Region 9 girls basketball: Cedar continues to dominate; Desert Hills, Snow Canyon win

The Thunder's Julia Jacobsen drives baseline to the basket against Hurricane, St. George, Utah, Jan. 24, 2019 | Photo by David Larson, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Powerhouse Cedar High improved its record to 7-0 in Region 9, 16-0 overall, with an easy win Tuesday against visiting Dixie. Meanwhile, Snow Canyon emerged as the best of the rest, taking over sole possession of second place with a win at Canyon View. And in the only region game played in St. George, Desert Hills held off Hurricane for a close win.

Desert Hills 46, Hurricane 44

In a game that came down to the wire, the Desert Hills Thunder edged the visiting Hurricane Tigers, improving to 4-3 in region play.

After taking a 17-6 lead at the end of the opening quarter, it appeared that Desert Hills would cruise to an easy victory. Instead, the Tigers battled back in the second half after trailing by 10 at the break.

In the third and fourth quarters, Hurricane outscored the Thunder 12-9 and 15-10, respectively, making the game close in the final moments before Desert Hills held on for the win.

Julia Jacobsen led the way for the Thunder, scoring 15 points. Katelyn Philips chipped in 8.

The Tigers dropped to 2-5 in region play, remaining in fifth place. McKenzie Robinson scored 12 points for Hurricane, with Hailey Homer adding 11.

Hurricane hosts Canyon View Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Desert Hills will travel to Cedar City Tuesday to face the undefeated Lady Reds. The game tips off at 7 p.m.

— Written by Spencer Rodak

Snow Canyon 48, Canyon View 40

The Snow Canyon Lady Warriors built a double-digit lead in the third quarter, then held off a late rally to defeat the Lady Falcons at Canyon View, 48-40.

Snow Canyon head coach Ryan Rarick characterized the game as “disjointed.”

Snow Canyon’s Tylei Jensen drives against Canyon View, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 24, 2019 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

“We committed 13 fouls in the first half and we were already down a player,” Rarick said, adding, “Traia Andrews, our freshman center, has a sprained ankle, so she couldn’t go tonight. Luckily we got one player back, Lexie Leavitt.”

“She was huge for us tonight, with 10 points,” Rarick said of Leavitt, who was playing her first game in about a month.

The two teams had battled evenly in during the first quarter, which ended in a 10-10 tie. However, the Warriors outscored the Falcons 14-8 in the second period to lead by six at halftime.

“We were just struggling to keep them off the free throw line, and we also blew a lot of easy shots at the basket,” Rarick said. “I think it just took us a long time to adjust to the physicality that Canyon View was playing with, and we were expecting to get some opposition and some opportunities to shoot from the free throw line. I think when we weren’t getting those opportunities, the girls had a hard time adjusting.”

Snow Canyon’s Olivia Harris brings the ball upcourt while being guarded by Canyon View’s Addison Newman, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 24, 2019 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Canyon View shot more than twice as many free throws as Snow Canyon did, but converted just 53 percent of its attempts (18-of-34). Snow Canyon, meanwhile, made 11-of-15 from the free throw line.

“That was the difference,” said Canyon View head coach Jaycee Barnhurst, noting that the Falcons missed eight of their 18 free throws in the fourth quarter, and ended up losing by eight.

Canyon View mounted a late rally in the final minutes that ultimately fell short.

“We  just started a little bit too late,” Barnhurst said. “I said after the game, that’s not a 10-point ballgame. That’s a 3- or 4-point ball game. But we let it get away in the third and then couldn’t finish it in the fourth.”

Snow Canyon was led by guard Tylei Jensen’s 15 points. Leavitt added 10 and Olivia Harris contributed 8. Jensen fouled out of the game with a couple minutes to play, joining teammate Braillen Halalilo, who’d picked up her fifth personal foul a few minutes earlier.

Canyon View’s Jordan Nielson drives against Snow Canyon, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 24, 2019 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

“When I fouled out, I knew the younger girls would come up and save us. There’s no doubt whatsoever with any of us,” Halalilo said afterward, adding that the game was not typical of her team’s usual effort. “That was not our game. That’s not how we play. That’s not how we want to play.”

Rarick said he felt the Lady Warriors were fortunate to have built “a big enough lead to be able to hold on at the end when things started falling apart.”

“Even though we built a double digit lead, I never felt comfortable in the game, ever,” he said. “We had two players foul out with quite a bit of time to go in the game. so it’s a credit to our reserves to step in and take care of business at the end.”

Canyon View was led by Addison Newman’s 11 points, while Ashlyn Banks and Jordan Nielson each contributed 9 points.

Snow Canyon improved to 5-2 in region play, good enough for sole possession of second place. The Lady Warriors play at home Tuesday against Pine View.

Meanwhile, Canyon View dropped to 1-6 in Region 9 and will travel to Hurricane for their next game, Tuesday at 7 p.m.

— Written by Jeff Richards

Cedar 73, Dixie 44

At Cedar, the Lady Reds trailed 6-5 at almost the midway point of the first quarter, but they soon began to pull away from Dixie and eventually built a 38-20 halftime lead.

“They’re such a good team, and have so many weapons,” Dixie head coach Ryan Forsey said of the undefeated Lady Reds. “We had a good first quarter offensively, but our transition defense in the second struggled, and they were off and running. And we just never could recover.”

Guard Mayci Torgerson led the way for Cedar with 24 points, 12 in each half. Fellow guards Japrix Weaver and Logann Laws each contributed 13 points, while post player Denim Henkel added 9.

Sina Tapasa was Dixie’s top scorer with 15 points, while Sina Schwalger added 8.

Cedar, which improved to 7-0 in Region 9 play, hosts Desert Hills on Tuesday at 7 p.m., marking the Lady Reds’ third straight game at home.

Dixie, which dropped to 4-3, has a bye on Tuesday but will play at home next Thursday, Jan. 31 against Snow Canyon, also at 7 p.m.

— Written by Jeff Richards

Region 9 standings
Cedar 7-0 (16-0)
Snow Canyon 5-2 (8-10)
Dixie 4-3 (10-7)
Desert Hills 4-3 (9-6)
Hurricane 2-5 (6-11)
Canyon View 1-6 (6-11)
Pine View 1-5 (3-10)

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

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