Taking Charge: Hailey Jackson assumes role as the focal point for Sand Springs girls squad
By Michael Kinney
More than a week before the start of the 2022-23 season, the Sand Springs girls basketball team traveled to Edmond for their final scrimmage of the preseason.
Facing off against the likes of Edmond Memorial and Tuttle, the Sandites were able to get a good test before tipping off for real Nov. 29.
When it was over, coach Joshua Berry was asked what is going to be the key to Sand Springs getting back to the 6A state tournament. The all-state coach didn’t hesitate to focus on senior Hailey Jackson.
Jackson was the team’s second-leading scorer her junior season behind Journey Armstead (now at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas). However, Berry said it’s now time for Jackson to take the reins and lead the Sandites.
“She's had a heck of a career so far,” Berry said. “But she's been the number two person for three years and been a great one. But now it's time for her to step up and I think she has the ability to be one of the best all-around girls in the state.
"It's going to be up to her on how bad she wants it each and every night. And for her to go out there and prove it and play hard.”
Jackson was standing just a few feet away from Berry when he made the statement and she didn’t flinch. The 6-foot forward is ready for everything that comes with being in the top spot.
“I'd say it's just more pressure,” Jackson said. “It's like now the team's looking at me, watching me to see what I do. I just have to set a good role model for them.”
Jackson used the offseason to help her prepare for the new demands that have been placed on her. That includes opening up her game to become a more all-around player when she was on the verge breaking the 1,000 point career mark, which she accomplished earlier this month.
“I'm shooting more this year, which is a plus for me," Jackson said. "But I have got to work with the inside, outside and just keep it all rolling.
"In the offseason, that was really my biggest thing. Got to get this done and help put more points on the board.”
Jackson also had to work on her mindset. She says that is the one factor that had kept her from reaching her potential and becoming the best player she can be.
“It's really just my mindset. For a while, it was just me listening to the whole outside instead of me just keeping them out and like focusing on myself and not what everybody's saying about me,” Jackson said. “I'd say my career, it's been pretty good. But it's just really me.
"That's really what has just been stopping me from going over the top and that's what I'm trying to get past for this last year.”
Sand Springs lost to eventual state champion Edmond North in the 2022 6A semifinals. Along with Armstead, the Sandites lost Layne Kirkendoll and Leyshia Morris from the semifinal team.
Check It Out: Regional basketball sites for Classes 5A-6A officially released by the OSSAA
Jackson will be surrounded this season by more inexperienced players than she is used to playing with.
“We have a whole bunch of girls that haven't played a lot of minutes, and like all of a sudden it's like, boom, now they have to step up,” Jackson said. “We just have to be the team that really nobody expects to make it as far as we did the year before.
"I just have to be the team leader, help the girls keep their heads up as well as help me keep mine up. It's a team game and we just need to help each other build each other up.”
Sand Springs finished the regular season at 16-7, ending with three wins over its last four games. That included a 57-53 win on Feb. 10 against rival Sapulpa, the No. 1 ranked team in 5A.
The Sandites will now play in the 6A East regional tournament in Norman, beginning with a first-round game against Stillwater at 6 p.m. Thursday.
