Region 9 girls basketball recap: Cedar remains undefeated, Snow Canyon and Desert Hills suffer first losses and Hurricane sweeps the week

Snow Canyon at Pine View, St. George, Utah, Jan. 8, 2020 | Photo by Dave Larson, St. George News / Cedar City News

ST. GEORGE — The first full week of Region 9 games started off with a bang on Wednesday as both Snow Canyon and Desert Hills suffered their first loss of the season. As for Friday, Dixie and Snow Canyon went down to the wire in a close game, but the Warriors were able to pull it out. Cedar remains at the top of the standings at 4-0 while Snow Canyon and Desert Hills are close behind at 3-1. After them, three teams are tied for fourth at 2-2  Hurricane, Pine View and Dixie — with Crimson Cliffs and Canyon View following at 0-4.

Wednesday’s games

Cedar 53, Desert Hills 48

Desert Hills and Cedar were both ranked in the top 3 of the Class 4A RPI heading into Tuesday’s game. The matchup did not disappoint as Japrix Weaver sunk all six of her free throw attempts late in the game to get the win. Read more about the game here.

Dixie 68, Crimson Cliffs 26

The Mustangs played the Flyers at Dixie High on Wednesday, with the Flyers winning in blowout fashion. Sina Schwalger and Joslyn Bundy led the way with 10 points each for the Flyers. Nine Dixie players scored in the winning effort.

Snow Canyon at Pine View, St. George, Utah, Jan. 8, 2020 | Photo by Dave Larson, St. George News / Cedar City News

Pine View 64, Snow Canyon 51

Snow Canyon and Pine View played each other at Pine View, with the Warriors coming into the game undefeated. Pine View was up by one point at halftime but they were able to extend the lead in the second half thanks to a 24 point fourth quarter.

Pine View had four players score in double figures, led by Alex Olson who had 15 points. Averi Papa had 11 points and pulled down 15 rebounds as well.

For the Warriors, Tylei Jensen had 22 points on five made threes. Brailen Halalilo added 10 point in the losing effort.

Hurricane 48, Canyon View 42

At Canyon View, the Hurricane Tigers built an early 6-0 lead, thanks to a full-court press that forced several turnovers but Canyon View’s Addison Newman later sank a pair of free throws late in the first quarter to tie the score 8-8.

Hurricane at Canyon View, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 8, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The Falcons went on to take a 21-20 halftime lead, but Hurricane pulled away in the second half for the six-point win. Hurricane’s Madi Staples made 5-of-6 free throws during the final quarter to hold off the Falcons.

Brooke Thomas led the Tigers with 14, Kandalyn Hinton had 11 and Haley Chesley added 8. Addy Lichfield and SaRiya Sims led the defense with five steals each.

The Falcons were led by Ashlyn Banks with 17 points and Harlee Nicoll with 11.

       — Written by Jeff Richards

Friday’s games

Hurricane 69, Crimson Cliffs 36

The Tigers cruised to a convincing win at home over Crimson Cliffs Friday night, led by Brooke Thomas’ 21 points. Teammate Kandalyn Hinton added 17 and Haley Chesley made 10.

Also for Hurricane, Madi Staples had six rebounds and Britin Behrmann collected five. Addy Lichfield recorded four assists and four steals.

Crimson Cliffs was led by Brooklyn Winget with 9 points, while Rian Hines and McKenzie McKong each added 8. Nine different players scored for the Lady Mustangs.

Hurricane head coach Shelly Thomas said her team’s play is starting to come together, thanks to a renewed emphasis on defense.

“Against Canyon View, every player had at least one steal and at least one rebound,” Thomas told St. George News. “We are starting to play together more. We had a rough start but we are going to surprise a few teams in the second half and move up in the rankings.”

     — Written by Jeff Richards

Canyon View at Desert Hills, St. George, Utah, Jan. 10, 2020 | Photo by Dave Larson, St. George News / Cedar City News

Desert Hills 64, Canyon View 54

Desert Hills returned home after their first loss of the season to take on the Canyon View Falcons. The Thunder were up 21 heading into the fourth but the Falcons scored 24 points in the quarter to make it a ten point game.

Kami Bliss led all scorers with 24 points while Sydney Peisley had 14 points for the Thunder.

For the Falcons, Ashlyn Banks had 21 points while Erin Robinson added 10 points.

Desert Hills plays at Crimson Cliffs next Wednesday and then back at home against Snow Canyon on Friday next week. For the Falcons, they have home games against Cedar and Pine View.

Cedar 55, Pine View 43

After a big win over Snow Canyon, Pine View welcomed in the defending state champions and region leading Cedar Reds on Friday.

Cedar went up 24-8 at the end of the first quarter but Pine View outscored the Reds in the second, making it a 12 point lead. Cedar never looked back after the half, winning by 12.

Japrix Weaver and Mayci Torgerson led the Reds with 19 and 15 points respectively. The Reds also had 16 steals on the game as a team.

Dixie at Snow Canyon, St. George, Utah, Jan. 10, 2020 | Photo by Ryne Williams, St. George News

Ellie Wilson had 17 points for the Panthers while Alex Olson had nine.

Cedar is on the road at Canyon View next week then at home against Crimson Cliffs. Pine View plays Dixie at home and then Canyon View in Cedar City.

Snow Canyon 53, Dixie 50

After a quiet first half from the Flyers, Snow Canyon had a 10 point lead at home going into halftime. The Flyers dug themselves too deep a hole and were unable to get the win after a big second half offensively. Read more about the game here.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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