Region 10 girls basketball: Snow Canyon, Pine View, Desert Hills all win big

Written by E. George Goold
January 11, 2022

ST. GEORGE — Two teams won at home and one tasted victory on the road in Region 10 girls basketball action Tuesday night.

Snow Canyon and Pine View each posted double-digit wins on their home floors while region-leading Desert Hills traveled to Hurricane and won convincingly. 

Following are recaps of the games.

Snow Canyon 64, Dixie 47

The Warriors held a slim 27-26 lead at halftime but busted the game open in a dominant third quarter on the way to victory.

“I think the physicality of the game kind of got to us in the first half,” Snow Canyon coach Dan Roden told St. George News after the game. “Dixie is very physical, they’re strong girls and they got after us. I think it kind of rattled us a little bit, even though we were still ahead by one.”

Snow Canyon hosts Dixie in a Region 10 girls basketball game, St. George, Utah, Jan. 11, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold

Warriors freshman Olivia Hamlin was all over the floor after halftime, helping Snow Canyon win the third frame 25-8. Hamlin netted nine of her game-high 29 points during that third-quarter burst.

“At halftime, that was the message: match their physicality, reverse the ball, run your stuff, see what happens,” Roden said. “And we won the third quarter by 17.”

Dixie was right in the contest for the rest of the night. Sophomore Kealah Faumuina was a force under the basket for the Flyers, often rebounding her own misses with putbacks for scores.

Faumuina led the way for Dixie with 22 points, including the only 3-pointer made by the Flyers. Emily Tauilili contributed 13 points in the defeat.

Meanwhile, Hamlin got help from Kelly Howard and her eight points for the winners. Jocelyn Olson and Lainee Leavitt added seven points apiece for Snow Canyon.

“I thought our full-court pressure was pretty good,” Roden said. “Our trapping stuff, guards did a good job, we knew we could pressure and that kept us in it till we got over the hump in the third quarter.”

Snow Canyon’s overall record improved to 8-5, including 3-1 in region, after the win. Dixie saw its record fall to 3-7, 0-3.

Snow Canyon next plays at Pine View on Thursday night, while Dixie host Crimson Cliffs.

Pine View 41, Crimson Cliffs 28

The Panthers led 13-11 after the first quarter of play, but the Mustangs struggled to score the rest of the way and managed just 17 points over the last three frames.

Crimson Cliffs at Pine View, Region 10 girls basketball, St. George, Utah, Jan. 11, 2022 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

The home team took a comfortable 30-19 lead at halftime and never looked back.

The second half was filled with fouls and missed shots as both teams combined to score 20 points in the half.  

Avery Gustin led Pine View with 14 points and Emma Jensen threw in 10 points for the winners.

The Mustangs were paced by Brooklyn Winget and Samiyah Jones, who each tallied six points for Crimson Cliffs.

Pine View upped its record to 5-6, 2-1 with the win while Crimson Cliffs fell to 3-8, 1-2 in the Region 10 standings.

Pine View hosts Snow Canyon on Thursday, while Crimson Cliffs plays at Dixie.

Desert Hills 72, Hurricane 43

At Hurricane, the Desert Hills Thunder built a big first-half lead, then coasted to a decisive win over the Tigers.

Desert Hills at Hurricane, Region 10 girls basketball, Hurricane, Utah, Jan. 11, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Hurricane stayed with Desert Hills early on as the teams traded baskets the first few minutes. Hurricane’s Madi Slack hit a 3-pointer to make it 7-7, but Desert Hills scored the next seven points, five of which were on free throws, and went on to take a 20-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

During the second period, Desert Hills capitalized on several fast breaks and pushed its lead to as high as 20 points, 31-11, although Hurricane scored the last five points of the quarter to make it 31-16 at halftime. 

Both teams picked up the pace in the second half, with the Thunder scoring 41 more points and Hurricane making 27. The Tigers’ final shot was MJ Erickson’s straightaway 3-pointer that swished at the buzzer.

“It all started with our defense,” said Desert Hills coach Ron Denos said as he praised his team’s transition game. “Defensively, we got them out of their comfort zone and it worked out well for us. We’re in pretty good shape.”

The Thunder were led by Makenna Barlow’s 14 points, with Enid Viafanua adding 13 and Julia Jacobsen scoring 11. Twelve different players scored for Desert Hills, which played its reserve players for nearly all of the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Lindy Erickson led Hurricane with 15 points, while Adri Gubler added 11.

Desert Hills next plays on Thursday night when it hosts Cedar at 7 p.m. Hurricane has a bye.

— written by Jeff Richards

Region 10 girls basketball standings, as of Jan. 12

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric George Goold came to St. George News from southwestern Colorado, where he was a radio news reporter. He has been a journalist for over 20 years in five different states. He graduated with a master's degree in English from Kansas State University and writes nonfiction as well. Goold has been published in Sunstone Magazine and has done multiple public readings about local history. When he has free time, he enjoys chess, movies and dogs.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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