Sallisaw teams split home games with Stigler

The three-game homestand for the Sallisaw High School basketball teams ended with a split on Tuesday night at Paul Post Field House.

The Lady Diamonds handled the Stigler Lady Panthers 5937, but a strong second half by the Panthers got them a comefrom- behind 61-56 victory over the Black Diamonds.

GIRLS

SALLISAW 59, STIGLER 37

Second-year Sallisaw Lady Diamonds coach Eric Carr was hoping that the first six games of the 2025 portion of the season — the three games at the Henryetta Tournament, followed by the three-game homestand that ended Tuesday night — that his team would be 5-1 in that stretch. Mission accomplished.

It didn’t really take too long into the game that the Lady Diamonds (10-3, which matched last season’s win total) started taking control of the game against the Lady Panthers (7-5).

A basket by Kayli Macon with 2:59 left in the first quarter put Sallisaw ahead 11-2.

After a basket by Stigler’s Jordan Johnson cut her team’s deficit to 15-7 with 52 seconds left, the Lady Diamonds scored the final five points of the period, capped by Alayna Locust-Trammell’s 3-point basket with three seconds left in the quarter, to put Sallisaw up 17-10 going into the second period.

The Lady Diamonds continued putting some distance between them and the Lady Panthers as they outscored Stigler 19-8 in the second quarter to take a 36-18 halftime lead.

A 3-point basket by Emma Martin with 1:11 left in the third quarter put the Lady Diamonds up by their biggest lead of the night, giving Sallisaw a 24-point lead at 5026 after three periods.

“That was a good win for us,” Carr said. “We’ve seen some zone (defenses) against McLoud, and Beggs played some zone. We just didn’t attack it very well. We’ve spent a lot of time these last few weeks talking about principles. The kids are understanding where the ball needs to go and get it to some shooters, playing through the inside-out a little bit more — to where we can get kick-outs. I think we’re starting to figure it out a little bit more. We played really well offensively for the most part (Tuesday night against Stigler).”

Once again, the game ended on a high note as for the third time this home season, Carr put in special needs player Abery Cox, who ended up scoring the game’s final basket with nine seconds left to play.

For the game, Hannah Palmer scored a gamehigh 25 points, of which 21 came on seven 3s, to lead Sallisaw, followed by Locust-Trammell with 10 points, Martin with nine points on three treys, Macon with seven points and Abery Cox, Jaycie Cox, Katelyn Carlton and Channing Wilson all with two points apiece. All total, the Lady Diamonds hit 10 3-pointers for the game.

Now, the Lady Diamonds will play in their final regular-season tournament, the Pryor Invitational — which started Thursday and will end Saturday.

“I think our kids feel good,” Carr said. “Pryor is a good basketball team, but they’re young. I think we match up with them OK. They don’t have a big girl that dominates inside. I think we can play our style against them and go up there and be competitive for sure.”

BOYS

STIGLER 61, SALLISAW 56

After the Panthers (67) got the lead after the first quarter at 15-12, the Black Diamonds (6-7) had a stellar second period as three consecutive 3-point baskets — two by Tae-Muskrat Flynn and one by Cooper Jackson — gave Sallisaw a nine-point lead at 26-17 with 3:25 left before halftime.

However, the Panthers ended the first half on a 9-1 run to cut their deficit to 27-26 at halftime.

A basket by Cooper Carter with 6:30 left in the third quarter gave the Black Diamonds a 29-26 lead, but that would end up being the last lead for Sallisaw.

The Panthers ended the period with a 17-7 run, capped by a pair of free throws by Cade Parker with eight seconds left in the quarter, to give Stigler a 43-36 lead going into the final period.

The Panthers got their lead to 10 points twice over the first 1:46 of the fourth quarter, the last time at 50-40 with 6:14 left to play on a basket by Jackson McCarter.

The Black Diamonds got their deficit to as small as a point as another trey by Muskrat-Flynn cut the Stigler lead to 55-54 with 1:06 remaining in the game. However, that was as close as the Black Diamonds got as Stigler ended the game with a 6-2 run.

“That’s a tough team,” first-year Sallisaw boys coach Zac Rogers said. “They played really well. McCarter had a heck of a game against us (scoring a game-high 28 points). We haven’t had many guys this season go off on us due to our team defense. I just have to be able to help the guys more offensively and defensively. I love our team defense. I just have to be able to help them more. I have to get them a better (defensive) strategy for them next time.”

In defeat, Sallisaw put a trio of Black Diamonds into double figures, led by Jackson’s 17 points, followed by Muskrat-Flynn’s 16 points and Carter’s 11 points. Cooper Cox scored eight points, while Brodi Nickell added four points.

Rogers is hoping that things can turn around for the Black Diamonds at this week’s Pryor Invitational.

“It’s going to be a good tournament,” he said. “It’s going to be really competitive.”