February 2, 2010
Publisher's Message
For this week's issue, we look at two Lehi-Westlake basketball games, an end to the Awesome American Fork Cavemen's losing streak in basketball, and the Awesome American Fork Cavewomen's staying undefeated in Region Four girls' hoops standings. Let's get to those stories.
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
Lehi Girls Stave Off Westlake Shockers 55-47 in Jan. 25 Region 7 Thriller
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Lehi Pioneers opened the second half of their Region Seven girls' basketball schedule by outlasting the Westlake Thunder, AKA the Shockers, 55-47 in a Jan. 25 game at Lehi.
Lehi Coach Troy Gifford said, "They [Westlake] had some great shooters. Our kids stepped up in the third period like they should have during the whole game. We had Megan Parr guard Elle Brainard, Westlake's tallest player, in the first half, and then we had Sadie Johnson take a turn at defending Elle in the second half. Sadie was amazing. Besides doing really good against Elle, she also most of her 10 points through free throws that helped us a lot. Whitney Cook came up with two big baskets in the second half to give us the momentum.
"My players and Westlake's have known one another for years. They used to play AAU basketball together. So they knew how to play well against one another."
Taking the opening tipoff, Cook connected a pass to Briar Sands for a basket. After Westlake Alisa Diaz had swished in a foul shot, Gabby Grantham and teammate Jackie Cattani joined together in creating a 6-3 lead for Lehi. The Shockers staged a 7-2 scoring run led by Brainard and Sadie Williams. When a Brainard three-point play tipped the Shockers ahead 10-8, the game's tone finally became set. The contest was not going to end in a washout win for either Lehi or Westlake. A Grantham trey put Lehi out in front 11-10, but Shannon Jensen sank a go-ahead jumper of her own to keep the game a seesaw battle. Jensen and Williams managed to answer every shot taken by Rogers and Johnson in the first quarter's closing two minutes. The period ended with the Shockers ahead 18-15.
Diaz emerged as Westlake's biggest gun for the second quarter as her shooting extended the Shockers' lead out as wide as 22-17. Johnson and Chelz Atoa paced the Pioneers within 22-21. However, before Lehi could hop ahead, Williams hit an inside shot, and a Brainard layup tightened the Shockers' hold on their narrow lead. This didn't stop Aerin Ogden from swishing in a three-pointer to give Lehi a 26-25 advantage. Two Jensen foul shots left Westlake leading 27-26 at the half.
In the early second half, Cattani stole the ball and raced up away for a layup that ignited a 13-2 scoring run for the Pioneers. Briar Sands and Grantham guided the shooting spree as Johnson battled Brainard fiercely for rebounds and kept the tallest Shocker from making any points until midway through the third period. After a Brooke Barnes trey had put Lehi's lead at 39-29, Brainard finally sank her second shot of the final half. After Grantham's shooting had put the s score at 41-33, Westlake's Ashley Calder produced a three-point play that cut the lead to 41-36.
Aided by a Diaz bucket in the early final period, Calder hit two foul shots to put the Shockers within 41-40. Brainard pulled down a defensive board right afterwards, making Westlake look as though it would secure another lead. However, a Shocker turnovers spoiled Westlake's chance for grabbing control of the game. Johnson hit a set shot, and Cattani contributed a trey to enable Lehi to maintain tight hold on its narrow lead. Brainard became more aggressive on the boards as Johnson and Katie Rogers challenged the Shocker for every rebound. With Lehi players denying Brainard chances for second shots, the Pioneers' chances for victory swelled with every passing second. Williams hit a three-pointer in the last minute to warn the Pioneers that the Shockers weren't throwing up their hands. Free throws from Johnson, Cattani, and Barnes clutched the game for Lehi. The contest ended with Brainard scoring a bucket.
She led the Shockers with 15 points while Williams pitched in another 11. Grantham led Lehi with 15 points while Johnson added another 10.
First-Ever Pioneer-Shocker Boys' Basketball Game Ends in Flood-Out Win For Lehi
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The only thing that people will remember about the first-ever Lehi-Westlake boys' basketball game is the fact that it ended in a flood-out win for the Pioneers. Played at Lehi on Jan. 25, the Pioneers shocked the Westlake Thunder, AKA the Shockers, 80-46.
After having soaked up Lehi 21-3 in a season-ending football game last fall, the Shockers roared into Lehi, expecting to do to the Pioneers what some vandals did to the original L that had stood in Lehi's football stadium until last October: destroy it. However, Westlake didn't take into account the quickness of Pioneers Willie Walker and Ryan Christofferson. While taking control of the boards, they joined Josh Scott in creating a 6-2 lead for Lehi. An Austin Gleed trey and a Jahde Clark bucket sparked a brief comeback for the Shockers. They blazed their way within 9-7. Before Westlake could catch up, Lehi's Zach Stanley swished in a trey that set up a 13-0 scoring run, which continued into the early second period.
Early in it, Gleed hit an inside shot, but it couldn't stir up any momentum for the Shockers. Walker became a bigger threat to them in the second period. The Lehi center kept searing through the Shockers' defense and scored baskets. Three-pointers from Christofferson and Stanley proved to be as devastating to Westlake as a fireship. Lehi held the Shockers to nine points in the second quarter.
In the third period, Scott nailed two foul shots and Jordan "Mr." McGregor hit a jumper that pushed Lehi's lead beyond the 30-point mark. Through shots from Gleed, Jordan Allred, and Mau Nin, the Shockers managed to reduced the lead to 55-33. However, with Walker controlling both the boards and scoring, Westlake couldn't turn the game back into a thriller.
Walker led the Pioneers with 22 points while Stanley contributed 13 and Scott 12. Gleed led the Shockers with 18 points while Niu added another nine.
Lehi Coach Craig Gladwell said, "Every game from here on out is important. We lost a couple of tough games this past month. Tonight's win will improve our chances for better seeding in the state tournament. We had mixed feelings about tonight, because a lot of good Westlake like Gleed played for us last year.
Awesome AF Cavemen End 5-Game Losing Streak With Jan. 26 Win Over Hillcrest Puppies
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
In Region Four boys' basketball at American Fork Jan. 26, the Awesome American Fork Cavemen broke their five-game losing streak when they put to sleep the Hillcrest Huskies, AKA the Puppies, 77-53.
American Fork Coach Doug Meacham said, "We had 20 assists tonight. This game showed we were more unselfish with the ball than we were in the last few games. Ben Beddes, our top scorer, had a lot assists from guys like Quincy Bair and Marcel Davis. He also had triple doubles for the night. Chase Hansen anticipated lots of steals, and he came up with some four-point plays, the kind where a guy takes away another team's two points, and then he scores two of his own.
"In coming off the bench, Alex Ross made some great defensive rebounds for us and put shots back in for us. Our guys lost some momentum in the early second period when Hillcrest came back within 21-20, but Jake Blackhurst stole the ball and passed to Beddes for a bucket that tipped the momentum back to us."
Early in the game, Davis sank an inside shot to put the Cavemen on the board first. However, Bridger Dallimore hit two straight unanswered three-pointers that gave the Puppies a 6-2 lead. Pulling down an offensive rebound, Caveman Ryker Mathews scored a bucket that set off a 6-0 scoring run for his team. Fouled while tying the game at eight, Tanner Dastrup missed a foul shot. Mathews capitalized on that missed charity shot. The Caveman broke the tie. However, the Puppies still managed to tie the game at 10 and 13 on shots from Andy Harris and Dallimore. Ross broke the 13-13 tie and sent the Cavemen on their way to an 8-0 scoring run.
The Cavemen's 21-13 lead quickly became a memory at the start of the second period as Dallimore and Bubba Pecht led a 7-o scoring run for the Puppies. A Beddes three-point play offset the Puppies' attempt to race ahead of American Fork. Pecht's scoring allowed the Puppies to stay in the game for a little while during the second period. With the score reading 30-25, Beddes and Bair went on a shooting spree. It left the Cavemen with a 40-27 lead at halftime.
In the early second half, Beddes scorched the Hillcrest defense with his incredibly astonishing inside shooting. Meanwhile, Hansen came up with steals that he turned into successful layups. Ross joined Beddes in battling Dallimore and Pecht for rebounds. With American Fork players pulling down most of the boards, Hillcrest couldn't put together a strong effort at overcoming the double-digit deficit that hamstrung it throughout the game's final two periods.
After the win, Mathews said, "I feel 300 feet high right now. I was really physical inside, and I caught some great passes from teammates for important baskets."
Beddes led the Cavemen with 18 points while Bair added another 10. Dallimore led the Puppies with 14 points, and Pecht added another 12.
Awesome AF Cavewomen Harvests 68-28 Win Over Jordan Plowgirls in Jan. 28 Game
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Awesome American Fork Cavewomen harvested a 68-28 win at home over the Jordan Beetdiggers, AKA Plowgirls, in Region Four girls' basketball at American Fork Jan. 28.
The night's scoring opened with BreeAnn Monson putting the Plowgirls on the board first. Jordan couldn't build anything strong from its 2-0 lead. American Fork Kenzi Moeai tied the game at two. Cavewoman Laini Kalumbi hit two straight, unanswered buckets that sparked a 9-2 scoring run. Unable to hit any additional shots from the floor, the Plowgirls had to rely on foul shooting to keep in the game. Jordan battled back within 13-6. However, that turned out to be the closest the Plowgirls could get to the Awesome Cavewomen.
For the second period, Amy Krommenhoek became the Cavewomen's most devastating weapon. Her accurate shooting inside and outside the perimeter enabled American Fork to pull 20 points ahead in a really short time. Meanwhile, American Fork held the Beetdiggers to six points for the entire second period.
While Krommenhoek and Kalumbi stayed hot in the second half, Moeai, Shelby Carson, and Hayley Su'a'filo battled Plowgirls Sariah Nemelka, Tina Henrichsen, and Melinda Armstrong for rebounds. Carson, Moeai, and Su'a'filo usually ended up being the ones pulling down the boards. Jordan could not reduce the point spread under the 30-mark.
American Fork Coach Corey Clayton said, "After the first Jordan game, I watched a tape of it, studying Jordan's use of defensive screens. Jordan usually makes a nice use of them. So we used them in the first half. We went back to using our usual defense in the second half. That confused Jordan a lot."
Moeai led American Fork with 14 points while Krommenhoek added another 13 and Kalumbi 11. Armstrong led the Plowgirls with 10 points
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