The Black Diamonds bounced back from a loss to Roland the night before as Matt Oberste netted 17 points and Blake Zinck had another 13.
Oberste’s 3-pointer to open the second half handed Sallisaw its biggest lead of the game at 35-19. However, the shooting of Cory Shewmaker and Chandler Smith pulled Westville back into contention.
Shewmaker scored a game-high 23 for the Yellowjackets and Smith had 16. The two combined for seven of the visitors’ nine 3-point baskets., including one from Shewmaker that cut the gap to 52-45 with 1:13 left.
Sallisaw held off the late Westville charge by sinking 13 of 18 free throws in the final four minutes. Trey Wiley converted 3 of 4 charity shots to put the Diamonds back up by 10 before Westville got as close as five in the final moments.
Sallisaw improved to 9-10 with the non-conference victory, its second of the season over Westville.
Tyler Clifton chipped in six points for the Diamonds, Wiley five, Nick Walker four, Damon Lynch four, Mason Taylor three, Robert Raborn three and Garrett Langley three.
Sallisaw trailed 9-4 in the opening minutes, but Oberste had three baskets and an assist to fuel a 10-2 run as Sallisaw grabbed a 14-11 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Sallisaw never trailed after that. The Diamonds hit 8 of 12 shots in the second period and went up 32-19 at halftime when Raborn buried a 3-pointer with :03 left in the half.
Westville 42, SHS 38 (G)
The Lady Diamonds rallied from 17 points down, but their comeback fell just short on Saturday afternoon.
Westville used a 15-0 run in the second quarter to take its biggest lead of the game at 23-6. Caitie Goff scored four points, Talia Lattimore buried a 3-pointer and Edna Boggs sank two free throws to get Sallisaw back to within 10 at halftime.
It was still a 10-point game entering the fourth, but Sallisaw put together a 14-3 spurt to go in front.
Goff sparked the run with six consecutive points before Courtney Eldridge hit a shot from the baseline and a 3-pointer from the corner to knot the score.
Camilia Weaver’s basket put Westville up by two, but Goff drilled a 3-pointer to hand Sallisaw a 38-37 lead with 1:10 remaining.
Brianna Wilson hit the go-ahead basket for Westville with 35 seconds left. A pair of Sallisaw turnovers and 3 of 4 shooting from the line allowed the Lady ’Jackets to pull away.
Goff finished with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds for Sallisaw. Eldridge added five points, Lacey Smith four, Morgan Kostka three, Lattimore three and Boggs two.
Westville (10-9) was led by Weaver’s 13 points plus another 12 from Christina Hammer. The two players combined for all four of the visitors’ 3-point baskets.
