ST. GEORGE – Snow Canyon is still perfect in region play as we’ve reached the midway point of the Region 9 schedule. Meanwhile, it should be one heck of a race the rest of the way for the four teams within a game of each other behind the Warriors, especially with Hurricane’s win against Pine View Tuesday night. Cedar also won, which means the preseason favorites have captured three straight after starting region 0-2.

Here’s a recap of Tuesday night’s action:

Snow Canyon 63, Desert Hills 55

The top two teams in Region 9 squared off Tuesday night at the Thunder Dome. Those in attendance expecting a tight contest were disappointed, at least initially. The Lady Warriors raced out to comfortable first-quarter and first-half leads.

“We were really pumped for this game,” said Snow Canyon’s Madison Mooring. “I think we came out with a very high energy level.”

Desert Hills had trouble finding the basket in the first half. Notably, preseason all-region selection Ashley Beckstrand was called for three charges. The foul calls negated her baskets and turned the ball over to Snow Canyon. The Lady Warriors held an 18-5 lead after the first quarter and built on that to lead 35-17 at halftime. Beckstrand was held to a single free throw.

To begin the second half, Snow Canyon continued to get points at the offensive end.

“They have a very good pressure-man defense,” said Mooring. “We worked on that this week and we got really open looks inside by spreading the floor.”

Sydnee Bott scored two consecutive baskets, including one from downtown, to give Snow Canyon its largest lead of the night, 44-21, with three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Then Desert Hills caught fire. The Lady Thunder would outscore the Lady Warriors 12-2 to close out the third, starting with a 3-pointer from Beckstrand and ending with another trey and two free throws from Beckstrand in the last 20 seconds. Desert Hills won the quarter and narrowed the lead to 46-33 going into the fourth.

Beckstrand was not finished. She would score 12 out of Desert Hills next 14 points to open the fourth, including two baskets from distance.

“She got into a zone,” said Snow Canyon assistant coach Ryan Rarick. “We had defenders in her face, but she has that quick release and it is difficult to stop.”

Shaylee Reed kept the Thunder defense at work in the fourth. The Warrior post scored eight points during a four-minute stretch.

“In their pressure-man, we were patient and getting the ball to people underneath the basket,” said Reed. “Tonight I was on the receiving end of some great passes.”

When Elly Williams took Beckstrand’s pass and put in the easy 2, the Lady Warriors lead had been cut to 56-49 with three minutes remaining. SC coach Dan Roden then called for his team to spread the floor and run clock.

“We had five players on the floor that could handle the ball,” said Rarick. “It is real difficult to stop us without committing the foul.”

The Lady Warriors hit 10 of 12 free throws in the final stanza. “We only hit 40 percent of our free throws in our first two games,” said Rarick. “So we have worked on those extensively. We have shot at a much higher percentage since.”

For the game the Warriors shot 78 percent (14 for 18).

The Warriors last eight points would come from the free throw line and extend the lead again to double digits, 63-51, with 49 seconds left. Two late baskets in the final 35 seconds by Maddie Clark and Elly Williams brought the score to the final margin 63-55.

Individually, Reed led Snow Canyon with 16 points. Bott and Moorning scored 13 and 12, respectively. Natalie Coulam chipped in 8 points. For the Thunder, Beckstrand scored a game-high 21 points. Kylie Williams joined her in double figures with 15. Elly Williams and Clark scored 8 and 7 points, respectively.

Snow Canyon is a perfect 5-0 in region and improves to 16-1 overall. The Warriors will travel to Cedar on Thursday. The loss drops Desert Hills to 8-8 overall and 3-2 in Region 9. The Lady Thunder will host Hurricane on Thursday night.

Cedar 63, Dixie 37

The Lady Flyers jumped out to an early lead, outscoring visiting Cedar 10-6 in the first quarter. The lead did not last long, however, as the Lady Reds found their offense and scored 19 in each of the last three quarters, including outscoring Dixie 19-2 in the second quarter.

Cedar outrebounded Dixie 48-20, including 21 offensive rebounds. The Lady Reds outscored Dixie 16-4 on second-chance points. Both teams committed 26 turnovers, but Cedar took advantage by outscoring Dixie off turnovers 26-12.

Individually, Jessica Whetman and Carly Davis scored 22 and 15 points, respectively. Davis added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Courtney Morley led the team with eight assists. Dream Weaver led the team with four steals.

For Dixie, Kelsea Barker led the team with 13 points. Taylor Whitson and Ilah Wallace scored 8 and 7 points, respectively. Wallace also led the team with five rebounds.

Cedar ends the first half of region play at 3-2, tied for second with Desert Hills. Overall CHS is 12-5. Cedar will host Snow Canyon on Thursday. Dixie falls to 0-5 in region play and 2-14 overall. The Flyers will host Pine View on Thursday.

Hurricane 50, Pine View 46

The Lady Tigers stunned the home-team Panthers with a huge third quarter to take the lead and then held on in the fourth quarter. Pine View had a poor shooting night from the free-throw line, hitting only 11 of 27.

Coming out of halftime, the Lady Panthers held a 24-21 advantage. Hurricane outscored them in the third 15-8 to take a 4-point lead. Then the Lady Tigers matched Pine View point for point in the fourth to get the 50-46 victory.

Individually, Tayvia Ah Quin led all players with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Saraven Allen scored 9 points for Pine View.

For Hurricane, Madi Hirschi and Taylor Anderson scored 13 and 11 points. Morgan Huntsman and Jayden Langford scored 7 apiece. Kylee Stevens led the team with five steals.

Both teams move to 2-3 and are tied for fourth in Region 9. Overall, Pine View sports a 10-6 record and will travel to Dixie on Thursday. The Lady Tigers are 8-9 overall and will travel to Desert Hills on Thursday night.

Region 9 Standings

Team W-L  Pts For Pts Agst
1. Snow Canyon 5-0 293 230
2. Desert Hills 3-2 262 229
2. Cedar 3-2 253 209
4. Hurricane 2-3 206 235
4. Pine View 2-3 226 221
6. Dixie 0-5 166 282

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