Sky View won it all over the weekend against Skyline.
Photo by Dave Argyle
Defense didn't just win a championship for
Sky View (Smithfield). It also completed a perfect season.
The Bobcats shut down the
Skyline (Salt Lake City) offense for the bulk of four quarters to claim a 43-32 victory over the Eagles and clinch the UHSAA Class 4A Championship at Salt Lake Community College on Saturday afternoon.
Skyline shot just 24.4 percent (11-for-45) from the field. The Eagles were held to a single field goal until early in the second quarter, allowing Sky View to build a double digit lead and never look back.
The Bobcats (25-0) claimed their first state title since 2008.
"I don't know if I can put it into words," Sky View forward
Lindsey Jensen said. "It's indescribable."
The same could be said for the offensive impact Jensen had on the game. She scored 23 points on 7 of 11 shooting and made several baskets at critical junctures to keep Skyline (20-6) from mounting any sustained rally.
Sky View stymied Skyline with an effective zone defense throughout much of the first half. The Eagles' only first-quarter field goal came on a basket from
Shaylana Davis. The Bobcats took advantage and carved out a double-digit lead as the quarter progressed.
Kylie Hale drilled a 3-pointer to spark an 11-1 run extending into the second quarter. Once Jensen finished off the spurt with another 3-pointer, Sky View led 16-4 with 6:04 left before halftime.
Skyline cut into the deficit a little bit.
Kyla Paulus hit a 3-pointer while
Hillary Weixler and
Olivia Elliss each made baskets to trim Sky View's lead to 19-12.
Both teams struggled to create a consistent first-half offensive rhythm amid some decidedly sloppy basketball. Sky View and Skyline combined for 29 first-half turnovers.
"I really felt like we should have been ahead 20 points at halftime because our girls played such great defense," Sky View coach Kimber Hall said. "We couldn't turn it all into points, but we played a frustration game and mental game with them because they weren't able to make shots. That had to wear on them a little bit and they got frustrated."
The Bobcats created some distance again in the third quarter.
Kelsey Chapman capped a 7-0 spurt with a foul line jumper to give Sky View a 28-15 lead with 2:57 left in the quarter.
Skyline made one last run to get back into it. The Eagles cut it to 32-25 early in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer from Elliss. Jensen answered with a layup on the other end and
Hunter Krebs made three free throws to push the Bobcat lead back to double digits at 37-25.
Brighton (Salt Lake City) 49, Fremont (Plain City) 40 When Fremont took a one-point lead into the locker room against Brighton, it felt eerily familiar to the Bengals. Brighton encountered the same situation when the two teams placed each other earlier in the year.
"Last time we played them in preseason they were up one at half," Brighton forward
Mccall Christensen said. "So we said, 'In this third quarter, we're going to do it like last time. We're going to come out and get our lead back.'"
The Bengals dominated the third quarter and then held off a late rally to beat Fremont 49-40 to claim the UHSAA Class 5A state championship at Salt Lake Community College on Saturday afternoon.
Lindsey Johnson led Brighton with 13 points while Christensen and Dani Barton chipped in 12 apiece. The Bengals (19-4) claimed their first state title in girls basketball since 2004. Brighton controlled the glass en route to winning a championship. The Bengals outrebounded the Silver Wolves 36-24 and had a 20-12 edge in points in the paint.
Shelbee Molen scored 20 points for Fremont before fouling out in the final minute. It wasn't enough to help the Silver Wolves (20-5) claim their second-straight state title. Fremont could not overcome 21.7 percent (5-for-23) shooting from the field after halftime.
Brighton broke the game open in the third quarter behind tough defense. The Bengals held Fremont to a pair of field goals and it helped fuel a 15-2 run over the final seven minutes of the quarter.
Alyssa Hirschi made a go-ahead hook shot and Barton and Christensen each followed up with a pair of free throws to get the run going. Johnson drained a jumper to cap the run and give Brighton a 39-29 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Brighton still led by 10 at 43-33 following a layup from Johnson and a runner from Barton on back-to-back possessions when Fremont made one last comeback attempt. The Silver Wolves closed to within 43-40 on a 3-pointer from Molen with 2:11 left.
Harley Hansen missed a wide-open layup that would have cut it to one and Christensen made a basket on the other end to halt the rally. The Bengals closed it out with four free throws in the final seconds.
"That was a moment of relief right there," Johnson said. "That was the moment where we knew we got this."
Brighton started out strong offensively in the first quarter, but hot shooting from Molen kept Fremont within striking distance. She twice buried 3-pointers to keep the Bengals from building a large lead. The Silver Wolves eventually went ahead 25-22 late in the second quarter on Molen's third 3-pointer of the first half.
John Coon covers Utah high school sports for MaxPreps. You can reach him at john_coon@hotmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @johncoonsports
