BRUINS AND LADY BRUINS SPLIT AT JENKS; LADY BRUINS ARE 11-7
Bartlesville High School’s Cadence Gray tries to get around a defender during an earlier season game. The Lady Bruins defeated Stillwater, 53-35, on the road Friday.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
Feb. 2, 2026
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Jenks High School perhaps got lulled to sleep in the opening minutes of last Friday’s girls basketball game against visiting Bartlesville.
But then the Bartlesville Lady Bruins shattered their confidence with a monstrous wake-up call.
After going scoreless for the first 5:25 — and trailing, 6-0 — Bartlesville stirred to life like an angry bear.
The Lady Bruins extended their claws and thwacked Jenks on a 25-6 run to take control of the game.
Paced by Sami Sheaffer with 27 points, Bartlesville continued on to a 53-35 victory.
Head coach Justyn Shaw has led the team to an 11-7 record overall and gaining momentum in the district race.
On a side note, this is the first season since 2018-19 in which Bartlesville has beaten both Broken Arrow and Jenks.
In Friday’s boys’ game, the Bruins struggled most of the way with hitting its shots behind the arc — which generally means an unhappy result.
And that it was as the Jenks Trojans cruised through the second half to a 72-48 win.
Next up, Bartlesville travels Tuesday for a varsity doubleheader against Edmond Santa Fe.
Following are more details from Friday’s visit to Jenks.
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GIRLS: BHS 53, Jenks 35
While the Lady Bruin offense slumbered in the first five-and-half minutes, Jenks couldn’t take advantage because of the fierce Bartlesville defense.
Trailing 6-0, Bartlesville went from snore to roar after Sheaffer bottomed a three-pointer.
Moments later, Shaylyn Ishem deposited a layup — off a baseline penetration and feed by Sheaffer — to trim Jenks’ lead to 6-5.
The Bruins tied the score on a Sheaffer free throw, 6-6, and then burst ahead on another Sheaffer trey, 9-6.
After that, it was all Lady Bruins.
During a 16-point outburst in the second quarter, Ishem scored again, this time off an inside pass from Cadence Gray, Gary took a charge, Kenzie Denny swished a trey and scored seven points in the quarter.
The Lady Bruins led by 13 at halftime, 25-12.
Emma Zimmerman and Addison Jones knocked down buckets in the third quarter, helping the Lady Bruins extend their lead to 19, 37-18.
Bartlesville built a 26-point lead early in the fourth period, 44-18. Jenks made a mini-resurgence to get the margin down to 14, 46-32, with just a couple of minutes left. Sheaffer answered with five quick points and Zimmerman tallied Bartlesville’s final bucket and finished with nine points.
Ishem, Gray, Jones and Denny also each contributed points.
Note: Bartlesville registered its second largest margin of victory in a district game.
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Bartlesville High School’s Titus Huck (10) guards during an earlier season game. The Bruins fell to Stillwater, 72-48, on the road Friday.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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BOYS: Jenks 72, Bartlesville 48
It just plain wasn’t Bartlesville’s night overall.
But the Bruins (7-12) showed plenty of fight — especially early.
After one quarter Jenks led by just four points, 18-14.
Trae Collins and Dennis Duncan displayed a solid offensive touch in the first period with five points each for Bartlesville.
But in the second quarter the tide turned sharply against the Bruins. Jenks opened the quarter with an 11-1 run to bump its lead to 14 points, 29-15.
However Bartlesville — which is coached by Jake Christenson — clawed back to eight points by halftime, 31-23, thanks to a three-point play (and one) by Luke Massey, five more points by Collins.
All things considered, Bartlesville’s chances for an upset victory seemed promising when the third quarter started.
Then Jenks went on a scoring frenzy, outscoring the Bruins in the third quarter, 25-8, to pile up a 25-point lead, 56-31.
Brycen Gutierrez, Sutton Huff and Tytan Berry each contributed points during Bartlesville’s strong fourth quarter showing. But the most explosive Bruin shooter in the period was Hudson Eads. He scored six in the quarter to finish with 11 for the game. Collins added 10 points and Duncan scored nine.
Some points’ contributors included Hunter Holmes, Gutierrez, Kameron Chambers, Huff, Massey and Berry.
The Bruins are still within grasp of their first 10 win season in five years.
They have five regular season games remaining, two of them at home (Feb. 6, vs. Putnam City North; Feb. 13, vs. Stillwater). They also have a potential make-up game, although time is running low to squeeze it in.