4A girls basketball tournament: Desert Hills advances to semifinals; Snow Canyon, Dixie eliminated

Written by Jeff Richards
February 21, 2022
Desert Hills vs. Hurricane, 4A girls state tournament quarterfinals, St. George, Utah, Feb. 21, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Desert Hills girls basketball team was the lone Region 10 school to make it past Monday night’s quarterfinal round of the 4A playoffs, as both Dixie and Snow Canyon lost to their Region 11 opponents.

Following is a recap of Monday’s action. The semifinal round continues Tuesday afternoon at Dixie State University’s Burns Arena.

Green Canyon 59, Snow Canyon 38

The fourth-seeded Snow Canyon Warriors fell victim to hot-shooting No. 5 seed Green Canyon, who pulled away for good with a third-quarter offensive surge.

The Warriors took an early 5-3 lead, but got stuck on 5 for the next several minutes while Green Canyon went on a 12-0 run to go ahead 15-5.

Snow Canyon vs. Green Canyon, 4A girls state tournament quarterfinals, St. George, Utah, Feb. 21, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Freshman guard Olivia Hamlin of Snow Canyon made a steal and a layup as the final seconds of the first quarter ticked down to make it 15-7, but Green Canyon immediately drove it back down the court and answered with a three-point play to make it 18-7 after one period.

Snow Canyon rallied during the second quarter, with Kelly Howard hitting a 3-pointer with 2:22 left in the quarter to pull the Warriors within two points, 22-20.

After taking a 26-22 halftime lead, the Wolves outscored the Warriors 20-7 during the third period, at one point scoring field goals on at least four consecutive possessions.

Green Canyon, which finished the game with a 41-27 rebounding advantage, was led in scoring by Cambree Tensmeyer’s 15 points.

Snow Canyon was led by Hamlin’s 17 points, with Howard adding seven. The Warriors finished their season with an overall record of 16-7.

Green Canyon advances to play top-seeded Ridgeline in the first of two girls semifinal games Tuesday afternoon, with tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m.

Ridgeline 56, Dixie 25

The top-seeded Ridgeline Riverhawks rolled to a 31-point win over the Dixie Flyers on Monday night.

Midway through the first quarter, Dixie center Kealah Faumuina made a 16-footer that brought the Flyers within two points, 7-5, but Ridgeline closed the quarter with an 8-0 run to lead 15-5 after one period.

Ridgeline vs. Dixie, 4A girls state tournament quarterfinals, St. George, Utah, Feb. 21, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

The Riverhawks continued their offensive onslaught in the second quarter, pouring in 19 more points to take a 34-12 halftime lead.

Ridgeline went on to lead 49-20 after three and eventually won the game, 56-25.

Emilee Skinner led all scorers with 23 points, while teammate Elise Livingston added 11 for the Riverhawks.

The Flyers were led by sophomore center Faumuina’s 12 points.

Dixie finishes its season with an overall record of 9-12.

“I think our nerves kind of got to us,” said Dixie coach Briana Barrett. “We were kind of freaking out a little bit and not doing the little fundamental things that we’re capable of doing.”

Barrett said her players also had some difficulty getting the ball in to Faumuina.

“I think that was more on us, on our turnovers and not being able to beat the ball and get it into the correct spot,” she said.

Desert Hills 56, Hurricane 38

The No. 2 seeded Desert Hills Thunder faced a tough challenge early on from the 10th-seeded Hurricane Tigers, who led 8-7 midway through the first period, thanks to a pair of early 3-pointers.

Desert Hills vs. Hurricane, 4A girls state tournament quarterfinals, St. George, Utah, Feb. 21, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

The Thunder’s Julia Jacobsen swished a pair of free throws to put Desert Hills back up three with 3:00 remaining in the first, but Hurricane quickly sank yet another trey to tie it back up, 11-11.

Mo Stout’s layup with 1:45 left in the first put the Tigers on top 13-11, but Desert Hills answered with a fast-break layup with 10 seconds left in the period, tying the game once again, 13-13.

The Thunder’s Sedelle Springer sank a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the second quarter, but Hurricane’s Alivia Cluff  answered with a shot from inside the key to make it 16-15.

Hannah Heaton then rebounded a miss by Jacobsen and put it back to give the Thunder an 18-15 lead.

The Thunder then gained a bit ground over the next few minutes, eventually hitting a layup to take an eight-point lead with 2:47 left in the second quarter, 26-18.

Hurricane’s Abbigail Stout then hit an inside shot, but Heaton answered shortly thereafter with a steal and a fast break layup to push the Thunder’s lead back up to eight, 28-20. That stood as the halftime margin.

Desert Hills vs. Hurricane, 4A girls state tournament quarterfinals, St. George, Utah, Feb. 21, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Desert Hills scored the first six points of the third quarter, starting with an inside basket by Jacobsen, followed by two fast break layups by Sa’de Turlington. However, Stout then drained a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers to bring the Tigers back within eight points, 34-26.

A short time later, with about three minutes left in the third quarter, Hurricane’s Adriana Gubler went coast to coast for a layup that cut the Thunder’s lead to three points, 36-33.

However, Desert Hills went on to score the last seven points of the third period to take a 44-33 lead after three.

Both teams struggled to score early in the fourth quarter, at one point going more than one dozen possessions without scoring between them. Heaton finally broke the ice with a 3-point shot that hit the rim multiple times before dropping through the net. That pushed the Thunder’s lead to 49-36, and they were able to coast the last few minutes until the game ended.

Turlington led the Thunder in scoring with 14 points, while Cluff added 12, Heaton scored 11 and Jacobsen made seven.

Leading the way for Hurricane was Stout, who finished with 14 points, while Gubler added eight. Hurricane finishes its season with an overall record of 10-13.

Meanwhile, the Thunder advance to Tuesday afternoon’s semifinals, where they’ll play third-seeded Sky View at 3:40 p.m. at Dixie State University. The Bobcats defeated Region 11 rival Mountain Crest 52-39 in the first girls’ quarterfinal game on Monday.

Desert Hills head coach Ron Denos said despite starting slow, his players were able to eventually wear down Hurricane with defensive pressure.

“They made some mistakes, but it was just a matter of our girls playing their game,” he added.

Denos said his team is looking forward to Tuesday afternoon’s semifinal against Sky View, the same school that beat Desert Hills in last year’s semifinals, 44-41.

“We’re in the same situation we were last year against these guys in the semis,” Denos said. “It’s going to be a good game. I think our girls are excited about playing in it.”

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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