UTAH 4A HOOPS: REGION 9 LADIES START STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Its go time across the state for with the 4A tournament officially kicking off today with Girl Basketball action.
Here in Region 9, 3 of the 7 teams won’t need to suit up tonight due to having a bye as a byproduct of finishing ranked in the top 8 of the RPI.
Snow Canyon, undefeated in region play, went a dominant 21-1 on the year and is the #2 seed as they await the winner of Mountain View and Bear River.
The Cedar Lady Reds went 17-5, 9-3 in region 9 and took home the #3 honors in the RPI. Cedar gets the winner of Provo and Pine View.
Out in H-town, the Lady Tigers finished 8th and will rest up with eyes on the winner of Dixie and Park City.
For the squads gearing up tonight, here’s a quick rundown of what we go going on locally in women’s hoops.
#9 Dixie VS #24 Park City (AT Dixie High School)
The Lady Flyers (11-12 on the year) just barely missed the cut in terms of a first game bye, but are rewarded with the lowest seed in the tournament with Park City.
The lady Miners went 5-18 on the season averaging 29 points a night and surrendering about 45 points to their opponents.
Dixie finished the season 2-2 but averaged 55 points in that span.
Those two losses came to the #2 and #3 seeds in Snow Canyon and Cedar.
Both those games were single digit losses proving that Dixie is as tough as any team on a bye today.
Kealah Faumuina continues to put up some of the best numbers in the state, nearly averaging a double-double.
With close to 19 points a night and just shy of 10 rebounds on average, Faumuina leads this team into battle while also being the main distributor at 2.7 assist per game.
Hali Smith is a do it all type of player who’s second on the team in assist, and second in rebounds while putting up 8.7 points a night.
Jaycee Bundy leads the team from beyond the arc with 29 triples to her name, and is a sharpshooter to watch as the tournament progresses.
If Dixie advances tonight, they get a rematch with region foe, Hurricane, in whom they split the series with this year.
Dixie won in Hurricane, Hurricane won in Dixie and both games were neck and neck all the way through.
But first up, Park City.
#13 Desert Hills VS #20 Uintah
Despite a three-game losing streak at the end of the regular season, the Lady Thunder are a team to keep a keen eye on this postseason.
Desert Hills went 8-12 on the year and split the season series with #8 Hurricane and # 9 Dixie, and despite going 0-2 VS Cedar only lost to the #3 Lady Reds by 1 in one of their contests.
Despite the 13th seed, Desert Hills shouldn’t be treated as a middle of the pack team.
This defense has immense potential. Demonstrated by only allowing 48.6 points a night, a top three mark in a competitive region 9.
Hannah Heaton leads the team with 10.8 points and 4.8 rebounds.
Scoring aside, few at this level muddy things up as well as she with her 1.5 steals per game.
Jenna Brown gives DHHS another double-digit scorer at 10.1 and 3 boards a night.
Ashtin Hansen, Jacie Riding and Tess Peterson have combined for 48 triples this season accounting for 69 percent of the Thunder’s 70 made threes.
As far as the opponent, Uintah went 6-17 this season, averaging 34. 6 points.
If Desert Hills takes care of business, they can expect to travel up to Murray to do battle with #4 Cottonwood.
#16 Tooele VS #17 Crimson Cliffs
In what is the tightest matchup on paper for Day 1, the Lady Mustangs hit the road to take on Tooele.
Tooele went 10-11 putting up 43.4 points and allowing 44 points a night.
Crimson Cliffs was 6-16, with a standard of 45 points scored and 51.8 allowed.
This one could come down to the bitter end.
Tooele ended the season on a nice little hot streak, winning their last three games.
The Lady Buffaloes average margin of victory in that frame was 14.7 points.
For CCHS, they finished the season playing some of their best ball as well.
After downing rival Desert Hills by two, they would hang with #8 Hurricane to the bitter end, and best Pine View in the regular season finale.
With 2 of their last three games being victories, and all three being confidence boosters, the Lady Mustangs are ready for tournament play, even away from home.
Kinsey Plew has knocked down 37 shots from beyond the arc this year, and the Mustangs as whole have drained 110 triples.
This team can shoot when given space, and have to be taken seriously.
Crimson Cliffs also boast an incredible defensive effort with 6 girls at least averaging one steal.
Kenadee Richey and Alyssa Whittaker give this team a lot of pop, with both putting up around 8 points, 5 rebounds and multiple assists.
If Crimson Cliffs can toss Tooele, they may end up staying north with a #1 Ridgeline team waiting.
#14 Provo VS #19 Pine View
Provo enters this first game matchup riding a three-game winning streak, handling their last three matchups with double digit wins of 10, 23 and 13.
For the Lady Bulldogs, their 10-13 season seems more impressive when you look at their 7-3 Region 8 record.
Typically, they are good for 45.6 points scored and 47.3 allowed.
For Pine View, it hasn’t been the season they hoped for, but this team still has a lot of fight.
Despite the 4-19 record, Pine View is one of only 4 teams to best #3 Cedar this year. Outside of Snow Canyon, the Panthers are responsible for 1 of Cedars 3 region defeats.
A win like that can go a long way in reminding a team what they are capable of if they play a consistent four quarters.
Reese Gustin who had 16 in that win, is pacing the Lady Panthers with 13 points behind 30 drained three’s this year.
Gustin also boards at a high level with 5.2 a night and a powerful 3 steals a game, making her a certified havoc creator.
Casey Morley, Claire LeFevre, Charity Falaniko and Hayden Harris all provide major constancy for this team, all good for 5 points a night demonstrating how well the Lady Panthers can move the ball.
Speaking of Cedar, the winner of this game heads to Iron County to play the #3 Lady Reds.