Region 10 girls basketball: Mustangs, Panthers win at home; Tigers prevail at Cedar

Written by E. George Goold
January 24, 2023

ST. GEORGE — One girls basketball team earned its first Region 10 win of the year Tuesday night and two others won low-scoring contests as region leader Snow Canyon took a night off.

Over at Crimson Cliffs, the Mustangs made enough shots and played strong enough defense to win their first Region 10 game.

Meanwhile, Pine View and Cedar both posted victories that brought the league standings a lot closer.

Following are recaps from Tuesday night’s Region 10 girls games.

Crimson Cliffs 47, Dixie 31

The Flyers came into the game with confidence, but the Mustangs matched their intensity, dominating the second half and picking up Crimson’s first win in Region 10 play.

Crimson Cliffs’ Colleen Korella passes against Dixie in a Region 10 girls basketball game, Washington, Utah, Jan. 24, 2023 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

“We were just sick of losing,” Crimson coach Cassie Hahl told St. George News after the Mustangs improved to 2-9 overall and 1-5 in Region 10. “But it’s hard to be a team that has not known what it feels like to win.”

Dixie recovered from an early deficit to take a 22-21 lead at halftime.

But the Flyers never established an offensive rhythm in the second half, netting just three points in the third quarter and six in the fourth.

Meanwhile, senior Hallee Tebbs broke out for the Mustangs. She showed a variety of moves in the paint, working for eight consecutive points in the third quarter.

Junior shooting guard Kinsey Plewe threw in a game-high 14 points, including four 3-pointers, to pace Crimson’s win.

“I feel like most of these games we’ve been right there. Sometimes I feel like we’re missing some pieces,” Hahl said. “But I am so proud of these girls. This is the first time we’ve fought for the whole game.”

Defensively Crimson just needed to focus on one player as Dixie’s Kealah Faumuina was a force, scoring 20 of her team’s total 31 points.

But Faumuina picked up her third personal foul at the 7:54 mark of the third quarter, forcing her to the bench for most of that period.

And that was when Tebbs took over.

Crimson Cliffs plays at Snow Canyon Thursday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. and Dixie hosts Hurricane (same date and time).

Pine View 53, Desert Hills 44

The Panthers held on to beat the defending 4A state champs in a tightly contested matchup in the Pit.

Pine View started in earnest and took a 12-11 lead after one quarter, upping that advantage to 27-23 in front of the home fans at halftime.

The Panthers kept the pedal down in the third quarter, building their lead to 45-35 going into the final quarter.

Reese Gustin led the Panthers with 20 points in the win, followed by Ellie Norton and her 16 for the cause.

Ashtin Hansen led all scorers in the contest, pouring in 21 points for Desert Hills including two 3-pointers.

Desert Hills will look to rebound when it hosts Cedar, Thursday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m.

Pine View has a bye that night.

Hurricane 38, Cedar 33

In a defensive battle at Cedar City, the Hurricane Tigers scored the last six points of the game over the final 2 minutes to defeat the Cedar Reds.

Cedar’s Annalyse Shimada makes a steal that led to a layup vs. Hurricane, Region 10 girls basketball, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 24, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Both teams struggled offensively throughout the turnover-filled first half, with the Tigers taking a 12-10 lead into intermission.

Both teams picked up the pace a bit during the third quarter, which ended with Hurricane leading 26-22. 

Early in the fourth quarter, Cedar’s Annalyse Shimada banked in a 3-pointer to bring the Reds within three points, 30-27. About 1 minute later, she scored inside to make it 30-29. 

A few minutes later, Cedar’s Anna Robison made a left-side layup for her only basket of the game, giving the Reds a 33-32 lead with 2:20 remaining. 

That proved to be the last points the Reds would score. Hurricane’s Adri Gubler iced the win with a pair of free throws with 23.5 seconds left, putting the Tigers up 36-33. Cedar’s final 3-point try missed the mark, and the Tigers ran out the rest of the clock before sinking one more basket at the buzzer.

Addison Crandall led the Tigers in scoring with 14 points, while Nizhoni Dominguez added 6.

Hurricane head coach Pepper Reddish called the win “an awesome team effort.”

“We honestly never gave up, and Addi and Nini kept us in that game all night,” Reddish said, referring to Crandall and Dominguez. “Our guards just kept driving and dumping with success, after a rough start with our outside shots not falling.”

Shimada led the Reds in scoring with 18 points, while center Kiara Hansen added 8.

Hurricane made just 7-of-22 of its free throw attempts during the game, while Cedar converted 12-of-16.

Cedar (now 2-12 overall, 2-4 in Region 10) next plays at Desert Hills on Thursday at 7 p.m., while Hurricane (3-9, 3-3) plays at Dixie.

— written by Jeff Richards

Region 10 girls basketball standings, as of Jan. 25

  1. Snow Canyon 6-0 (11-5)
  2. Dixie 4-2 (10-6)
  3. Desert Hills 3-3 (7-9)
  4. Hurricane 3-3 (3-9)
  5. Pine View 2-4 (6-11)
  6. Cedar 2-4 (2-12)
  7. Crimson Cliffs 1-5 (2-9)

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric George Goold came to St. George News from southwestern Colorado, where he was a radio news reporter. He has been a journalist for over 20 years in five different states. He graduated with a master's degree in English from Kansas State University and writes nonfiction as well. Goold has been published in Sunstone Magazine and has done multiple public readings about local history. When he has free time, he enjoys chess, movies and dogs.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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