Snow Canyon girls basketball team starts strong, defeats Canyon View in preseason action

Written by Jeff Richards
December 9, 2021
Snow Canyon girls basketball at Canyon View, Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 8, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — The Snow Canyon High School girls basketball team defeated Canyon View 53-40 in preseason action in Cedar City on Wednesday night.

Snow Canyon girls basketball at Canyon View, Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 8, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The Warriors jumped out to an 11-0 lead at the start of the game, taking advantage of several Falcon turnovers over the first few minutes. Snow Canyon led 14-6 after one quarter and 30-15 at halftime.

However, the Falcons then went on a 15-7 run in the third period to cut the deficit to seven points. Nevertheless, the Warriors were able to pull away in the fourth and pick up their third preseason win.

“We survived a tough place to play,” Snow Canyon head coach Dan Roden told St. George News afterward. “Our girls responded well to a big third-quarter push from them. I was proud of their resiliency and how they were able to finish the game.”

Snow Canyon freshman point guard Olivia Hamlin led all scorers with 19 points, while teammate Natalie Olson, a junior, added nine points.

For Canyon View, freshman Bethanee Vargas made all six of her points during the Falcon’s third-quarter rally, while teammate Myka Taylor also finished with six points to tie for the team high. A total of 10 different Canyon View players made it into the scoring column.

Canyon View was coming off a thrilling 39-38 win at Crimson Cliffs the night before. 

“It came down to the last play of the night,” Canyon View head coach Jaycee Barnhurst said of Tuesday’s “much-needed” victory over the Mustangs on the road. “Jayda Gleave had a big deflection defensively that led to Crimson having to take a rushed shot to finish the game.”

Snow Canyon, which improved to 3-2 in preseason play with Wednesday’s victory, next plays at Cedar this coming Tuesday at 7 p.m., in what will be the Region 10 opener for both teams. Cedar’s preseason record is 2-0, with the Reds already notching wins over North Sanpete and Provo. The Reds are scheduled to play three games on the road at a tournament in Utah County this weekend before hosting Snow Canyon on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Canyon View, which fell to 2-4 with Wednesday’s loss, has several more preseason games scheduled in December, including a Dec. 21 contest at in-town rival Cedar High. The Falcons first region game in 3A’s Region 12 will be at Carbon High in Price on Jan. 7.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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