Standouts: Sand Springs vs Norman North
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Thursday afternoon at the Putnam City Invitational brought an unique cross state between two programs off to winning starts in Class 6A. Sand Spring built an early lead, with their youth movement playing a role in it. Norman North leaned…
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Continue ReadingThursday afternoon at the Putnam City Invitational brought an unique cross state between two programs off to winning starts in Class 6A. Sand Spring built an early lead, with their youth movement playing a role in it. Norman North leaned on their 2025 standouts Seleh Harmon Seleh Harmon 5'10" | CG Norman North | 2025 State OK and Olivia Watkins Olivia Watkins 6'1" | PF Norman North | 2025 State OK to rally and even take a fourth quarter lead. But the energetic play of senior Sakauri Wilson Sakauri Wilson 5'3" | CG Sand Springs | 2024 State OK would put Sand Springs back on top and lead to their eventual victory.
The freshman has good height and wingspan, which she puts to use with rebounding on both ends of the court and rim protection. But she’s more than just a high energy post player. She showed real promise for longterm potential growth in a few different areas. There’s promise as a connector as a passer with some of the assists she made out of the high post and even pushing it and leading a teammate in transiton with a textbook bounce pass. Butler finished with 12 points, which also included a top of the key three.
Harmon is an agile driving wing, who can navigate through traffic to finish well at the rim. With either hand. There’s little wasted motion when she redirects on drives, as she’s smooth and always look in control at her own pace. When needed she had a little burst to get by defenders but seemed at her best when playing off two feet and making great decisions to shoot it or kick to her teammates. There was variety in her scoring package as she scored off an post up and hit a three as well. The junior had a game high 19 points.
Highlights
Aaliyah Simone
Aaliyah Simone
Another freshman in double figures for the Lady Sandites, she’s a quick and pesky defensive first guard. Simone stood out with some of the steals she made with her quick hands. Which would then quickly turn into transition points for herself and her teammates. She was part of the clutch close for Sand Springs, as she also hit a corner three on her way to 12 points
The second part of the Lady Timberwolves’ dynamic duo, Watkins is a promising stretch forward prospect. She was consistent as a three point threat, hitting multiple times from deep on her way to 15 points. On the defensive end she’s a good rotator who can impact shots at the rim, and even recorded a very impressive snatch block from behind. Defensive upside, good size, and floor stretching ability seems like a great combination.
The senior had spurts throughout the game, but her non stop energy and quickness really changed the game in the fourth quarter. On the defensive end she was on the floor for loose balls and works hard to turn opposing ballhandlers and disrupt the flow of the offense. Wilson had a couple giant killer makes via floaters on drives and a particularly tough finish put Sand Springs up 6 late in the game. The energetic and passionate senior was another Sand Springs standout in double figures with 12 points.