Region 10 girls basketball: Snow Canyon stays unbeaten; Hurricane, Dixie win at home

Written by Jeff Richards
January 19, 2023
Snow Canyon guard Olivia Hamlin takes a shot vs. Desert Hills, St. George, Utah, Jan. 19, 2023 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Snow Canyon Warriors girls basketball team improved to 6-0 in region play with a runaway win at Desert Hills on Thursday night. Meanwhile, Hurricane and Dixie both won at home.

Following are recaps of each of the three Region 10 contests on Thursday:

Snow Canyon 62, Desert Hills 34

At Desert Hills, Snow Canyon jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first quarter, holding the Thunder to a pair of field goals.

Kelly Howard of Snow Canyon made 21 points, including five 3-pointers against Desert Hills, St. George, Utah, Jan. 19, 2023 | Photo by Aaron Crane, St. George News

During the second period, sophomore guard Kelly Howard scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers, as the Warriors built a commanding 34-11 halftime lead.

Ashtin Hansen of Desert Hills drained a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight points in the third, but the Thunder weren’t able to make a dent in the deficit as the Warriors coasted to an eventual 28-point victory.

Howard finished with 21 points, including five 3s, to lead the Warriors, while fellow guard Olivia Hamlin contributed 14 points and Natalie Olson added 9.

Hansen finished with 12 points to lead Desert Hills, with Hannah Heaton adding 7 points.

Although the midpoint of the Region 10 schedule isn’t until next Tuesday, Jan. 24, Snow Canyon has a bye that night, leaving the other six teams to play their sixth region contests. Desert Hills plays at Pine View on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Then, for the second half of the season, each team will play the other six region opponents again, with the games taking place on the opposite home court than the first time around.

Hurricane 48, Pine View 45

After hitting 2-of-4 free throws in the closing seconds, Hurricane blocked Pine View’s potentially game-tying shot at the buzzer, preserving a 48-45 victory over the Panthers.

Pine View started the game on a promising note, taking a 13-10 lead after one quarter. However, the Tigers got things going during the second quarter and took a 23-17 halftime lead.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Hurricane led by 10 points, 33-23. However, the Panthers rallied to get within one point with less than one minute left.

With the Tigers up 46-45, the Panthers then fouled Ana Larsen with just under 10 seconds remaining. She made the front end of a one-and-one but missed the second free throw. Teammate Abby Stout grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled. She swished the first free throw to give the Tigers a three-point lead.

Pine View rebounded Stout’s miss on her second attempt and brought it down the floor in time for one last 3-point attempt to tie the game. However, Hurricane guard Elisa Napoli blocked Casey Morley’s shot from the corner as time expired.

Hurricane head coach Pepper Reddish said rebounding was the key to the Tigers’ win.

“Nizhoni Dominguez dominated inside, and all my guards stepped up to help pull down rebounds,” Reddish told St. George News. “They all just kept pushing despite their shots not falling, and that’s all I can ask for.”

Dominguez finished with 14 points to lead the Tigers, while Stout added 10. 

Leading Pine View in scoring was Reese Gustin, who had 15 points. Kamaile Hallum added 13 for the Panthers.

Pine View next hosts Desert Hills on Tuesday, while Hurricane plays at Cedar.

Dixie 50, Cedar 26

At Dixie, the Flyers built a double-digit lead early on and rolled to a big win over the Cedar Reds.

Dixie led 10-1 after one quarter, with Cedar’s only point being a free throw by Kiara Hansen midway through the period.

Dixie kept the defensive clamps on Cedar over the next two periods, with the Flyers leading 21-6 at halftime and 37-10 after three quarters. Cedar did outscore Dixie during the fourth quarter, but the damage had already been done.

Dixie center Kealah Faumuina led the Flyers with 21 points, while Hali Smith added 10. 

As a team, Dixie converted 22-of-29 free throws during the game, while Cedar was only 4-of-14.

Cedar was led by Annalyse Shimada’s 10 points, with Hansen and Gabby Gomez each adding 7 points.

Cedar next hosts Hurricane on Tuesday at 7 p.m., while Dixie plays at Crimson Cliffs that evening.

Region 10 girls basketball standings, as of Jan. 20

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

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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