Region 9 girls basketball: Home cooking fuels Desert Hills, Snow Canyon and Cedar

Cedar's Samantha Johnston is guarded by Averi Papa of Pine View, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 8, 2019 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

ST. GEORGE — Although visiting teams won all three Region 9 contests last Thursday, it was home sweet home on Tuesday night, as Cedar, Desert Hills and Snow Canyon each posted home wins. Cedar and Desert Hills both won their games by large margins, while Snow Canyon edged Dixie by one point.

Cedar 63, Pine View 40

Although the Cedar Lady Reds were finally able to pull away at the end, it was a two-point game in the latter half of the third quarter, as the Pine View Panthers rallied from a double-digit deficit in the first half.

“It was a lot closer than the score showed,” Pine View head coach Chris Brinagh said. “I’m proud of our girls and how hard they played to get back in the game. Cedar is a great team. They are so much better in person than watching them on film.”

Pine View had taken a 4-0 lead to start the game, as Cedar missed its first few shots, but guard Logann Laws made a 3-point play to make the score 4-3 midway through the first quarter.

Following a free throw and a 3-pointer by Cedar’s Samantha Johnston, the Lady Reds were able to start building a small lead. The first quarter ended with Cedar ahead 15-9.

Cedar guard Logann Laws makes a fast break against Pine View, girls basketball, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 8, 2019 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Cedar then went on a 12-2 run to take a 27-11 lead in the second period, but Pine View finished the quarter with an 8-2 run of its own to pull within 10 at halftime, 29-19.

Cedar started out slow in the third quarter, as Pine View rallied to pull within 32-30 with just over three minutes left in the third.

The Lady Reds then got a boost from reserve players Abby Davis, Jaidi Willden and Emme Brower, who combined for eight points during a key stretch as Cedar once again began to pull further ahead. A 10-0 run by the Lady Reds ended the third quarter with the score at 42-30.

Averi Papa of Pine View dribbles past Cedar’s Jaidi Willden, girls basketball, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 8, 2019 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

“Everybody on our team, we all run the same plays, we all practice together,” said Cedar head coach Corry Nielsen. “Our expectations are that we all do the exact same things. It doesn’t matter who comes in, everybody who steps on the floor is going to execute and play as hard as they can.”

“We have players come off the bench who I have lots of faith in, so once those players come in, we don’t have much of a drop off.”

Johnston led Cedar’s balanced scoring attack with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Laws added 15 points and guard Mayci Torgerson also scored in double figures with 10 points.

The Lady Panthers were led by Papa’s 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Cedar next plays crosstown rival Canyon View at 7 p.m. Thursday at Canyon View, while Pine View hosts Dixie that same evening.

— Written by Jeff Richards

Snow Canyon 47, Dixie 46

In a back-and-forth battle, the Snow Canyon Warriors topped the Dixie Flyers 47-46, improving to 3-0 in Region 9 play.

“Overall, I’m happy to come away with the win tonight,” Snow Canyon head coach Ryan Rarick said. “Dixie came in with an excellent game plan and really put us in situations where we had to execute at a high level. At times we did execute at a high level, at other times we did not. That’s kind of the story of our season so far. … We have flashes of greatness and then long periods of time where we are our own worst enemy.

Snow Canyon’s Braillen Halalilo looks for her shot inside against Dixie, St. George, Utah, Jan. 8, 2019 | Photo by David Larson, St. George News

The game was close throughout.

Snow Canyon led by three after one period, but just one at the halftime break.

The Flyers responded in the third quarter, taking a 37-34 lead into the fourth, before the Warriors battled back at the end, eking out the close victory.

“Some key moments included a clutch three that Rachel Durante hit at the end of the third quarter to keep the game within reach,” Rarick said. “Then our whole offense started to click in the fourth and Tylei Jensen was able to find Braillen Halalilo for three key baskets in the fourth to get us the lead.

“Credit to Dixie for pushing us to our limit, but we’re also happy to be able to win a game where we feel like we didn’t really play the way we’re capable of playing.”

The Warriors were led by Jensen, who scored a game-high 14 points. Rachel Durante added 11 and Olivia Harris chipped in 10 points.

The Flyers were led by Sina Schwalger’s 12 points, with Mel Alo’s 10.

With the close loss, Dixie dropped to 0-2 in Region 9 play.

Up next, the Warriors will travel to Hurricane to face off against the Tigers on Thursday. The game will tip off at 7 p.m.

Dixie will take on the Pine View Panthers on the road on Thursday at 7 p.m.

— Written by Spencer Rodak

Desert Hills 65, Canyon View 35

In a dominating performance from start to finish, the Desert Hills Thunder improved to 2-1 in Region 9 play Tuesday, cruising to a victory over Canyon View.

Desert Hills got off to a fast start, leading 24-6 after one quarter of play. By halftime, the lead had grown even more, into a 37-12 advantage.

The Thunder were led by a balanced offensive attack; nine of the 10 players who played scored.

Sa’de Turlington led the way with 11 points while Julia Jacobsen added 10. Rachel Myers, Kellie Nance and Katelyn Philips each chipped in eight points a piece in the victory.

Addison Newman led the Falcons, scoring a game-high 16 points. The loss drops Canyon View to 0-3 in region play.

Up next, the Thunder will take on Snow Canyon Jan. 15. The game will tip off at 7 p.m.

The Falcons will take on rival Cedar on Thursday night. Cedar is 12-0, including 3-0 in Region 9 games. The begins at 7 p.m. at Canyon View High School.

— Written by Spencer Rodak

Region 9 standings
Cedar 3-0 (12-0)
Snow Canyon 3-0 (6-8)
Desert Hills 2-1 (7-4)
Hurricane 1-1 (5-7)
Dixie 0-2 (6-6)
Pine View 0-2 (2-7)
Canyon View 0-3 (5-8)

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