ST. GEORGE – The top three teams in Region 9 girls basketball won again Tuesday night, but all three games were closer than expected against the bottom three teams in the league. The closest was the Desert Hills-Pine View contest, which went right down to the wire. Here’s a recap of the action:

Desert Hills 51, Pine View 48

The Thunder pulled it out in the end, thanks to some sharp shooting from the free throw line and some timely defense in a frenetic finish.

With just over one minute remaining, DH guard Ashley Beckstrand drove the lane, contorted her body to avoid a defender and scooped a shot that bounced high off the rim before falling in the hoop. The whistle blew as the shot went up. Count the bucket, and Beckstrand went to the line to try and give Desert Hills a 3-point advantage.

“As soon as we got into the bonus, we called a timeout,” said Desert Hills head coach Ron Denos. “I told the girls, ‘No more jump shots. Take the ball to the basket and get to the line.’”

Beckstrand hit the free throw for the 3-point play and the Thunder led Pine View 45-42. On the Lady Panthers next possession, they got the ball to their 3-point specialist, Stefani Gleave. Her shot from distance went long, but post Natasha Fiame was there for the putback with 46 seconds left. But the Thunder still held the 45-44 lead.

After failing to steal the ball, Pine View fouled Rylee Jensen with 26 seconds left. The senior point guard made both free throws to put DHHS up 47-44. Once again, Gleave got the ball, this time from the left front court. The Thunder’s Kylie Williams blocked the shot, but fouled Gleave in the process. Gleave would have a chance to tie it from the line. However the first shot bounced off. Gleave made the last two. The lead was again 1 at 47-46 with 15 seconds remaining.

Another quick foul sent Beckstrand back to the line. Swish. Swish. And it was 49-46 with 12 seconds left.

PV pushed the ball up quickly, but Gleave was covered. She passed the ball to Tayvia Ah Quin and before Ah Quin could get it back to Gleave, she was fouled with three seconds left. Ah Quin hit both free throws to make it 49-48.

On the ensuing inbound pass, Ah Quin almost got a steal, but instead fouled Beckstrand with 1.5 seconds left. Beckstrand hit both free throws again. Gleave got off a 40-footer at the buzzer that was not close and the Thunder pulled off the 51-48 victory.

“It was a great game,” said Pine View head coach Chris Brinagh. “Our girls played very well. It is always a difficult loss when your team plays well and still comes out on the short end.”

The Lady Panthers outplayed Desert Hills in almost every aspect. They outshot them from the field (43-39 percent) and from 3-point land (26-14 percent). They outrebounded them 23-17. They outscored them in second-chance points (9-4) and in points off turnovers (14-5).

However they were outscored from the line 17-12, despite taking three more free throws than Desert Hills.

Beckstrand took all but three of her team’s charity shots and finished 14 for 15. Jensen and Megan Wiscombe accounted for the other three.

“Great players are going to get calls,” said Brinagh. “They will get calls that other players – on both teams – will not get. That happens at every level. Tonight Beckstrand got calls.”

Unlike the first game these two teams played, this game stayed close throughout. The largest lead either team would have was 6 points. Pine View held an 18-12 advantage midway through the second quarter when Breana Moeai hit two free throws.

The Thunder’s Wiscombe completed a 3-point play with 1:41 remaining in the half to complete a 7-0 Desert Hills run and the first Thunder lead, 19-18, in 12 minutes of playing time. However Fiame hit back-to-back buckets to give the Lady Panthers a 22-19 halftime lead.

Coming out of halftime, Beckstrand caught fire. After two Saraven Allen free throws put Pine View up 24-19, Beckstrand nailed two consecutive baskets, the second from distance, to tie the game. Then, over the first six minutes, Pine View would score on three possessions only to see Beckstrand match them at the other end. Beckstrand and Jensen then scored baskets in the last minute to give the Thunder a 35-31 advantage going into the fourth.

“I was not sure how I would do tonight,” said Beckstrand. “I have been sick this past week. But in warmups I shot the ball well. Then I got into a rhythm and my shots were falling.”

Beckstrand continued her dominance in the fourth quarter. She scored 14 of Desert Hills 16 points. But Pine View kept it close and even took the lead briefly when Gleave’s 3-pointer with 3:30 remaining put the Panthers up 40-39. And again when Sarrah Pierce took Allen’s post-entry pass and powered in the basket for a 42-41 lead. Beckstrand would tie the game at 42 on the next possession, setting up the final moments of the game.

Indivdually, Beckstrand led all scorers with 36 points. Jensen had 6 points and 4 assists. Wiscombe scored 5. For Pine View, Pierce scored 15. Gleave and Fiame had 11 and 10 points, respectively. Ah Quin had 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

With the loss, Pine View falls to 3-6 in region play and 11-9 overall. The Panthers will play at Hurricane on Thursday night. Desert Hills moves to 6-3 in Region 9 and 11-9 overall. DH will finish the regular season at Snow Canyon Thursday.

Cedar 45, Hurricane 38

The Lady Reds doubled up Hurricane in the second quarter to pull away from a tight game. After Hurricane matched Cedar 12-12 in the first, the Cedar defense held Hurricane to just 5 points in the second and held a 23-17 halftime advantage.

The Lady Tigers fought back in the third and had narrowed Cedar’s lead to 32-29. But Cedar pulled away in the fourth to maintain pressure on first-place Snow Canyon in Region 9.

Cedar outrebounded Hurricane 41-27, but the Lady Tigers still held the advantage in second-chance points 16-8. Individually, Courtney Morley led all players with 21 points. Jessica Whetman scored 9 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for the Lady Reds.

For Hurricane, Jayden Langford and Madi Hirschi scored 15 and 10 points, respectively. Morgan Huntsman had 9 points and 9 rebounds.

Cedar moves to 16-5 overall and 7-2 in Region 9. CHS will host Dixie in their final game on Thursday. Hurricane goes to 2-7 in region and 8-13 overall. They will host Pine View on Thursday.

Snow Canyon 56, Dixie 42

The Lady Warriors took an early advantage in the first quarter, then coasted to the finish line for the win. Snow Canyon led 22-11 after one, but would only increase their lead by a basket each over the next two quarters. Dixie would win the fourth quarter 13-12.

Individually, Madison Mooring led three players in double figures with 16. Nikenna Durante and Natalie Coulam scored 11 and 10 points each for the Lady Warriors. Shaylee Reed had 8 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals.

For Dixie, Kelsea Barker and Lexie Paxton had 14 points apiece. Ilah Wallace had 7 rebounds. Kiesha Jones led the team with 7 assists.
Snow Canyon moves to 8-1 in Region 9 and is 17-2 overall. The Warriors will host Desert Hills on Thursday . If they win, they will clinch the Region 9 season championship. The Lady Flyers move to 1-8 and 3-16. Dixie will travel to Cedar for their final game.

REGION 9 STANDINGS
Team Record PF PA
1. Snow Canyon 8-1 510 410
2. Cedar 7-2 460 392
3. Desert Hills 6-3 477 411
4. Pine View 3-6 430 419
5. Hurricane 2-7 391 455
6. Dixie 1-8 344 525

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