Region 9 girls hoops: 2016-17 season opens up with trio of games

Written by Darren Cole
November 22, 2016
Pine View vs. Millard, Girl's Basketball, St. George, Utah, Nov. 22, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Three Region 9 teams squeezed in a non-region game before the Thanksgiving break. Snow Canyon and Pine View both lost considerable production from last year’s teams and used their first game to evaluate up-and-comers. Those teams, along with the Dixie Flyers, were hoping to develop chemistry and get valuable game experience for their underclassmen. Below are the summaries for Tuesday’s games:

Millard 47, Pine View 42

With 4:33 to play, Pine View Panthers guard Bailia Milne went to the line with the chance to give Pine View a four-point lead. The backup guard had just been inserted, but rose to the occasion and sank both free throws for a 41-37 lead.

pine-view-logoBut Pine View would not hold the lead. Over the next three minutes, the Panthers went cold and Millard put up eight straight points to take a 45-41 lead with just over a minute to play. PV’s Claire Newby hit one of two free throws to pull the Panthers within three. They could not get any closer, though, and were forced to foul, allowing the Eagles to put up two more free throws for the final score, 47-42.

“In the fourth quarter, our energy went down,” said Pine View head coach Chris Brinagh. “In the third, we came back and took the lead with an aggressive full-court press. We could not sustain that intensity in the fourth and it cost us.”

Pine View's Dawn Mead (2), Pine View vs. Millard, Girl's Basketball, St. George, Utah, Nov. 22, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Pine View’s Dawn Mead (2), Pine View vs. Millard, Girl’s Basketball, St. George, Utah, Nov. 22, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

The first half was rough for Pine View. With a young lineup that was not in sync early, Millard took a 13-8 first quarter lead. In the second quarter, Newby put the team on her back and scored eight of the Panthers’ 10 points. But at halftime, the deficit had grown to 27-19.

“Newby has to adjust to a different role this year,” said Brinagh. “Before, she was very good at setting up her teammates and getting them in scoring position. This year we have told her to look to score more. She aggressively looked for her shot tonight, mixing it up with outside shots and drives.”

The Panthers came out after intermission with a vengeance. Employing a 2-2-1 full-court press, Pine View forced several Eagle turnovers and converted them into points. The Panthers outscored the Eagles 15-6 in the quarter and led 34-33 going into the fourth.

Hayley Graff hit a 3-pointer to open the fourth and give Pine View the early cushion. But in the fourth, Millard was able to figure out and beat Pine View’s press. The Eagles tied the game at 37-37 with 5:32 remaining. A length of the court pass from Maycee Hayes to Tori Maile led to an easy basket and a two-point lead.

Pine View vs. Millard, Girl's Basketball, St. George, Utah, Nov. 22, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Pine View vs. Millard, Girl’s Basketball, St. George, Utah, Nov. 22, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

Individually for Pine View, Newby led the team with 15 points. Dawn Mead’s outside shooting netted her seven points. Freshmen Tori Maile and Hayley Graff had six and five points, respectively. Newby also led the team with eight rebounds.

“We are young, but our freshmen both played real well,” said Brinagh. “Maile gives us a good inside presence and Graff plays smart and makes plays.”

Though Brinagh was unhappy with the end result, he liked what he saw from his team.

“We are going to go through growing pains,” he said. “But the aggressiveness was there. The intensity was there. With each game, we will get better and better.”

Pine View falls to 0-1 and will host Kanab on Dec. 1. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Snow Canyon 57, Delta 37

The Lady Warriors beat Delta in the second half of the Hall of Fame Classic. The two teams that won state championships in their respective classes met in Delta tonight.

snow-canyon-logoDelta hung tough through the first, taking a 13-12 lead. But Snow Canyon put some distance between them in the second, outscoring the Lady Rabbits 14-4. The Warriors would also win the final two quarters to win by a wide margin.

“It was a good win and learning experience for us,” said Snow Canyon head coach Dan Roden. We started out slow with some first-game jitters. We missed six layups in the first quarter, but we settled down after that. Freshman Tylei Jensen (3 assists, 7 steals) was a great spark for us off the bench. We have a lot to work on, but it was a good start.”

Individually for the Warriors, Mele Kata led the team with 13 points and nine rebounds. Allie Parr had 12 points and seven rebounds. Point guard Jasmine Lealao scored eight.

Snow Canyon will next face Juan Diego on Dec. 1 in Draper. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Beaver 56, Dixie 41

Dixie played the Beavers pretty even through three quarters. Starting the fourth, the Flyers only faced a 41-37 deficit. But Dixie’s star forward, Kelsea Barker, got into foul trouble and found herself sitting next to Dixie head coach Jaime Araiza for an extended amount of time. Beaver took advantage and stretched its lead to double digits in the fourth.

dixie-logo“The outcome was not what we wanted,” said Araiza. “But we saw some good things. Kelsea had a good game but spent more time on the bench than we wanted with foul trouble. We got good production from our freshmen. We feel it was a good starting point for the season.”

Individually for the Lady Flyers, Barker led the team with 13 points and four rebounds. Ilah Wallace also scored in double figures with 10 points. Grace Killian and Sina Schwalger each scored six.

Dixie will travel to Enterprise on Tuesday, Nov. 29. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darren Cole recently returned to sportswriting after a 20-plus year hiatus. While pursuing other studies, he developed an early passion for sports writing as a senior writer and sports editor for the Ricks College Scroll in 1988-89. Darren has spent the last 20 years writing legal memorandi and appellate briefs. In addition to his legal career, he has also taught legal and criminal justice courses at the university level for nine years as an adjunct professor. Darren is married to wife Lisa, has two sons and is a confessed sports junkie.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.