Sallisaw girls win Pryor Invitational Tournament consolation finals; Black Diamonds finish 7th
PRYOR — Both Sallisaw High School basketball teams ended last week on a high note at the Pryor Invitational Tournament.
The Lady Diamonds brought home the consolation finals plaque after beating Oologah 34-27 on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Diamonds split their first two games. After they lost 55-45 in their opening-round game Thursday afternoon to tournament-host Pryor, the Lady Diamonds bounced back with a 53-37 consolation semifinal victory over Ketchum on Friday afternoon.
The Black Diamonds snapped a four-game losing streak with a 61-48 victory over Vinita in the seventh-place game on Saturday. The Black Diamonds dropped both of their first two games, losing Thursday evening’s opening-round game 80-70 to Skiatook and Friday’s consolation semifinal 54-51 to tournament-host Pryor.
In the girls’ consolation finals, the Lady Diamonds (610) jumped out to an 11-4 lead after a quarter, which became a 21-10 halftime advantage and a 24-19 lead going into the final period.
For the game, Emma Martin led Sallisaw with 10 points, followed by Molly Carver and Abby Kate Qualls with nine points each, Hannah Palmer with five points and Kayli Macon with a free throw.
In the girls’ consolation semifinal win over Ketchum, the Lady Diamonds led 13-12 after a quarter, but they used a 16-6 second period to take a 29-18 advantage at halftime. An 11-5 third quarter upped Sallisaw’s lead to 40-23 entering the fourth quarter.
For the game, Sallisaw put three players into double figures, led by Palmer with 12 points, while Alayna Locust-Trammell and Qualls each added 10 points. Macon had eight points, followed by Martin with six points, Sydney Weedon with three points and Carver and Jaycee Cox had two points apiece.
In the girls’ openinground loss to Pryor, the host team jumped out to a 17-10 lead after a quarter, but the Lady Diamonds outscored Pryor 13-10 in the second period to cut their deficit to 2723 at halftime. However, Pryor’s 17-5 third quarter put the hosts ahead 44-28 going into the fourth quarter. Sallisaw outscored Pryor 17-11 in the final period, but the rally came up short.
In defeat, Palmer shared game-high honors with 16 points to lead Sallisaw, followed by Carver with six points, Martin and Weedon with five points each, Macon and Qualls each with four points, Locust-Tramell with three points and Addy Orendorff with two points.
In the boys seventhplace game, the Black Diamonds (7-9) jumped out to a 13-11 advantage after the first eight minutes, then doubled the Hornets 14-7 in the second quarter for a 2718 halftime lead, which became a 45-37 advantage after three quarters.
For the game, Sallisaw put a trio of players into double figures, led by Cooper Jackson and Cooper Cox with 16 points each and Max Stump with 14 points. Cooper Carter had six points, followed by Kenyan Hill with three points and Brodi Nickell and Kase Adams with two points apiece.
In the boy’s opening-round loss to Skiatook, the Black Diamonds led 19-15 after a quarter, but they were outscored 24-11 by Skiatook as Sallisaw fell behind 3930 at halftime. After Sallisaw used an 18-13 third quarter to cut the deficit to 52-48 going into the final period, Skiatook used a 28-22 fourth quarter to secure the win, In defeat, Jackson scored 19 points, Stump added 15 points and Carter had 10 points as the Black Diamonds put a trio of players into double figures. Cox scored eight points, followed by Nickell and Wes Rodriguez with six points each and Hill and Adams with three points apiece.
In the boys’ consolation semifinals loss to Pryor, the host team jumped out to a 25-8 lead after a quarter, but the Black Diamonds, who trailed 40-15 at halftime, outscored Pryor 14-5 in the third quarter and 22-9 in the final period to make a valiant comeback only to see it fall short.
In defeat, Jackson led all scorers with a game-high 23 points, followed by Cox with 11 points, Carter with 10 points, Ish Patel with five points and Stump with two points.
