Girls basketball: Juan Diego downs D-Hills in marquee 3A matchup

Written by Darren Cole
December 4, 2016
Desert Hills vs. Juan Diego, Girl's Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 3, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Region 9 teams wrapped up tournament action Saturday. Snow Canyon is the only team that captured a win. Below are summaries of Saturday’s action:

Juan Diego 46, Desert Hills 36

The Soaring Eagle scored the first 10 points and the last 10 points of their game against Desert Hills. The rest of the game, the Lady Thunder executed and outscored Juan Diego by 10 points.

desert-hills-logo“Turnovers and missed shots,” said Desert Hills Ron Denos. “We got into some early foul trouble then played timid at times. Overall we just failed to execute. “

Desert Hills' Elly Williams (12), Desert Hills vs. Juan Diego, Girl's Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 3, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Desert Hills’ Elly Williams (12), Desert Hills vs. Juan Diego, Girl’s Basketball, St. George, Utah, Dec. 3, 2016, | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

With just over two minutes left, however, the score was tied at 36. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Juan Diego forced the Lady Thunder to foul. The Soaring Eagle hit four of six down the stretch, but conversely, at the other end Desert Hills missed all four of its free throws down the stretch.

Individually for the Thunder, Ashley Beckstrand and Elly Williams scored 13 apiece. Williams had a double-double with 10 rebounds. Morgan Myers led the team with five steals.

The loss drops the Thunder to 2-1. They will travel to Las Vegas next weekend to participate in the Bishop Gorman Invitational Tournament. Matchups and game times for Thursday are yet to be determined.

Green Valley (Nev.) 57, Dixie 52

dixie-logoDixie fell behind by nine to Green Valley at halftime 34-25. The Flyers chipped away at the Gator lead, but could not complete the comeback. Kelsea Barker paced the Lady Flyers with 11 points. Dantzel Miner and Ilah Wallace scored eight apiece. Joslyn Bundy, Sina Schwalger and Macee McAllister scored six apiece. McAllister and Wallace pulled down 10 and nine rebounds, respectively.

Century (Nev.) 67, Dixie 44

It was much of the same in the later game for the Flyers. They fell behind early, looking at a 40-12 deficit at halftime. That lead increased in the third quarter, though Dixie’s offensive production increased. The Flyers were still down 60-22 going into the fourth. Dixie made up some ground in the fourth by doubling their score.

Barker and Schwalger both scored in double figures with 15 and 11, respectively. Miner added seven. Miner led the team with five rebounds.

Dixie falls to 1-4 with the two losses. The Flyers will play next in the Bulldog Invitational in Mesquite. Game times and matchups are yet to be decided for Friday night.

Pleasant Grove 49, Hurricane 40

The Lady Tigers held a slim 22-21 lead at halftime, but Pleasant Grove blew the game wide open in the third with a 21-6 tally. Hurricane rebounded, but could only chip five points off the margin.

hurricane-logo“I was pleased with how our girls played,” said Hurricane head coach Franci Homer. “Playing against their bigs, I told our girls that our scoring would have to come from the outside. They found out quickly how long 6-foot-7 (PGHS star Sara Hamson) really is. In the third quarter, they were able to take advantage of their height on offense. We fought hard and shot well from the 3-point line.”

Jayden Langford led the Tigers with 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists and four steals. Kylee Stevens chipped in eight. Halli Gubler also had three assists.

Hurricane falls to 1-3 with the loss and will host Enterprise on Tuesday night. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Snow Canyon 40, Salem Hills 34

Snow Canyon improved to 3-1 with its win over Salem Hills Saturday afternoon. The Lady Warriors outrebounded their opponents 29-18 with Allie Parr pulling down 13 of them. Jasmine Lealao led the team with 18 points and three assists.

snow-canyon-logo“I am very proud of how the girls responded after the rough loss Thursday,” said Snow Canyon head coach Dan Roden. “They are getting better every game and their attitudes are fantastic. They know we’ve just scratched the surface of our potential.”

Snow Canyon improves to 3-1. The Lady Warriors will travel to Canyon View on Thursday night. 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.

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