.

Things slowed down in the second half, but the Sandites still got 28 points off their bench and 12 different players entered the scorebook.

“They show up every day and they’re putting in as much time as the starters and they’re working just as hard,” said Savage. “It’s great to be able to reward them with some playing time when we get the opportunity.”

Thompson led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Evans with 11 as the only other Sandite in double digits. Khalil Allen had the best all-around performance with 7 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals, 4 assists, and 4 blocks.

Zane Fueshko, usually the first man off the bench, got the start after strong performances at Putnam City on Friday.

Allen scored 11 and Fueshko added 10 in the 51-34 district road win, trailing only Thompson, who had 22.

“(Zane) gave us a spark,” said Savage. “He’s been shooting the ball really well and I just wanted to kind of reward him for that.”

Putnam City led early, but the Sandites went on a 15-0 run from the first into the second and led 21-18 at halftime. Sand Springs held the Pirates to only two points in the third quarter and maintained a comfortable lead through the fourth.

“It was a rowdy environment,” said Savage. “We had the band right behind us. We jumped out early and then it was a little sluggish there in the second quarter.”

“We really just wanted to keep playing defense and were finally able to get some stops and run-outs and created a little space, then just kind of maintained it from there.”

Last Friday, Thompson went off for 28 points and 7 rebounds in a loss to Owasso (16-3, 9-1) that was far closer than the final score.

The Sandites only trailed 24-23 at halftime and 40-31 to open the fourth quarter before the Rams finally pulled away behind 16 points from Jax Kerr and 20 from Jalen Montonati.

But on Tuesday they bounced back with a 65-55 Homecoming win over Enid (8-9, 4-5) to pay back a December loss.

Thompson scored 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists, followed by Kooper Kelly with 12 points and Evans with 12 points and 8 boards.

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday with a district home game against No. 4 Union (18-2, 10-1). They previously fell to the RedHawks 76-72 and 71-51 in January.

“We have a tough week ahead,” said Savage. “We’ve got our work cut out for us. We’ll go get some rest and try to put a good game plan together and just go compete.”

“Hopefully being home will maybe give us a little edge, but they’ve got some mountain guys down there and they can play both ways. They’re extremely athletic and we’ll just have to do our best to try and find a way to score with them.”

Lady Sandites Upset Owasso on Morris's Buzzer Beater

The third time was the charm for the Lady Sandites, Friday night at the Ed Dubie Field House, as No. 6 Sand Springs paid back a pair of losses with a 40-38 upset against No. 5 Owasso.

After a game-tying layup from Makenna Yokley, the Sandites had just seven seconds to respond. Instead of calling a timeout to set up a play, head coach Josh Berry just trusted the connection between his two senior stars.

“If we call a timeout, I feel like we let them set up,” said Berry. “I think we’ve got the speed advantage so I just trusted our senior guards.”

It paid off as point guard Sakauri Wilson found Taiona Morris on a long bounce pass for the win. The Rams brought full pressure on Wilson, leaving Morris unguarded downcourt, and the NEO-commit made them pay.

“Kauri got the ball out so I just needed to run,” said Morris. “She found me and I just made the layup.”

Sand Springs led twice early in the game before the Rams rode a 12-0 run into the second quarter for a 10-point advantage. The home team played catch-up for the rest of the night, cutting its deficit to 23-21 by halftime.

“I think we started rushing it,” said Berry. “This is the first time we’ve been home in a very long time, so I think when we got settled down we just made some tough plays and played hard.”

A Freshman Phenom

Aaliyah Simone gave the Sandites their first lead of the second half with a pair of free throws but Sarah Yokley’s trey put the visitors back on top and the Rams took a 29-27 lead into the fourth.

Simone tied it again to open the fourth, then Seldon Stover and Wilson traded blows to a 31-31 tie. Makenna Yokley gave the visitors their final lead before Simone tied it a third time on a lefty layup off a steal from Wilson.

The freshman starter ended the night with a team-best 10 points and followed that play by picking off a long inbound and passing it to Wilson who hesitated long enough for a pair of would-be blockers to float by, then hit the go-ahead tap-in with 2:36 to play.

Hope Bump added another basket to make it a two-score game, though Makenna Yokley drained a three soon after to keep the Rams close.

Morris went 1-of-2 on a trip to the free throw line for a two-point advantage, followed by Makenna Yokley’s game-tying layup and Morris’s buzzer-beater for the win.

“We can finally say that we beat Owasso,” said Morris. “And on top of that, I feel like this will put us forward in our season and help us develop a better part of our team.”

Morris ended the night with 9 points, followed by Wilson and Bump with 8 apiece. Wilson added 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 5 steals.

A New Hope

One of the key difference makers between this game and the first two meetings with Owasso was junior Hope Bump, a transfer from Claremore, who was still waiting on OSSAA clearance till after the new year.

Bump brings some much needed size to the Sandites, who lost one of their only bigs when Kiaryn Taylor tore her ACL in December’s Bishop Kelley Invitational.

“It sucked because I couldn’t be out there with them,” said Bump. “But it felt good to be out there with them tonight…because it counted toward our district wins and everything.”

Bump scored 8 points with 5 rebounds, a steal, and 2 blocks. She’s averaging 10.9 points and 5.7 rebounds this season since making her Sandite debut at the Putnam City Invitational on January 4th.

“She does it all,” said Berry. “She can pass, she can shoot, she can score inside. And now she’s playing a little bit of defense, so how about that? If she keeps that up, I think great things are going to come for her.”

Bump has adjusted well to her new team since following her dad, assistant coach Jeremy Bump, to Sand Springs.

“It’s different, definitely from 5A to 6A basketball,” said Bump. “It’s faster, it’s quicker and everything, but I love it it here…I feel like God put me where I need to be.”

Homecoming is Tuesday

Sand Springs improved to 11-5 on the season and 5-2 in district play and will return to action Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. on Homecoming. The queen will be crowned at halftime of the boys’ game, which starts at 8:00 p.m.

Owasso dropped to 13-4 and 6-2 and will travel to No. 5 Edmond Memorial (13-3, 7-1) Tuesday in a key district battle.

CPHS 40 Owasso 38

1Q: Owasso 13-7.
2Q: CPHS 14-10.
3Q: Tied 6-6.
4Q: CPHS 13-9.
Free Throws: CPHS 6-of-8, Owasso 5-of-6.
Field Goals: CPHS 16-of-50, Owasso 15-of-42.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 7, Owasso 8.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 12, Owasso 22.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 19, Owasso 30.
Steals: CPHS 9, Owasso 4.
Blocks: CPHS 4, Owasso 3.
Fouls: CPHS 10, Owasso 14.

Sand Springs Statistics

Points: Simone 10, Morris 9, Wilson 8, Bump 8, Ti. Butler 5.
Offensive Rebounds: Morris 3, Simone 1, Ti. Butler 1, Bump 1, Gilton 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Wilson 5, Bump 4, Simon 2, Ti. Butler 1.
Total Rebounds: Wilson 5, Bump 5, Morris 3, Simone 3, Ti. Butler 2, Gilton 1.
Assists: Wilson 3, Simone 1, Bump 1.
Steals: Wilson 5, Simone 2, Ti. Butler 1, Bump 1.
Blocks: Ti. Butler 2, Bump 2.
Fouls: Morris 3, Wilson 2, Simone 2, Bump 2, Gilton 1.

Owasso Statistics

Points: M. Yokley 15, McGarrah 8, Stover 4, Austin 4, Hill 4, S. Yokley 3.
Fouls: M. Yokley 4, Austin 3, Stover 2, McGarrah 2, Wilson 2, Hill 1.

Sandite Wrestling Routs Enid, Owasso & Union for District Championship

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Sand Springs is headed back to Dual State after winning its 19th overall District Championship Thursday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

Sand Springs has now won back-to-back district titles under second-year head coach Ty Bowling, who has won five in a row including his days at Glenpool.

“I love Dual State,” said Bowling. “It’s an honor to be able to compete there. I’ve been on both sides. Having to stay home isn’t very fun. Having the opportunity to give ourselves a chance is special.”

The No. 5 ranked Sandites improved to 10-0 for the first time since 2017 after winning 77-6 against Enid (1-8), 46-18 against Owasso (1-7) and 53-16 against No. 15 Union (3-4).

“I think we all wrestled good, battled hard, and even if we lost, we did our job to not get pinned or whatever,” said junior middle-weight Preston Reyna.

The Sandites started off with a dominant win against Enid, jumping out to a 36-0 lead with six pins before the Plainsmen earned their one and only victory.

Dawsen Briscoe (6-5), Ayreson Reiss (4-3), David Ritchey (5-3), Colt Hood (10-6), Matthew Moore (16-7), and Jackson Burdge (1-2) all pinned their foes before Steven Brooks broke up the run by pinning Jesse Moore (13-4) at 144 pounds.

Reyna (15-4) got the home team back on track with a 17-1 technical fall in 4:44, followed by first period falls from Brody Ensten (17-6), Zander Grigsby (19-0), Jaxon Trotter (20-5), Peyton Callis (20-5), Jaden Allen (7-7), and Ryley Kester (2-0).

It was at least the 14th consecutive win against Enid in a streak dating back to before any of the current Sandites were alive.

Sand Springs got in an early hole against Owasso and trailed through the first eight matches before rallying to their third consecutive win over the Rams.

Dallas Thorpe pinned Reiss to open the dual and returning State placer Bryson Humphries won an 8-2 decision against Ritchey before Hood got the Sandites on the scoreboard with a 5-0 decision against Jaxon Truitt.

Matthew Moore picked up a big 7-5 decision against State qualifier Jaxson Humphries at 132, but Burdge suffered a pin by Ryder Seago and Jesse Moore lost a 6-2 decision to Mason Moore to make it 18-6.

Finally, Reyna kicked off an eight-match win streak with a close 4-3 decision over Derek Lockridge at 150. Lockridge scored a takedown in the opening period, but gave up a penalty point in the second and Reyna tied it with an escape in the the third before scoring a takedown.

“He was getting in his own head and I kind of felt that, so I just kept pushing it,” said Reyna.

“That was a good win,” said Bowling. “That kid was one match away from being a State qualifier last year. Preston was wrestling up to 150. Every time we’ve bumped him up to 150, he’s won every one of those matches so he’s done well for us.”

Ensten followed it up by pinning Kam Miller on a second period reversal and Grigsby gave his team their first lead with a 46-second pin of Corbin Smith.

Trotter pinned Ari Davis in 48 seconds, Callis received a forfeit, and Allen won a 6-0 decision against Chris Turner at 215 to clinch the dual.

Mason Harris (20-2) had the fastest pin of the night in just 29 seconds against Alijah Hills and Briscoe wrapped it up with a 13-5 major decision against Chace Hill.

In the Union dual Kase Skaggs (17-3) started things off with a bang, working up a 17-2 first-period technical fall against Jaraett Sims, then Hood pinned Ben Mielcarek to make sure the Sandites never trailed.

Matthew Moore lost a close 1-0 decision to State qualifier Dariuz Black and Burdge was pinned by State qualifier Thomas Toteh to make it 11-9, but Sand Springs won the next five matches.

Jesse Moore kicked off the streak with a pin of Asher Davidson and Reyna won a 2-1 decision against Reyon Williams.

“Those last two were tough kids,” said Reyna. “I can’t wait to wrestle them again. I love matches that are close like that.”

Ensten added a 7-3 decision against Uriah Delonia and Grigsby continued his undefeated season by working up an 7-1 lead against State qualifier Tanner Jarvis before pinning him in 2:33.

Trotter also played with his food before eating it, taking an 11-2 advantage against Ethan Kimrey before pinning him in 2:48 to make it 35-9.

State qualifier Wura Yinusa won a 17-5 major decision against Allen at 190, but Callis pinned Ezequiel Palos to clinch the dual at 215.

Harris added a 35-second pin of Contrell Richardson and Briscoe pinned Mason Mitchell in 2:23 for a 40-point advantage before Derrick Elmore won an 11-6 decision against Nathan Feather (0-1) to wrap up the night.

It was the Sandites’ fourth consecutive win against Union.

Technically there are no All-District accolades in wrestling, but if there were they would go to Briscoe, Hood, Reyna, Ensten, Grigsby, Trotter, and Callis who all went 3-0 on the day. Harris went 2-0 and Kester and Skaggs both won the only matches they wrestled.

Sand Springs has just one dual left in the regular season and will travel to No. 3 Broken Arrow (4-0) next Thursday, but first it will host the 56th annual Bobby Lyons Invitational Friday and Saturday.

“We’ve wrestled a good schedule,” said Bowling. “Each time we’ve wrestled they get tougher and tougher and we’re going to finish with probably the toughest one yet with Broken Arrow next week.”

Lady Sandites Place 2nd at Bishop Kelley Invitational, Morris & Wilson Make All-Tournament Team

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Yonnie Morris and Josh Berry with the Bishop Kelley Runner-Up trophy.

In a rematch of last year’s Bishop Kelley Invitational finals, this year it was No. 8 Owasso (5-1) that came out on top, defeating No. 7 Sand Springs 49-31 to dethrone the reigning champs.

“You’ve got to take your hats off to them,” said head coach Josh Berry. “They played well, they executed. We didn’t execute as well at times, but that’s kind of what happens when you have to change some stuff on the fly.”

The Sandites bullied their way to the finals with wins of 58-24 against Edison Prep (1-4) and 50-33 against Bishop Kelley (2-3), but lost Kiaryn Taylor to a knee injury against the Comets. She will go in for an MRI Monday to find out of the extent of the damage.

“We’ve just got to play a different style of basketball and what that may look like, we don’t know yet,” said Berry. “We’ve just got to find the best five that will give us a chance to win.”

Aaliyah Simone got her first start in Taylor’s absence and finished with 8 points, second only to Taiona “Yonnie” Morris’s 10 points.

Freshman Jordan Gilton was also called up for her first varsity action to provide some size in the paint.

“This was her first varsity game,” said Berry. “I think she gave us some really good energy, she provided some good physicality and a great attitude tonight.”

Sand Springs hung tough with the Rams throughout most of the game before suffering a fourth-quarter shutout.

Although they never once led in the game, they only trailed 14-11 after a deep buzzer-beater three from Simone to end the first quarter. Morris added another late three to end the half in a 26-23 deficit.

Sand Springs only trailed 38-31 to enter the fourth quarter but went 0-for-9 on field goals in the deciding stanza.

“We didn’t make as many shots as we have in the past,” said Berry. “The ball didn’t fall for us tonight and it fell them.”

Sand Springs did a lot of things right.

In their first meeting with the Rams, the Sandites gave up 15 offensive rebounds. On Saturday they only gave up 5. Last week the Rams secured 11 steals, but on Saturday they only had 5. In their first meeting the Sandites gave Owasso 26 free throws, but on Saturday they only gave up 17 opportunities.

Owasso had one big leg up on the Sandites, and that was three-point shooting. Sand Springs was 10-of-25 outside the arc versus Owasso’s 0-for-9 performance in the first game. But in the rematch Sand Springs was 3-of-17 while Owasso was 5-of-10.

Morris and Sakauri Wilson were both named to the All-Tournament team. Morris scored 36 points with 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 13 steals over three games while Wilson had 19 points with 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 11 steals over two games after sitting out during the tournament opener.

Oklahoma State softball-commit Jayelle Austin led all scorers with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The teams will get yet another rematch on January 26th in district action but there are many more games to be played before then.

Owasso will host No. 19 Union (5-2, 2-0) in district play on Tuesday while Sand Springs will host Putnam City (4-2, 2-1).

“You don’t take anybody lightly because you never know how the ball’s going to fall,” said Berry. “We’ve got to play our ball. We’ve got to get back to that and see what happens on Tuesday.

Owasso 49 CPHS 31

1Q: Owasso 14-11.
2Q: Tied 12-12.
3Q: Owasso 12-8.
4Q: Owasso 11-0.
Free Throws: Owasso 12-of-17, CPHS 4-of-9.
Field Goals: Owasso 16-of-42, CPHS 12-of-41.
Offensive Rebounds: Owasso 5, CPHS 3.
Defensive Rebounds: Owasso 25, CPHS 12.
Total Rebounds: Owasso 30, CPHS 15.
Steals: Owasso 5, CPHS 8.
Blocks: Owasso 1, CPHS 4.
Fouls: Owasso 10, CPHS 13.

Sand Springs Statistics

Scoring: Morris 10, Simone 8, Ti. Butler 6, Wilson 5, Pearce 2.
Offensive Rebounds: Ti. Butler 2, Pearce 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Morris 3, Ta. Butler 3, Wilson 2, Ti. Butler 1, Pearce 1, Garrison 1, Gilton 1.
Total Rebounds: Morris 3, Ta. Butler 3, Ti. Butler 3, Wilson 2, Pearce 2, Garrison 1, Gilton 1.
Steals: Wilson 4, Ti. Butler 3, Morris 1.
Assists: Wilson 1, Morris 1, Simone 1.
Blocks: Ti. Butler 4.
Fouls: Wilson 4, Pearce 3, Morris 2, Simone 2, Ta. Butler 1, Gilton 1.

Owasso Statistics

Scoring: Austin 18, Stover 9, McGarrah 9, Yokley 6, Hill 4, Wilson 3.
Fouls: Yokley 3, McGarrah 2, Wilson 2, Stover 1, Austin 1, Tease 1.

Lady Sandites Rout Bishop Kelley 50-33 in Tournament Semifinals

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.