Girls hoops roundup: Lady Reds sit alone atop Region 9 after close win over PV

Cedar vs. Pine View Girls Basketball, St. George, Utah, Jan. 20, 2015 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Cedar High continued its undefeated streak in Region 9 action with a 41-37 win over host Pine View Tuesday night at the Pit Gymnasium.

cedar-smPine-view-smFacing a double-digit deficit at halftime, the Lady Panthers fought back and pulled to within one in the final minutes before succumbing.

Scoring for both squads was limited initially as neither team could muster more than four points in the first four minutes. When Cedar inserted sophomore point guard Morgan Myers late in the first quarter, the Lady Reds put two quick baskets up. At the end of the first Cedar led 10-4.

Javlyn Weaver (22) grabs a rebound for the Lady Redmen, Cedar vs. Pine View Girls Basketball,  St. George, Utah, Jan. 20, 2015 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Javlyn Weaver (22) grabs a rebound for the Lady Redmen, Cedar vs. Pine View Girls Basketball, St. George, Utah, Jan. 20, 2015 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

Pine View post Breana Moeai opened the second with a basket in the paint. Claire Newby’s free throw 30 seconds later pulled them within three, 10-7. On the Lady Panthers next possession, Myers stripped Newby and scored a layup at the other end. Myers then snared the defensive rebound off a Panther miss and threw a baseball pass to a sprinting Javlyn Weaver to put the Reds up 14-7.

Pine View went on a 6-2 run, fueled by two baskets from Tayvia Ah Quin, to pull within three again, 16-13, with 1:45 to play. However, Cedar responded with an 8-0 run of its own to close the half. Four different players scored and the lead was 34-23 at the break.

“We have been terrible this year closing out the first halves of games,” said Cedar head coach John Elison. “We made an emphasis this game to close strong and the girls responded great.”

Pine View began to claw back in the game. Midway through the third quarter, the Panthers cut the lead to seven on a 10-footer from Newby. Ah Quin would then trade baskets with Cedar’s Courtney Morley to close out the quarter. At the end of three, Cedar led 33-26.

In the fourth, Elison planted Morley on the end of his bench early after an errant pass. The Lady Reds failed to score for the entire five minutes Morley sat. By the time she reentered the game at the 2:24 mark, the lead had shrunk to 33-31.

Pine View's Tayvia Ah'Quin (24) takes a reverse layup to the hoop for a score, Cedar vs. Pine View Girls Basketball,  St. George, Utah, Jan. 20, 2015 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Pine View’s Tayvia Ah’Quin (24) takes a reverse layup to the hoop for a score, Cedar vs. Pine View Girls Basketball, St. George, Utah, Jan. 20, 2015 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

“We had opened up our offense,” said Elison. “We got some pretty good looks, but they did not fall.”

Morley paid immediate dividends, finding Amanda Manley on the right box for a basket with 1:40 remaining. PV’s Kenya Schone, who was key in the comeback earlier in the quarter, answered with a three-point play to pull the Panthers to within one, 35-34.

Morley was fouled on the next possession and hit both free throws to give Cedar a 37-34 cushion. Schone was then fouled on a putback, but could only manage 1 of 2 freebies to cut the lead to 37-35 with 1:14 remaining.

After a timeout, Morley found Myers with a full-court pass. Myers converted the assist into two points for a 39-35 lead with 1:09 remaining. Newby pushed the ball up quickly for Pine View, dished to Natasha Fiame who drew the foul. Fiame hit both free throws to cut the lead to 39-37 with 58 seconds remaining.

The Panthers fouled Chloe Little with 53 seconds remaining. Little missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Myers ran down the long rebound. Again Pine View was forced to foul. In the double-bonus, Myers converted one of two.

The following 3-pointer from Pine View’s Stefani Gleave fell short and Morley was fouled with eight seconds left. Morley hit one free throw to get to the final score 41-37.

Pine View was led by Ah Quin with 10 points. Schone contributed nine, seven in the fourth quarter.

Cedar had a balanced scoring attack. Morley scored nine. Myers scored seven. Jessica Whetman and Shana Foley chipped in five apiece.

“Our players are unselfish and move the ball well,” said Elison.

Cedar remains undefeated in region at 6-0, 12-3 overall and currently have a six-game win streak. The Lady Reds now have a two-game lead on the field in the Region 9 title race. They will travel to Desert Hills on Thursday. Pine View falls to 8-4, 3-2 in region. The Panthers will host Snow Canyon on Thursday.

Stats: cedpvgirls12015

Desert Hills 71, Hurricane 46

It was a 6-6 tie early when the Lady Thunder revved up their engines and turned the game into a blowout.

Ashley Beckstrand, who had 28 points in the game, ripped down a rebound and went coast to coast to break the early tie and spark a 21-2 run over about an eight-minute stretch in the first half. Beckstrand had a 3-pointer and Rylee Jensen and Kylie Williams each contributed a couple of baskets in the run, which made it 27-8 early in the second quarter.

Desert-Hills-smhurricane-smBy halftime, the lead was 40-20 and a Jessie Creer basket at the end of the third quarter made it the biggest lead of the game to that point at 61-28. The Thunder cruised home from there.

Williams contributed 12 points to the D-Hills cause and Jensen chipped in eight more as the Thunder improved to 9-6 overall and 3-3 in region. Desert Hills has won two straight and is in a three-way tie for third place in the region (with Snow Canyon and Canon View).

The Thunder host league-leader Cedar Thursday night. The Lady Reds beat Desert Hills 45-43 back in early December.

The Lady Tigers, 2-13 and 0-6, got 12 points from London Steglich and 8 apiece from Carrie Marshall and Jayden Langford. Hurricane hosts Dixie Thursday night.

Stats: D-Hills 71, Hurricane 46

Canyon View 50, Dixie 48

Shontae Clark got Cedar to the doorstep and Abbie Corry kicked open the door for the home-standing Lady Falcons Tuesday night in Cedar City.

Clark had 25 points, including three 3-pointers, and Corry hit a trey as time expired as Canyon View captured a key region win at home.

canyon-view-smdixie-smDixie led by two going into the fourth quarter and maintained that advantage until the closing seconds, when Corry rose and fired the dagger from deep outside. The 3-pointers lifted Canyon View to its third region win as the Falcons are now 5-11 overall and 3-3 (and tied for third) in Region 9.

Corry finished with 11 points and Amber Francisco added 10 for CV, which broke a two-game losing streak. The Falcons have a bye Thursday before hosting the suddenly red-hot Snow Canyon Warriors next Tuesday.

Dixie, which got 16 points from Alexa Estridge and 14 from Aubri Challis, fell to 9-6 overall and 2-4 in region. Taylor Whitson added eight points for DHS, which has lost three straight.

The Lady Flyers are at Hurricane Thursday night.

Region 9
W
L
PS
PA
pct.
W
L
PS
PA
pct.
Cedar 6 0 287 228 1.000 12 3 682 549 .800
Pine View 4 2 302 264 .667 8 4 578 581 .667
Snow Canyon 3 3 331 345 .500 6 10 702 843 .375
Desert Hills 3 3 348 297 .500 9 6 910 782 .600
Canyon View 3 3 221 273 .500 5 11 625 748 .312
Dixie 2 4 321 327 .333 9 6 734 704 .600
Hurricane 0 6 281 357 .000 2 13 630 779 .133

Thursday’s games
Cedar at Desert Hills, 7 p.m.
Dixie at Hurricane, 7 p.m.
Snow Canyon at Pine View, 7 p.m.

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