ST. GEORGE – It wasn’t the best night of hoops for the Region 9 girls teams Friday, with southern Utah squads taking four losses.

Springville 49, Pine View 32

Though Springville led from start to finish, the game stayed close till the last few minutes when the Lady Panthers were forced to foul and Springville nailed its free throws at the end.

“We played a good team tonight,” said Pine View head coach Chris Brinagh. “We scheduled tough teams in the early season to gauge where we are as a team and where we need to improve so that we don’t have these losing scores in region play.”

The Red Devils jumped out early taking a quick 9-2 lead halfway through the first quarter. A basket by Stefani Gleave and five straight points by Kenya Schone pulled the Panthers to within one at the end of the first 10-9.

In the second quarter, Pine View continued its stiff defense, but could not find a way to get the basketball in the hoop. The Red Devils limited Pine View’s scoring to a Celeste Fiame field goal and a Saraven Allen free throw. At the half, the score still favored Springville, 17-12.

“We knew that (Lydia) Austin and (Olivia) Park were their best shooters,” said Panther wing Stefani Gleave. “We did a good job on closing out on them in the first half.”

In the third quarter, Springville extended the lead to 25-14 thanks to two 3-pointers from Park. The lead grew to 29-16 when Park hit two free throws. The Panthers closed the quarter on an 8-2 run with Tayvia Ah Quin hitting two baskets to close the period. Pine View trailed by seven 30-23.

Pine View pressed the Red Devils in the fourth quarter. However, Springville was able to break the press and create scoring opportunities in the process for post Savannah Sumsion. She accounted for all of Springville’s points in the first five minutes of the final period, hitting three field goals and four out of six free throws for 10 points.

Offensively, the Panthers played much better after the break. “We played better offensively in the second half,” said Fiame. “We began to post up their smaller players and get some points around the basket.”

Pine View kept with the Red Devils but were still not able to cut into the lead.

With 1:35 remaining and the Panthers trailing by 10 points, Brinagh called a timeout. The Panthers attempted to steal the ball, but immediately fouled afterward when unsuccessful. The Red Devils hit seven of their last 10 free throws while Pine View could not capitalize at the other end.

Brinagh said he is still looking for someone to fill Claire Newby’s role as the point guard. Newby, who broke her collar bone in the last game, will be out 5-7 weeks.

“Celeste Fiame came in and did some good things,” said Brinagh. “She penetrated well and also saw the court well.”

Springville was led by Park’s 15 points. Austin and Sumsion scored 14 apiece. For Pine View, Ah Quin and Schone scored nine and six points, respectively. Springville improves to 3-0 while the Panthers fall to 1-1.

Pine View will play again on Thursday when the Panthers will host Enterprise.

North Sanpete 42, Hurricane 35

The Lady Tigers played well on the road at North Sanpete and held the lead at halftime, 23-21. The Lady Hawks surged ahead in the third quarter and built on the lead in the fourth to prevail 42-35.

“We played great team defense,” said Hurricane head coach Franci Homer. “In the first half, Jayden Langford did a good job distributing the ball and getting her teammates in good scoring position. She ran into foul trouble in the third quarter and that stalled our offense.”

Hurricane could only muster four points in the third quarter. In the fourth the Tigers were forced to foul and North Sanpete was able to hit the free throws late. Individually for the Tigers, Morgan Huntsman and Taylor Anderson had 12 and 10 points, respectively. Huntsman also recorded eight rebounds. Post Carrie Marshall had six points and 12 rebounds. Kyrie Stephens recorded five steals.

Hurricane travels to Manti Saturday for a 5 p.m. game.

Snow Canyon 56, Pleasant Grove 42

The Lady Warriors came out strong in the first quarter, nearly blanking 5A Pleasant Grove with a 20-2 margin. But the Lady Vikings reciprocated in the second quarter, pulling nearly even at halftime 25-24.

After a close third quarter, Snow Canyon began the fourth with only a 40-37 lead. Stiff defense in the fourth has been the Warriors trademark early in the season as they have outscored opponents 37-13 in the last two games.

“I am really proud of how the girls held on,” said Warrior head coach Dan Roden. “They took control of the game in the fourth quarter.”

Individually for the Lady Warriors, Madison Mooring had 22 points, three assists and three steals. Nikenna Durante had 11 points and five rebounds. Shaylee Reed recorded 10 points.

Pleasant Grove drops to 2-2. Snow Canyon moves to 2-0 and will play Granger Saturday at 11 a.m.

Salem Hills 73, Desert Hills 60

The 4A Salem Hills Skyhawks defeated the Lady Thunder on their home court in the late game of a triple-header at the Rock Canyon Holiday Classic. The second quarter proved decisive as the Lady Skyhawks outscored Desert Hills 27-12.

Lauren Gustin led four teammates in double-figures with 26 points for Salem Hills. Also scoring in double-figures were Erin Parker (17), Jane Nelson (11) and Sadie Hodgson (10). For Desert Hills, Ashley Beckstrand scored 25 points. Elly Williams poured in 20.

Salem Hills improves to 2-1. The Thunder fall to 1-1. Desert Hills will play Pleasant Grove Saturday. Game time is set for 2 p.m.

Centennial (NV) 75, Cedar 32

Preseason Region 9 favorite Cedar ran into a hot Centennial squad that handily outscored the Lady Reds in each quarter. Courtney Morley had seven points for Cedar. Morgan Myers and Carly Davis chipped in six points apiece.

Cedar will host Springville Saturday at 4 p.m.

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