Sallisaw opens with optimism on boys side while girls post win
The Sallisaw’s basketball program had mixed results from the first game of the basketball season Tuesday, playing Westville on the road for their season openers.
The Sallisaw’s basketball program had mixed results from the first game of the basketball season Tuesday, playing Westville on the road for their season openers.
SALLISAW GIRLS 61, WESTVILLE 29
The Lady Diamonds started their Class 4A season by beating the Yellowjackets on the road with a decisive win, which helps boost confidence and makes a statement that they’re coming to play.
Head coach Greg Scott was happy with the way his charges played in their inaugural game, and sees a lot of opportunities to continue to improve by building on that game.
“I thought we played extremely well,” Scott said. “Lots of positives, but there’s still plenty of things to work on. We were able to rely on our defensive pressure, which caused 28 turnovers that translated into easy buckets.
“Offensively, Addyson Gream set the tone for us by dominating the paint, leading us with 16 points and 13 rebounds.”
After Gream, Emily Gregory scored in double digits with 10 points, followed by Ellie Martin with eight. The team logged six rebounds and five steals, collectively.
WESTVILLE 69, SALLISAW 42
The Black Diamonds lost on the road at Westville to start the 2022-23 basketball season Tuesday in their season opener.
Head coach Chadd Gehrke is starting the season with a whole new design on the offense and defense this season, and even though they lost, he was happy overall with the way the team played and sees a bright future for the changes they are making this year.
“You wouldn’t think it by looking at the score, but I thought we played fairly decent,” Gehrke said. “After watching film, we didn’t do that bad for the most part. We’ve gotta crash the offensive boards a lot more. Had a few too many turnovers (five of those turnovers were because of moving screens and charges that were called) and shot the ball horribly, which is what killed us.
“The kids played really hard and kept their composure. Their small gym was packed and the atmosphere was good. That will help us going into our first home game Friday.”
The leading scorers were Jackson Obregon with 15 points, Broderick Cameron with six, Parker Jackson with five, Max Stump and Braxton Lamb with four apiece, Cooper Cox with three and Sim Kilpatrick with two points.
