Sallisaw teams split homecoming games with Stilwell
It was a semi-happy homecoming for the Sallisaw High School basketball teams as they split their homecoming games with Stilwell on Friday night at Paul Post Field House.
The Lady Diamonds closed the night with a 64-45 victory over the Lady Indians, but the hoop doubleheader started with a 57-34 Stilwell win over the Black Diamonds.
GIRLS
SALLISAW 64, STILWELL 45
The Lady Indians (012 overall, 0-4 in NOAA Conference play) remained winless, but they made things difficult early on for the Lady Diamonds (9-3, 3-1) — who are now ranked 20th in Class 4A after being as highly ranked as 18th.
The Lady Diamonds never trailed, but they could not shake the Lady Indians — at least until the second half.
The Lady Diamonds enjoyed as much as an eight-point lead in the first quarter at 14-6 on Kayli Macon’s 3-point basket with 1:47 left in the period.
However, a free throw by Stilwell’s Kenzie Starr in the waning moments of the quarter cut the Sallisaw lead to 18-12 entering the second quarter.
The Lady Indians opened the second period on a 7-3 run, capped by a basket by Mady George with 3:33 left before halftime, to cut the Stilwell deficit to 21-19. The Lady Indians cut their deficit to two points on two other occasions before halftime, the last time at 25-23 with exactly two minutes remaining in the first half on a basket by Taylor Corley. However, that ended up being as close as the Lady Indians would get.
The Lady Diamonds ended the first half by scoring four of the final six points to take a 29-25 lead at the break.
The Lady Diamonds came out refreshed and refocused to begin the second half as they went on an 18-0 run, capped by another trey by Macon, to take a 47-25 lead with 3:47 left in the third quarter. From there, the Lady Diamonds controlled the game.
“I’m super impressed with what he (Stilwell girls coach Matt Lea) is doing up there at Stilwell,” Sallisaw girls coach Eric Carr said. “He lost so many kids, and he’s got nobody with experience. His kids are competing their tails off. They really just outplayed us in the first half. They were more physical and aggressive. That’s what we talked about at halftime. ‘It’s just real simple — you’re getting outplayed.’ Our kids came out (in the second half) and got some turnovers and some easy buckets. We got in a rhythm and got going a little bit. I was proud of our kids’ response in the second half.”
The win puts the Lady Diamonds a win away from Carr’s desired six-game record from the Henryetta Tournament until the threegame homestand was slated to end Tuesday night against Stigler. Carr was hoping the Lady Diamonds could go 5-1 in those six games, and he said how important that would be as they enter this week’s Pryor Tournament — which takes place Thursday through Saturday.
“That would show we’re doing the right thing here,” he said. “The kids have responded to what we need them to do. I think we’re a top-20 team (in Class 4A). I’ll keep watching and waiting for us to show it. I think it keeps building our resume that we’re trying to earn out here because I don’t know how much respect Sallisaw has gotten the last 10 to 12 years. We’re just trying to change that narrative that we can consistently be one of those top 20 teams (in Class 4A). That would get us to 10-3 (with a Tuesday night win over Stigler). That’s a pretty good start to the season. Hopefully, we’ll be pretty scary when we get to the playoffs and be a tough out for somebody — and make a (statetournament) run.”
For the game, Hannah Palmer led all scorers with a game-high 22 points to lead Sallisaw, followed by Macon with 12 points, Alayna Locust-Trammell with 10 points, Sydney Weedon with eight points, Channing Wilson with five points, Katelyn Carlton with four points and Jaycie Cox with three points.
BOYS
STILWELL 57, SALLISAW 34
The Indians (9-3 overall, 3-1 in NOAA Conference play) showed the Black Diamonds (66, 2-2) why they’re the sixth-ranked team in Class 4A. However, the Black Diamonds hung around for a while.
The Black Diamonds were able to tie the game on three occasions in the first quarter, the last time at 7-all on a basket by Tae-Muskrat Flynn with 2:58 left in the period. That ended up as close as the Black Diamonds got.
The Indians ended the quarter with an 8-2 run, capped by a basket by Brayton Carter with 25 seconds left in the period, to put Stilwell ahead 15-9 after the first eight minutes.
As the game progressed from there, so, too, did the Stilwell advantage. The Indians built as great as a 14-point lead at 3016 with 50 seconds left before halftime on a 3-point basket by Juan Martinez.
Jackson Harris hit a basket with four-tenths of a second left in the first half to cut the Sallisaw deficit to 30-18 at halftime.
“Rebounds is what we really hang our hats on,” Sallisaw boys coach Zac Rogers said. “We did a heck of a job rebounding, so I was proud with that. I just have to put our guys in better spots to hit more shots.”
The Black Diamonds cut their deficit to 10 points twice in the third quarter, the last time at 32-22 on Cooper Jackson’s basket with 5:03 left in the period. However, the deficit would never decrease from there.
The Indians ended the quarter with a 13-6 run, capped by a basket by Chase Barker with 20 seconds left in the period, to put Stilwell ahead 43-28 going into the fourth quarter.
Stilwell ended the game with a 14-6 final period to seal the deal.
“We played a very outstanding team,” Rogers said. “They took advantage of every opportunity. I thought Cooper Cox played unbelievable. He was all over the place. He played a heck of a game. Cooper Jackson did very well, too. I was really proud of our guys’ effort.”
In defeat, Cox scored 11 points and Jackson added 10 points to lead Sallisaw, followed by Muskrat-Flynn with nine points and two points from Harris and Cooper Carter apiece.
Cox and Jackson were co-homecoming kings and were bestowed the honor of crowning Lady Diamond player Casey Brackett basketball homecoming queen prior to Friday night’s games.
