Sallisaw teams sweep Stigler before losing twice to Muldrow
The Sallisaw High School basketball teams were a part of a pair of sweeping results to end last week. One sweep went their way while the other one did not.
The Sallisaw teams got a road sweep Thursday night over Stigler, with the Lady Diamonds winning 55-28 and the Black Diamonds prevailing 57-46 in overtime.
However, the Senior Night home games Friday against county and NOAA Conference rival Muldrow did not go as well for Sallisaw as the visitors got the season sweep. The Lady Bulldogs opened the night with a 38-27 victory over the Lady Diamonds, then the ’Dogs downed the Black Diamonds 68-49.
In the Sallisaw girls’ win over Stigler, the Lady Diamonds (167) jumped out to a 17-8 lead after a quarter, which became a 31-14 halftime advantage and a 44-24 lead going into the final period.
For the game, Kayli Macon led Sallisaw with a gamehigh 13 points, followed by Hannah Palmer and Katelyn Carlton with nine points each, Channing Wilson with seven points, Emma Martin with six points, JoLee Curson with four points, Casey Brackett with three points and Jaycie Cox and Sydney Weedon with two points apiece.
In the Sallisaw boys’ victory over Stigler, the Black Diamonds (9-14), who ended regulation tied at 46-all after a fourth-quarter rally by the Panthers, blanked the hosts 11-0 in overtime to get the road win.
For the game, Sallisaw put a trio of players into double figures, led by Cooper Jackson’s game-high 16 points, while Cooper Cox and Brodi Nickell added 13 points apiece. Tae Muskrat-Flynn scored nine points, while Cooper Carter added six points.
In the Sallisaw girls’ loss to Muldrow, a basket by Muldrow’s Maysi Fields with 35 seconds left in the opening period gave the Lady Bulldogs (15-8 overall, 8-2 in NOAA Conference play) a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter at 9-7.
After Muldrow’s London Hardin hit three free throws to open the second quarter to increase her team’s advantage to 12-7 with 6:10 left before halftime, the Lady Diamonds (6-4 in NOAA Conference play) went on an 8-2 run, capped by a basket by Palmer with 2:33 remaining in the first half, to put Sallisaw ahead 1514. It ended up being Sallisaw’s last lead of the game.
The Lady Bulldogs, who led 19-17 at the half, took a 31-26 lead after three quarters and outscored the Lady Diamonds 7-1 in the final quarter to seal the deal.
“We didn’t play very good in the first half,” Muldrow girls coach Jana Armer said. “We didn’t really follow the things we talked about doing that game, but we did a much better job in the second half of doing that. We really had a rough start to our season. It wasn’t anything more than just tough teams and coming in with an inexperienced team. Since we’ve gained experience, these kids have just gotten better and better every game.”
For the game, Hardin led Muldrow with nine points, followed by Kilah Ellingberg and Maysi Fields with eight points each, Jensi Fields with seven points and Chloee Clark, Kayla Ellingberg and Danica Tune with two points apiece.
“We didn’t shoot it well,” Sallisaw girls coach Eric Carr said. “Teams that really guard us well, we struggle to shoot the ball well. I felt like we had enough opportunities and open looks where we could have stayed in the game. We didn’t score in the second half, and they did. We’ve been really good when we create turnovers and get extra possessions. They’re a good team, and they’re well coached. They controlled our press like the first time around. If we can’t create turnovers and those extra possessions, we don’t shoot well enough as a team to not have extra shots.”
In defeat, Palmer led all scorers with a game-high 12 points to lead Sallisaw, followed by Weedon with six points, Macon with five points and Wilson with four points.
In the Sallisaw boys’ loss to Muldrow, the Bulldogs (17-6, 6-4) raced out to a 11-4 lead after a quarter.
A basket by Nickell with 7:03 left before halftime cut the deficit for the Black Diamonds (3-7 in NOAA Conference play) to 14-9. A 3-point basket by Muskrat-Flynn got Sallisaw back to within five points at 19-14 with 5:45 remaining in the first half. However, that was as close as Sallisaw got.
The ’Dogs ended the first half with a 16-5 run, capped by a Teaguen Collins basket with 26 seconds left in the first half, to give Muldrow a 35-19 lead at the half, which became a 53-36 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
“We’re trying to start that way (fast) because we’ve been kind of slow (starting) in our previous games,” Muldrow boys coach Terry Collins said. “We were trying to come out and hit them hard and keep that momentum going. (The playoffs) are right around the corner, so we have to make sure we’re ready to play, and make sure we can fine tune the things we need to — and keep playing with the energy we’ve been playing with, knocking down shots and playing good defense.”
For the game, Collins scored a game-high 21 points to lead Muldrow, followed by Jesse Kilinc with 17 points, D.J. Massey and Parker Sevenstar with eight points each, Jermauree Palmer and Jaxson Anstine each with six points and Jack Pyeatt with two points.
“Muldrow is a very tough team,” first-year Sallisaw boys coach Zac Rogers said. “They’re really well coached and really prepared. Their coaching staff does a great job. I’m enjoying coaching these seniors (Jackson, Cox, Carter, Jin Chang, Hayden Bullock and Tryson Daniels). What a blessing for a first-year coach to have guys like that. Jackson, Cox and Carter have just been phenomenal for me all season. They’re extremely coachable and good guys, and they’re good leaders. It’s been an honor to get to coach them.”
In defeat, Jackson scored 13 points and Nickell added 11 points to lead Sallisaw, followed by Muskrat-Flynn with nine points, Cox with seven points, Caden Blount with three points and Carter, Zane McKiney and Steven Vang with two points apiece.
The Muldrow teams were slated to end their regular season with home games Monday night against Heavener, while the Sallisaw squads had their regularseason finales Tuesday night at Westville cancelled due to potential hazardous weather conditions.
