Final Week of Lehi Froggie Girls' Basketball

Timp Sports Weekly

February 17, 2015

Publisher's Message

This week's issue deals with the final two girls' basketball games that the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, hosted for this season. For Lehi, both of them ended on an unhappy -- correction, unhoppy note. So as they say in Lehi, let's jump straight to the stories of those two games.

Dean Von Memmott

Publisher

magnanovelist@gmail.com

Riverton Silverpups Howl Past Lehi Froggies 59-28 in Region 4 Girls Hoop Action Feb. 10

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

In Region Four girls' basketball action at Lehi Feb. 10, the Riverton Silverwolves, AKA the Silverpups, howled past the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, 59-28.

The game went down as one of Lehi's worst moments this season. Save for the second quarter, the Froggies didn't show any life in their performance on the floor. For example, they let the Silverpups hold them to 13 points in the entire second half. That statistic didn't come as much as a surprise, given what occurred in the first quarter.

It opened with Froggie Lia Smith hitting a jumper to give her team a 2-0 lead. Before Lehi could extend it any further, the Froggies went ice cold in scoring. In fact, they didn't make another basket until late in the first period. In the meantime, the Silverpups had a howling great performance on the floor.

In going 2-3 at the foul line, Silverpup Kirstie Spencer tied the game at two. She soon broke the 2-2 tie. Shots from her teammates Tia "Jazzy" Yazzie and Beck "Frugal" McDougal soon produced a 10-2 lead for the Silverpups.

Froggie Lia Smith attempted to put sparks into the Froggies' efforts during the first quarter. She pulled down some rebounds and blocked a Yazzie layup. Smith even hit a trey that cut the Silverpup lead to 10-5. Smith's efforts couldn't turn Lehi's fortunes around, even though she did put forth a great performance throughout the entire game.

With the first quarter ending on a Yazzie trey sunk a second before the buzzer, Lehi fans had to wonder  how worst Period 2 was going to turn out to be for their Froggies. The next period unfolded with Yazzie nailing another three-pointer and then sinking a layup on a steal.

Producing a theft herself, Froggie Addy Clements sank a layup, which put a jolt of life into Lehi's offense. However, with McDougal and fellow Silverpup Tiena "Big T" Afu dominating the boards, the Froggies couldn't put together a rally strong enough for them to overcome the double-digit deficit that came upon them in the second quarter. Taylor Takahashi did give Froggie fans something to croak joyously about when she stole the ball on a blocking of a Silverpup shot midway through the quarter. Fellow Froggie Lexy Granthem came up with a couple of steals and sank a shot that helped Lehi rack up 10 points in the second quarter. With Yazzie, Afu, and McDougal guiding the Silverpups in producing 16 second-quarter points, Riverton took a 29-15 lead into the second half.

During the third quarter, the Silverpups held Lehi to four points. Riverton, meanwhile, stayed hot in scoring. After the new half had opened with a Yazzie three-pointer, Spencer stole the ball and connected a pass to McDougal for a bucket. Tess "Soupy" Campbell joined McDougal and Afu in pulling down defensive rebounds that the Silverpups quickly turned into buckets made by Lovely Olivia Neilson. By the end of the third period, the Silverpups outscored the Froggies 15-4.

The next quarter, Lehi didn't make any points until the final three minutes of play. Meanwhile, Riverton let its entire bench see action on the floor. For example, Maci McCleary, a niece of Awesome American Fork Cavewoman basketball legend Rhonda Cook, joined fellow jayvee Jaydeen Burgess in pulling down boards and contributing to Silverpup scoring. With three minutes of regulation play left,
Shelby Jenkins opened Lehi fourth-quarter scoring with a set  shot, and teammate Hadlee Labrum contributed a three-point play. The game ended with Froggie Mikayla Nelson hitting a set shot. 

Clements led the Froggies with 10 points while Nelson, Smith, and Bryanna Raff each contributed another four points. Jazzy Yazzie led the Silverpups with 14 points while Neilson added another 10.

Lehi Froggie Girls' Hoop Season Ends With Home Loss to Westlake Shockers Feb. 12

By Dean Von Memmott

Timp Sports Weekly Publisher

AKA the Froggies, the Lehi Pioneers ended their girls' basketball season with an eight-point loss at home to the Westlake Thunder, AKA the Shockers, Feb. 12. Barely staving off a fourth-quarter rally, the Shockers defeated Lehi 47-39.

Lehi played much better against the Shockers than it did against the Riverton Silverpups two nights before. The game opened with Shocker Amie "Hailstone" Cochran receiving the opening tipoff. The Shockers soon lost the ball on a bad pass. It ended that Westlake had gone into the game, unwilling to take the Froggies seriously.

Hitting a three-point shot to open the game's scoring, Hadlee Labrum demonstrated that Lehi was still to be taken seriously, despite its winless Region Four record. The Froggies enjoyed their 3-0 lead for a little while. Suddenly, Shocker Jennaka Christensen hit the first of her three straight treys to tie the game at three. Shocker Kaitlyn "Quick K" Smith hit a tie-breaking foul shot, and Macie "Lacy" Peterson swished in a laup to put Westlake ahead 6-3. Though a Lexy Granthem layup cut the lead to 6-5, a Cochran trey put the Shocker lead at 9-5 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter opened with Froggie Bryanna Raff nailing an inside shots to give Lehi a chance at tying the game. however, Leilani "Heavenly Flowers" Hansen hit a trey that sent the Shockers on a 9-0 scoring run, highlighted by further Christensen and Hansen treys. When the Shocker lead had grown to 18-7, Katy Peck hit a three-pointer to launch a 6-0 scoring run for Lehi. With the half ending on two Shelby Jenkins foul shots cutting the lead to 18-13, the Froggies still had a prayer for hopping from behind.

At the start of the third period, Quick K Smith scored on an inbounds pass from Christensen in hopes of  creating another double-digit lead for Westlake. Though shots from Lia Smith and Emily Anderson put the Froggies within 20-17, Lehi got slapped with two technicals that knocked them out of their momentum and enabled the Shockers to create another double-digit lead. Foiur straight Cochran foul shots created a 28-17 lead for the Shockers. They eventually put it at 33-17. Lexy Granthem stole the ball late in the third quarter to open a 6-0 scoring run for the Froggies. Sunk just before the third quarter break, an Addy Clements jumper cut the lead to 33-23.

Aided by Christensen's third straight trey, the Shockers built up a 37-23 lead in the early fourth quarter. In being able to pull down 12 offensive boards for the night, the Shockers looked as though they would dry up Lehi by a double-digit lead. The fourth quarter proved that scenario was not going to be so. After Froggie Terra Tahbo pulled down a big defensive rebound, the Froggies executed a rally lead by Clements and Peck. Shots and rebounds from Christensen permitted the Shockers to stay in double figures for a spell, but layups from Clements and Abby Padilla sparked the Froggies into leaping back within 43-39 in the final two minutes. The Froggies' chance of forcing the game into overtime vanished through Cochran hitting a 10-foot shot. Free throws from Quick K Smith and Kai Ah Quin clinched the win for Westlake.

Peck led Lehi with nine points while Clements added another eight. Christensen lead the Shockers with 15 points while Cochran and Hansen each contributed another 11.