Timp Sports Weekly
November 30, 2009
November 30, 2009
Publisher's Message
With the high school basketball season now having started, we are going to look at a story involving a tight girls' game between the Lehi Pioneers and the Payson Lions, AKA the Kitties. As the folks in Payson would say, it was purr-fectly exciting game. Let's get to that story.
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
Lehi Pioneers Outlast Payson Kitties 63-61 In Nov. 24 Girls' Hoop Opener
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Lehi Pioneers' opened their girls' basketball season at home with 63-61 win over the Payson Lions, AKA the Kitties, Nov. 24.
Lehi's new head coach, Troy Gifford said, "We have a lot of smaller players, who are fast. They love to battle fiercely out on the court. It was not surprising, then, that we had some girls get into foul trouble tonight. We had a lot of jayvee players go in and cover for our starters who got into deep foul trouble.
"Brooke Barnes had a great night hitting threes for us. She hit some threes in the third quarter to open the game up for us and give us momentum to carry us through the rest of the second half."
Kelsie Brown put the Kitties on the board first when she produced a three-point play in the early minutes of the game. A Barnes trey tied the game at three. A tight battle ensued. With Heather Finch putting Payson ahead 5-3, the Lions battled fiercely like alley cats to stay out in front. Combined shooting from Ambree Draper and Breynn Rowley built up a 12-7 lead for Payson. After a set shot by teammate Katie Rogers, Lehi's Gabby Grantham stole the ball and sunk a layup that positioned Lehi within 12-11. Two Rowley free throws and a short, Lacie Zeeman shot built up a 16-11 advantage for the Kitties at the end of the first quarter.
While Payson had much to meow about its first-quarter achievements, Lehi snatched the momentum from the Lions' paws in the second period. It opened with Pioneer Briar Sands sinking a bucket that opened Lehi's comeback. The Pioneers outscored the Kitties 5-1 to get within 17-16 during the quarter's first two minutes. Brown guided Payson in clawing out a 22-18 lead, but the Kitties found themselves powerless in trying to keep Lehi from hopping ahead. Rogers produced a three-point play that gave Lehi the gas it needed to stay in the game. Sands soon hit a bucket which gave Lehi a lead of 23-22. The seesaw battle ensued. When two Zeeman foul pitches tied the game at 29 just before halftime, it seemed the second half would open with a deadlock. That prospect did not turn out to be so, thanks to Pioneer Anau Faleano. She broke the tie with a baseline shot seconds before halftime.
The second half opened with Barnes hitting a three-pointer that sent Lehi on a 10-2 scoring run. It did not knock the Kitties out of the game. Two Rowley foul shots opened a fierce Kitty attack on Lehi's 39-29 lead. Led by Finch, Brown, and Tori Adams, Payson battled back within 45-42 at the end of the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Grantham and Barnes took command of a determined effort to keep Lehi narrowly ahead. While Barnes nailed three crucial treys, Grantham produced layups on steals. Pioneer Jackie Cattoni contributed foul pitches that ultimately proved crucial. When Payson got within 53-52, Cattoni hit a trey that gave Lehi a wide enough cushion to hold on to it lead.
The game had to be halted in the final 23 seconds when Brown suffered a neck injury during a battle for a loose ball. When play renewed, Grantham scored on an inbounds pass to ice the game for Lehi.
Barnes led Lehi with 13 points while Granthan added another 12. Finch led the Kitties with 15 points while Brown and Adams each contributed 10.
With the high school basketball season now having started, we are going to look at a story involving a tight girls' game between the Lehi Pioneers and the Payson Lions, AKA the Kitties. As the folks in Payson would say, it was purr-fectly exciting game. Let's get to that story.
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
Lehi Pioneers Outlast Payson Kitties 63-61 In Nov. 24 Girls' Hoop Opener
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Lehi Pioneers' opened their girls' basketball season at home with 63-61 win over the Payson Lions, AKA the Kitties, Nov. 24.
Lehi's new head coach, Troy Gifford said, "We have a lot of smaller players, who are fast. They love to battle fiercely out on the court. It was not surprising, then, that we had some girls get into foul trouble tonight. We had a lot of jayvee players go in and cover for our starters who got into deep foul trouble.
"Brooke Barnes had a great night hitting threes for us. She hit some threes in the third quarter to open the game up for us and give us momentum to carry us through the rest of the second half."
Kelsie Brown put the Kitties on the board first when she produced a three-point play in the early minutes of the game. A Barnes trey tied the game at three. A tight battle ensued. With Heather Finch putting Payson ahead 5-3, the Lions battled fiercely like alley cats to stay out in front. Combined shooting from Ambree Draper and Breynn Rowley built up a 12-7 lead for Payson. After a set shot by teammate Katie Rogers, Lehi's Gabby Grantham stole the ball and sunk a layup that positioned Lehi within 12-11. Two Rowley free throws and a short, Lacie Zeeman shot built up a 16-11 advantage for the Kitties at the end of the first quarter.
While Payson had much to meow about its first-quarter achievements, Lehi snatched the momentum from the Lions' paws in the second period. It opened with Pioneer Briar Sands sinking a bucket that opened Lehi's comeback. The Pioneers outscored the Kitties 5-1 to get within 17-16 during the quarter's first two minutes. Brown guided Payson in clawing out a 22-18 lead, but the Kitties found themselves powerless in trying to keep Lehi from hopping ahead. Rogers produced a three-point play that gave Lehi the gas it needed to stay in the game. Sands soon hit a bucket which gave Lehi a lead of 23-22. The seesaw battle ensued. When two Zeeman foul pitches tied the game at 29 just before halftime, it seemed the second half would open with a deadlock. That prospect did not turn out to be so, thanks to Pioneer Anau Faleano. She broke the tie with a baseline shot seconds before halftime.
The second half opened with Barnes hitting a three-pointer that sent Lehi on a 10-2 scoring run. It did not knock the Kitties out of the game. Two Rowley foul shots opened a fierce Kitty attack on Lehi's 39-29 lead. Led by Finch, Brown, and Tori Adams, Payson battled back within 45-42 at the end of the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Grantham and Barnes took command of a determined effort to keep Lehi narrowly ahead. While Barnes nailed three crucial treys, Grantham produced layups on steals. Pioneer Jackie Cattoni contributed foul pitches that ultimately proved crucial. When Payson got within 53-52, Cattoni hit a trey that gave Lehi a wide enough cushion to hold on to it lead.
The game had to be halted in the final 23 seconds when Brown suffered a neck injury during a battle for a loose ball. When play renewed, Grantham scored on an inbounds pass to ice the game for Lehi.
Barnes led Lehi with 13 points while Granthan added another 12. Finch led the Kitties with 15 points while Brown and Adams each contributed 10.
Nice job, Dean! I enjoy reading your sport articles. Keep up the good work!
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