Sand Springs girls seize second-half momentum to win 6A regional opener against Stillwater
By Michael Kinney
NORMAN - Hailey Jackson has been through it all before.
As a junior, she helped guide Sand Springs to the 2022 Class 6A semifinals.
Despite that, Jackson knows how important and nerve-wracking that opening game of the postseason can be. In a win-or-go-home scenario, anything can happen.
So, when the Lady Sandites had a slow start Thursday in their 6A East regional opener against Stillwater, Jackson knew at some point they would show their true colors as they went on to earn a 58-43 victory at Norman High.
“I think we played pretty well,” Jackson said. “We came out a little slow in the first half. We were a little nervous; we were just worried about making it to the next round.”
While the game wasn’t pretty, Sand Springs coach Joshua Berry likes how his team responded to their sluggish start.
“We played like we took a two-hour road trip,” Berry said. “We came out a little sluggish, but we were able to pick it up and just find a way to win.
"That's all this is about this time of the year, just finding a way to win and we did that and go on to the next one.”
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Stillwater relied on the scoring of Christyona Harland in the first half. The sophomore guard was able to consistently drive into the lane for a layup or foul.
Jackson, a senior, was able to slow down the Lady Pioneers' Jaylee Christian in the post. Despite a sizeable height disadvantage, Jackson didn’t let Christian get anything easy in the paint and forced Stillwater to find other options.
Sand Springs led, 22-16, at halftime.
However, the combination of Harland and Christian helped Stillwater go on a run to start the third and they were able to take a 27-26 advantage. It looked like they had found their game.
Unfortunately for the Lady Pioneers, that turned out to be the final time they scored in the period. The Lady Sandites' defense picked up and began forcing Stillwater into turnovers and empty possessions.
This allowed Sand Springs to get its running game going as well. By the time the quarter ended, the Lady Sandites held a 39-27 lead.
“I thought defense was pretty important (Thursday),” Berry said. “Just to kind of speed the tempo up and get out and get some easy baskets if we couldn't make any shots (Thursday). So that's about the only way we were able to get the ball in the hole.”
Sand Springs continued to get out on the break in the fourth. Jackson, Kauri Wilson and Kiaryn Taylor pushed the tempo and racked up layup after layup.
With a little more than three minutes left in the contest and leading by 17 points, Sand Springs began to just run the clock down before both teams emptied their benches.
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“Our defensive end is like a big part of our team,” Jackson said. “If we can stop them on defense, we know how to control them on offense. We can do our thing.
"We have multiple people who can put the ball in the goal. So defense is our biggest priority.”
Harland paced the Lady Pioneers with 13 points. Christian added 10 points, all in the second half.
Jackson led all scorers with 19 points. Wilson chipped in with 15 points and Taylor added 12 points.
Sand Springs (17-7) will face No. 3 Norman High (18-4) Saturday afternoon in the regional championship. The Lady Tigers rolled over Muskogee, 71-32, in their opening game.
Norman heads into the regional championship riding an eight game win-streak and fully healthy. Berry knows his team will get a stiffer challenge from the Lady Tigers.
“We just got to see some toughness,” Berry said. “Whomever we go against, we're going to have to rebound a lot better. We're going to have to be better defensively and then offensively, we're going to have to execute.”
Game time is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Norman High.
