Region 10 girls basketball: Thunder finish region play unbeaten; Cedar, Dixie also win

Hurricane hosts Dixie in a Region 10 girls basketball game, Hurricane, Utah, Feb. 10, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Desert Hills High School girls basketball team wrapped up its regular season Thursday night with a convincing win at Pine View, giving the Region 10 champions a perfect 12-0 regular season record.

Meanwhile, the other six teams in the Region still have one game left to play, on Monday. The 4A playoffs start the following Friday, Feb. 18.

Also on Thursday, Dixie edged Hurricane on the road while Cedar won at home against Crimson Cliffs. Following are recaps of Thursday’s games:

Dixie 51, Hurricane 47

Dixie had to get the win the hard way, overcoming a first half deficit and then grinding out the victory in the final seconds against the Tigers.

“This win meant a lot, especially for our seniors,” Dixie coach Briana Barrett told St. George News after the Flyers won their second consecutive game and improved to 4-7 in Region 10 play.

Hurricane hosts Dixie in a Region 10 girls basketball game, Hurricane, Utah, Feb. 10, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

Pine View and Hurricane are also both 4-7 in the region heading into Monday’s final games.

“Our seniors know that these are the last few games they have,” Barrett added. “So they just went all out tonight, and I’m proud of them for that.”

Senior Rees Lorentzen had a lot to do with the Dixie victory. Clinging to a one-point lead at 48-47, Dixie needed a defensive stop to win the game with less than a minute to go.

Hurricane worked the ball just past the mid-court line before Lorentzen stole a pass, ran the floor and finished with a layup that put the Flyers ahead for good, 50-47, with just under 10 seconds left. 

On Hurricane’s next possession, Dixie forced a jump ball. Lorentzen was fouled and made 1-of-2 free throws to provide the final margin with about four seconds left, and the Tigers were unable to get off a last shot.

Hurricane started strong and led 12-9 after the first quarter and took a 25-19 advantage into halftime.

The Tigers were paced by their two seniors in the game. Morgan Stout led Hurricane with 14 points and fellow senior Lindy Erickson was right behind with 13 points in the setback. Addi Crandall contributed 10 points for the Tigers.

Dixie got the win behind Kealah Faumuina, their leading scorer on the season. The sophomore scoring machine poured in a game-high 23 points for the winners. 

“I think that she was mentally prepared tonight. She was ready to get after it,” Barrett said about Faumuina, known as “LaLa” to her teammates. “She did well on kicking the ball out, seeing her open teammates. She came in and played her game.”

Hali Smith was next for Dixie with 17 points, including four critical 3-pointers.

“I think this is a great peak moment for us,” Barrett said. “We still got one more game left, one more game to go, and we’re looking forward to it.”

Desert Hills 54, Pine View 39

The Region 10 champions raced to a 31-15 lead at halftime and never trailed on the road at Pine View.

Desert Hills at Pine View, Region 10 girls basketball, St. George, Utah, Feb. 10, 2022 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

Julia Jacobsen was an unstoppable force for the Thunder, tallying a game-high 26 points. Sedelle Springer was next with 13 points, including a 3-pointer for Desert Hills.

Senior guards Enid Vaifanua and Sa’de Turlington contributed five points apiece for the winners.

Pine View won the fourth quarter 15-9 but by then the Thunder lead was too big to overcome. Ellie Norton sank three 3-pointers and scored 11 points to pace the Panthers.

Ashlyn Clark was next for Pine View with nine points while Addie Topham scored six in the defeat.

Cedar 56, Crimson Cliffs 48

At Cedar, the Reds took a 10-point lead at halftime, extended it to 20 by the end of the third, then held off a determined comeback rally by Crimson Cliffs.

Braylee Peterson scored 10 of her game-high 25 points in the first quarter as Cedar opened a 17-6 lead in the opening period.

The second quarter was evenly matched, with Cedar taking a 29-19 lead at intermission.

The Reds then outscored the Mustangs 18-8 during the third period to lead 47-27 after three. Peterson scored eight points during that stanza, while teammate Annlyse Shimada added six.

But Crimson wasn’t finished, as the Mustangs scored 21 points in the final frame, including a 9-0 run that chipped Cedar’s lead down to single digits.

Crimson Cliffs at Cedar, Region 10 girls basketball, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 10, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Samiya Jones scored 10 points during the fourth quarter, while teammate Brooklyn Winget added nine. They ended up with 15 and 12 points, respectively, to lead the team in scoring.

“You’ve got to give them credit,” Cedar coach Corry Nielsen said of the Mustangs. “They were down 20 points but they didn’t quit. They kept playing.”

“I thought both teams played two good quarters,” he added. “We have to give our team credit for playing well in the first half.”

Shimada finished with 12 points for Cedar, while Mckelle Kerns added nine.

Monday, the Reds will close out the regular season at home against Hurricane. That game has playoff implications, as the two teams are currently ranked Nos. 8 and 9 in the RPI index; should they end up in those spots, they could also end up playing each other in a first-round playoff game next Friday, Feb. 18, with the No. 8 seed having the home court advantage.

— written by Jeff Richards

Region 10 girls basketball standings (as of Feb. 11):

  1. Desert Hills 12-0 (16-4). 
  2. Snow Canyon 9-2 (14-6). 
  3. Cedar 5-6 (10-9). 
  4. Hurricane 4-7 (9-12). 
  5. Pine View 4-7 (8-12).
  6. Dixie 4-7 (7-11). 
  7. Crimson Cliffs 1-10 (4-16).

Monday’s games:

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

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