December 28, 2010
Publisher's Message
For this week's issue, we look at two basketball games that Lehi Pioneer girls and boys played against Maple Mountain and Kearns. One of those games ended for the Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, on -- as they say in Lehi -- an unhoppy note. However, the other game ended with the Froggies having much to croak about. Let's jump into those stories.
Dean Von Memmott
Publisher
deanmemmott@hotmail.com
Maple Mountain Little Birdies Bomb Lehi 61-43 in Non-League Game Dec. 21
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
The Lehi Pioneer girls' basketball preseason schedule ended on a bad note Dec. 21 when a squadron of Maple Mountain Golden Eagles, AKA the Little Birdies, flew into town and bombed them 61-43.
Lehi had little to croak about in that game. AKA the Froggies, the Pioneers did have one bright spot in the Dec. 21 showdown: Trisha "Needless" Quilter's offensive performance. It permitted Lehi to stay in the game for the first three quarters. However, Alesha Gappmeyer's fourth-quarter foul shooting delivered the knockout punch to the Froggies.
Getting the opening tipoff, Maple Mountain's Kelsey Lewis flew out to score a layup that send the Little Birdies flapping to a 6-0 lead. Two Anau Faleao free throws presented Lehi a chance to swim ahead of Maple Mountain, for Pioneer Brooke Barnes stole the ball and sank a that trey shoved the Froggies within 6-5. Before Lehi could overtake Maple Mountain, Little Birdie Beetle Baylee Nielsen pulled down an offensive board, and she put the ball back into through the hoop. A Jessica Benson bucket straightened the Little Birdies' hold on the lead. With Gappmeyer becoming hot in scoring during the first quarter, Maple Mountain maintained a tight hold on its narrow lead. Two Aerin Ogden free throws put Lehi within 15-11 near the end of the quarter, but Benson hit a trey that sent the Little Birdies flying with an 18-11 lead into the next period.
Period 2 became the time Maple Mountain started acquiring double-digit leads. The Little Birdies got their first one when Kara Betts hit two straight foul shots to put the score at 25-15. However, Mountain Mountain couldn't push its lead past the 20-point mark during the quarter, because of Quilter's scoring. It began with her sinking two foul shots early in the period. Pulling down a defensive rebound, Pioneer Anga Ahquin connected a pass to Quilter for a three-point shot. Quilter hit another trey late in the period after two Betts foul shots had improved the Little Birdies' lead at 32-21. Near the end of the quarter, Lehi's Whitney "Letts" Cook trimmed the lead at 34-26. Benson answered Cook's shot with a trey. Barnes pulled down a defensive rebound in hopes of having Lehi score a bucket just before halftime, but Sadie Williams, a "distant cousin" of pop singer Andy "Moon River" Williams, rebounded a Lehi shot as the horn sounded the start of halftime.
In the third quarter, Quilter became hotter in scoring, but her shooting couldn't reduce the Little Birdie lead to single figures. Gappmeyer, Williams, and Benson combined their firepower together to keep the Little Birdies up by at least 10 points.
Gappmeyer turned out to be the most dangerous of those three Little Birdies during the fourth quarter. Gappmeyer's shocking accuracy from both the floor and the foul line enabled Maple Mountain to lead by as far as 59-41. Sadie Johnson and Kelsey Langness did lead Lehi within 50-41. Once Williams swished in an inside shots, the Froggies couldn't reduce the lead to single figures again.
Quilter led Lehi with 18 points while Barnes scored another eight. Benson led Maple Mountain with 17 points while Gappmeyer posted another 16.
Lehi Boys Survive Dec. 22 Showdown at Kearns Kittens' Den Dec. 22
By Dean Von Memmott
Timp Sports Weekly Publisher
Before they took time off to celebrate the Christmas season, the Lehi Pioneers, AKA the Froggies, survived a close showdown that they had on the home court of the Kearns Cougars, AKA the Kittens, Dec. 22. Rather than croak delightfully about the game's outcome, Lehi simply sighed with relief over having defeated those fierce Kittens by just 55-52.
Lehi Coach Craig Gladwell, "They played hard-nosed ball against us. They were small, but quick. They rebounded a lot of our shots. [Colt] Colledge pulled it out for us when he rebounded a shot and sank two free throws in the last three seconds of the game."
With Lehi's Brad "Mr." McGregor getting the opening tipoff, Colledge received a pass from and sank an inside shot. Sank by Zach Stanley and Ryan Christofferson, the Froggies soon jumped out to a 10-0 lead. A Dalton Noble put the Kittens on the scoreboard, but they had trouble clawing their way back into the game. A Dusty Draeger trey gave Lehi a 13-2 lead, hinting that the Kittens might get flooded out of their own gym. Brady Sawsak swished in a three-pointer that opened a big, Kearns comeback last spilled over into the second quarter.
With the first quarter ending with a Jarvis Andrews bucket putting the Kittens within 18-9, Lehi did not sense those little kitties would turn really fierce in the second period. Kearns players performed with ferocity in Quarter 2. It began with Kitten Marino "Dinty" Moore sinking an inside shot. In the new quarter's first three minutes, the Kittens outscored the Froggies 8-2, moving within 20-17. Tanner Simmons hit two foul shots in hopes of sparking Lehi into rowing away in the second quarter. The Pioneers couldn't stretch their lead out by a wide margin. Kittens Andy Lokeni, Andrews, and Dalton Noble kept Kearns closing in Lehi. Shots by Stanley and Colledge preserved the Pioneer lead until the half's final 30 seconds. Two Noble foul shots put Kearns within 28-27. Just before the horn, Andrews rebonded a Moore shot and passed to Noble for a go-ahead basket.
The Kittens' 29-28 lead couldn't survive the first 30 seconds of the new half. Colledge caught a full-court pass and he sank a jumper. Lehi built up a 32-29 lead. However, a Sawsak trey tiued the game at 32. Two Colledge free throw broke the tie. However, Lehi couldn't secure complete control of the tempo. Noble hit two straight jumpers that put the Kittens back out in front 36-34. Draeger tied game at 36, and a Ryan Christofferson trey gave the lead back to Lehi. A brief, fierce rebounding battle left Lehi leading by only 41-39 at the end of the third quarter.
Through Andy Lokeni's shooting from both the line and the floor, the Kittens stayed really close to Lehi all through the final period. Even though Lokeni fouled out late in the period, the Kittens didn't let the Pioneers get a double-digit lead. Shots from Christofferson and Stanley kept Lehi a few hops ahead of Kearns. In the game's last minute, a Moore trey cut the Froggies' advantage to 53-52. At that point, Sawsak pulled down a defensive board. Kearns had Moore try for a long, two-point shot. Colledge rebounded it as he got fouled. With just 2.5 seconds left, Colledge went to the foul line, and put on a calm look. He sank both of his free throws to clutch the game.
Colledge lead Lehi with 18 points while Stanley aded another 16 and Christofferson 12. Noble led the Kittens with 14 points while Lokeni added another 13 and Sawsak 11.
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