Today’s 3A State girls basketball games — Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
All games at SUU’s Centrum Arena, Cedar City
3A State Tournament Girls Bracket
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Game 1 — 4:10 p.m.: Desert Hills (22-1) vs. Juab (11-10)
THUNDER
Coach: Chris Allred
Record: 22-1 overall, 12-0 in Region 9 (1st place)
Streak: 16 wins
First round: Beat Grantsville 83-22
Last five: 5-0
PPG: 65.6
PAPG: 36.0
Probable starters: haley Bodnar (14.7 ppg), Blair Bliss (12.6), Karlee Myers (7.0), Emily Seifert (6.7), Kassidy Cox (4.2)
Other key contributors: Kenzie Done (10.4), Ashley Beckstrand (8.0)
WASPS
Coach: Jeff Wallace
Record: 11-10 overall, 4-4 in Region 12 (2nd place)
Streak: 3 wins
First round: Beat Union 49-43
Last Five: 3-2
PPG: 44.4
PAPG: 42.8
Probable starters: Ally Nelson (14.3 ppg), Rylee Bryan (11.5), Hailey Wright (5.6), McCall Sperry (3.6), Savannah Greenhalgh (3.1)
Other key contributors: Hannah Jacobsen (3.1), Jessica Wallace (1.6)
Game outlook: With no height (all of Juab’s players are under 6-feet), the Lady Wasps have their work cut out for them. Plus, Desert Hills thrives on defensive stoips and steals, while Juab has struggled to score at times this year. Six times this season Juab has failed to top 40 and this game will probably follow suit against 3A’s top defensive squad. That means the Wasps would have to shut down Bodnar, Bliss, Done, Beckstrand, Myers … well, you see the problem. It would take an upset of monumental proportions for Juab to pull this one off. Plus, the single-minded Thunder should come out focused and ready to go with two games left before another shot at the title.
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Game 2 — 5:50 p.m. Cedar (13-10) vs. Carbon (12-12)
Broadcast: 590-AM KSUB
LADY REDS
Coach: John Elison
Record: 13-10 overall, 6-6 in Region 9 (4th place)
Streak: 4 wins
First round: Beat Bear River 54-46
Last five: 4-1
PPG: 42.0
PAPG: 42.5
Probable starters: Courtney Morley (11.7 ppg), Javlyn Weaver (8.0), Lisa Ballenger (5.4), McKenna Collins (3.2), Shay Bauman (2.4)
Other key contributors: Hannah Williams (1.9)
DINOS
Coach: Ted Bianco
Record: 12-12 overall, 3-5 in Region 12 (T-3rd place)
Streak: 2 wins
First round: Beat Juan Diego 33-31
Last five: 3-2
PPG: 42.7
PAPG: 39.8
Probable starters: Shelby Cornforth (11.2 ppg), Katie Basinger (10.0), Jordan Scoggins (6.0), Jaylie Jensen (4.0), Lindsey Blanc (3.3)
Other key contributors: Beth Child (2.2), Annika Hansen (2.2), Morgan Hillam (2.0)
Game Outlook: What are these two teams doing here? That’s what some people are wondering, but Cedar and Carbon both earned their way into the quarterfinals by going out and getting tough road wins in the first round. The Lady Reds surprised No. 1-seed Bear River from Region 11 last week, but Region 9 fans aren’t shocked as they’ve watched Cedar go 6-2 in the last eight games and play some solid team basketball. Cedar does rely a lot on the 3-pointer, which may be a problem as the long ball’s tend to be a bit off in the bigger arenas, especially on the first night of tournaments.
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Game 3 — 7:30 p.m. Hurricane (14-8) vs. North Sanpete (18-3)
TIGERS
Coach: Shelly Kidd-Thomas
Record: 14-8 overall, 8-4 in Region 9 (2nd place)
Streak: 1 wins
First round: Beat Tooele 78-53
Last five: 3-2
PPG: 50.9
PAPG: 47.5
Probable starters: Brooklyn Gubler (16.1 ppg), Madison Hall (8.6), London Steglich (6.8), Shania Hurst (6.7), Sela Filo (6.7)
Other key contributors: Cierra Stratton (2.3), Melisha Sefita (1.6)
HAWKS
Coach: Randi Griffith
Record: 18-3 overall, 7-1 in Region 12 (1st place)
Streak: 7 wins
First round: Beat Park City 59-39
Last five: 5-0
PPG: 48.5
PAPG: 38.4
Probable starters: Taylor Gordon (19.1 ppg), Jacey Dunn (8.1), Keisha Jorgensen (6.4), Ashley Nuttall (4.4), McKenna Burch (3.8)
Other key contributors: Lindee Christensen (2.8), Aubrey Madsen (2.0)
Game Outlook: It seems like this might be a great quarterfinal match-up. These two teams have played twice already this season, a rarity for non-region foes. The Lady Hawks won them both on neutral floors, though the first one took a huge comeback in the second half after a double-digit deficit and the second one saw the Tigers kill themselves with missed free throws. North Sanpete is pretty hot with seven straight wins and 10 of 11, but that one loss was a 10-point home defeat to a very average Juab team. Hurricane is also playing well, winners of 7 of the last 9. The Hawks are better defensively, but didn’t have to play Desert Hills twice, so the stats are pretty similar. It should be a nailbiter and a good duel between Gubler and Gordon.
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Game 4 — 9:10 p.m. Morgan (21-1) vs. Stansbury (15-8)
TROJANS
Coach: Brad Matthews
Record: 21-1 overall, 8-0 in region 10 (1st place)
Streak: 14 wins
First round: Beat Richfield 77-30
Last five: 5-0
PPG: 74.2
PAPG: 41.6
Probable starters: Rashel Blazzard (19.5 ppg), Breanna Hurlbut (12.8), Lisa Vancampen (9.2), Jessica Carter (9.0), Savanna Brooks (7.6)
Other key contributors: Alli Tonks (6.4), Aubrey Saunders (4.3), Kate Blazzard (4.1)
STALLIONS
Coach: Kenzie Newton
Record: 15-8 overall, 7-1 in Region 11 (T-1st)
Streak: 2 wins
First round: Beat Snow Canyon 42-40
Last five: 4-1
PPG: 45.0
PAPG: 41.3
Probable starters: Bailey Wilson (8.8 ppg), Madie Alvey (8.6), Rachel Prescott (8.5), Shyan Adams (7.1), Kallie Stewart (4.4)
Other key contributors: Erika Lakin (2.5)
Game Outlook: Stansbury has had a great year, but how can a team that has no player average even nine points a game and can’t shoot the 3-pointer (only 52 all year as a team, barely more than two a game) compete with a Morgan squad that has four players averaging at least nine points a game and has made three times as many 3-pointers? For the Lady Stallions, it’s got to be about defense and ball security. If they can break the Morgan press and force the Trojans into a half-court game, they may have a chance. Of course, not too many teams have been able to do that this season. In 22 games Morgan has scored below 70 only six times and has never been under 62. Four times the Lady Trojans have scored 80 or more including a 93-26 win over Union earlier this month. Stansbury’s high point total this year is 58.
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3A State Tournament Girls Bracket
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