Region 10 girls basketball: Desert Hills, Dixie, Cedar post victories

ST. GEORGE — The girls basketball team at Desert Hills High School continued to roll through its Region 10 competition, with a big win at home Tuesday night.

Elsewhere, Dixie strongly defended its home court and Cedar had an emphatic scoring explosion in a road victory.

Following are recaps from Tuesday night’s games around the St. George area.

Desert Hills 52, Pine View 35

After trailing at halftime, the Thunder broke open a close game with a dominant performance in the second half to defeat the visiting Panthers.

“I thought Pine View played really well and they played hard and put us to the test,” Desert Hills coach Ron Denos said after the game. “We’ve got to get better.”

Emma Jensen netted five points and led the Panthers to an early 12-8 lead after the first quarter.

Desert Hills plays Pine View in a Region 10 girls basketball game, St. George, Utah, Jan. 18, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

Then, she sank a 3-pointer in the second quarter to pace Pine View to a 19-18 advantage going into halftime.

Jensen led the Panthers with 12 total points while Ashlyn Clark contributed 10 points to Pine View’s cause.

But Julia Jacobsen took over for Desert Hills in the second half. The 6-foot senior was active on the glass on both ends of the floor, grabbing rebounds and scoring from close in.

Her 3-pointer from straight on midway through the third quarter put the Thunder ahead 31-24 and Desert Hills never looked back.

Jacobsen scored a game-high 16, including a 9-for-14 performance from the free throw line to clinch the win.

“I don’t know how many rebounds she got, but she got plenty,” Denos said. “She got putbacks and a lot of her points came through hard work, getting the ball on rebounds.”

“And she does a lot on our team. We expect a lot from her, and she does so much for us,” he added.

Alivia Cluff scored 11 points for the Thunder and Sa’de Turlington tallied eight points for the winners, who saw their record improve to 10-4 overall and 6-0 in Region 10 play.

Meanwhile Pine View slipped to 5-8, 2-3 after the setback.

The win came on a big night for the Desert Hills team as they honored former player Emma Zarate, who recently started a battle of her own.

“She has lymphoma cancer. She played with us for a couple of years,” Denos said. “The girls all wanted to do something so they got something together for her, and hopefully she’ll do well with it.”

Zarate was at the game and she was presented with a gift basket as well as with the proceeds of the halftime raffle. 

“That’s what brings everything back to life, and how important life really is,” Denos said.

Cedar 70, Crimson Cliffs 38

The visiting Reds started fast and never looked back, zipping out to an 18-8 lead after the first quarter. Cedar upped that advantage to 40-20 at halftime. 

Crimson Cliffs hosted Cedar in a Region 10 girls basketball game, Washington, Utah, Jan. 18, 2022 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

The domination continued as Cedar put up a demoralizing 16-4 third quarter. The Reds cruised to the win after settling for a 14-14 fourth frame.

It was Braylee and Haylee leading the way for Cedar: Braylee Peterson and Haylee Campbell threw in 20 points apiece to pace the winners.

Cedar improved to 7-6, 2-3 with the win.

Meanwhile, Crimson Cliffs was led by Ashtin Hansen’s 12 points, including two 3-pointers. Hallee Tebbs and Samiyah Jones scored five points apiece for the Mustangs.

Crimson’s record fell to 3-10 overall, 1-4 in region play with the loss.

Dixie 49, Hurricane 28

At Dixie, the Flyers used a 7-0 run to build a 14-5 lead over Hurricane in the first quarter. Dixie went on to lead 15-9 after one quarter and 30-16 at halftime. 

Hurricane at Dixie, Region 10 girls basketball, St. George, Utah, Jan. 18, 2022 | Photo by Jacqui Knighton, St. George News

Neither team made any points during the first three minutes of the third quarter until Hurricane scored on an inside layup. However, Dixie was able to maintain a double-digit lead the rest of the way. Dixie center Kealah Faumuina led all scorers with 29 points, making 12 field goals and going 4-for-8 from the line.

Meanwhile, Madi Slack scored 18 points to lead Hurricane, while teammate Lindy Erickson added seven points and five rebounds.

Dixie improved to 2-3 in Region 10 play with the win, 5-7 overall. The Flyers have a bye on Thursday. Meanwhile, Hurricane, which dropped to 1-4, 6-9, next plays at Pine View on Thursday.

— written by Jeff Richards

Region 10 girls basketball standings (as of Jan. 19)

  1. Desert Hills 6-0 (10-4)
  2. Snow Canyon 4-1 (9-5)
  3. Cedar 2-3 (7-6)
  4. Dixie 2-3 (5-7)
  5. Pine View 2-3 (5-8)
  6. Hurricane 1-4 (6-9)
  7. Crimson Cliffs 1-4 (3-10)

Thursday’s games:

  • Hurricane at Pine View, 7 p.m.
  • Desert Hills at Crimson Cliffs, 7 p.m.
  • Cedar at Snow Canyon, 7 p.m.

Updated Jan. 19, 9:30 a.m. to include game coverage video.

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