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Show S.S. SCHOOL NEWS PAGE A4 SUMMIT COUNTY NEWS MARCH 6, 2015 Wildcats Basketball places at State In the early, dark hours of Feb. 26, buses filled with Players, Coaches, Cheerleaders, Fauvines, Band Members, and car loads of Parents and Fans headed out on yet another road trip. The destination: the Sevier Center in Richfield for the 2015 State 2A Basketball State Tournament. The goal: the title of Best in State. The Boy's team had traveled the night before to be ready for the first game of the Tournament as they faced number one seed from Region 13 Parowan. The Cats knew they would have to play Ram tough to win. When the rest of the crowd rolled in, it was time to let the games begin. The team started quickly, ending the first quarter up by five, and continued with more of the same in the second and ended the half up 2647. Parowan was not just going to fold and be herded away like sheep. The Rams came out fired up and contolled the third quarter doubling down on the Cats to end with the score tied at 34. Faced with pick it up or head to the Consolation bracket, the Cats picked it up. The 4th quarter saw the Cats double down on the Rams and continue on towards their goal of a State Championship by earning the 58-46 win. Jason Griffin played tough inside and out as he lead the scoring with 22 points. Bracken Santos poured in 12, and Kaden Atkinson came off the bench and hit 3 from behind the 3point for 9. The Lady Cats had the first game of the evening session as they met the Lady Cow- boys of Kanab also the number 1 seed from Region 13. The Cats knew they faced a stiff challenge, but this was not their first rodeo and they knew it would take a complete game to win. Both teams had a shaky start and the game was tied with 8 each at the end of the 1st quarter. Kanab settled in first and out scored the Cats by 4 points which ended up being the margin of the Cowboys win. The Cats controlled the 3rd quarter, but faltered in the 4th, as Kanab rode away with the victory lead by Catlin Glover's 13 points. The Cats were lead by Josie Grajek who played strong on both ends of the court. She lead the scoring with 16, Rachel Rydalch added 9. Sierra Davis and Hannah Peterson were tough on the boards with 6 rebounds each. Taylor Reidhead kept Kanab off balance with her tough defense and 4 steals. Kanab credited the Cats with the toughest defense they had played all season. South Summit pledged to cut down the turnovers and take care of the ball in the next round. The Lady Cats were of course diappointed that their chance for a State Championship had hit the trail with the loss to the Lady Cowboys, but were determined to finish their season with wins. Their next opponent was a familiar one as they faced the Lady Bears from Summit Academy. Knowing it is hard to beat a team three times, the team knew they would have to dig deep and play together to continue on to Saturday's placing game. Things were not going according to plan as the Cats found themselves down at the end of the 1st quarter. Senior leadership kicked in and the Cats controlled the second quarter, outscoring the Bears to take a 16-13 lead at the half. The Bears started the third like they did the game, and outscored the Cats. Determined to live to play another day, the Cats turned it up on both ends of the court to outscore the Bears by nine point to ensure the victory 4431. It was ugly, but the Cats took the win. The Wildcats took the floor in the Championship bracket against the Spartans of Emery. The fast paced action from the tip-off gave this game the feel of a sprint, not a marathon. The ball and the lead swung back and forth as each team played an aggressive, uptempo game. Led by point guard Mason Gines, the offense moved the ball well, but saw most of the scoring coming inside from Jason Griffin. Defensively, the Cats went with half-court pressure to try and slow the Spartans. The Cats ended the half down by 2, confident they could make the adjustments needed to control the second half. Early foul trouble kept normally effective Ty Jones and Bracken Santos off the floor, with Bracken making the most of his mintues to put up 8 points. Coach Dusty Hatch called on his bench to make up the difference. Tanner Anderson answered the call and played well, ending with 8 points. Griff continued strong and lead all scorers with 23 along with 7 boards. Mason had a great game all around on the boards and leaped to a team leading 9 rebounds to go with 4 points, 2 assists and 2 steals. The Spatans remained aggressive throughout the game, and foul trouble for the Cats resulted in a lot of trips to the line where a disciplined Emery squad converted. This was the final difference in a back and forth game that ended the Cats drive for a gold. The final game for the eight Senior Lady Cats featured a very familiar foe, a season third game with the Lady Braves from North Summit. Sierra Davis, Josie Grajek, Natalie Nichols, Taylor Reidhead, Rachel Rydalch, Jade Snyder, Sidney Vidrine, and McKaye Woolstenhulme were determined to end their careers with a win, and an offical Summit County Championship and Champion. Senior Lady Braves Kassidee Evans and Haylee McQueen had the same goal. Having spent not only this season, but their high school years battling, neither team was expecting any surprises. None emerged, as the first quarter saw the lead change several times until the Lady Braves eked out a one point lead. Led by point guard Taylor Reidhead, the Lady Cats began to pull away in the second taking a 23-19 lead in to the locker room. The third quarter featured more fouls than points as both team struggled to get anything to clear the net. The fourth quarter started the same way, but then the Lady Cats got it going. They were able to convert both from the floor and from the free throw stripe. They outscored the Lady Braves 17-8 for a final tally of 44-32 and 5th place in the 2015 State Championships. On a Senior heavy team, however, the scoring game was lead by Sophomore HannahJo Peterson. Foul trouble for the Lady Braves led to points for the Lady Cats as HannahJo had 10 of her team leading 14 from the line. Natalie controlled the boards as she pulled down 10 rebounds to go with her 5 points. Rachel had 7 points and 4 boards, while Josie finished with 6 points and 4 boards. Sierra put in 6, McKaye with 2, and 1 point from Taylor ended the Seniors scoring. Taylor also crashed the boards hard for 5 rebounds. Sophomore Sammi Rogers put up three for the future Cats. Haylee McQueen lead the Lady Braves with 12 points and 5 boards, and Kassidee Evans had to fight not only the Cats but illness to end with 2 points and 3 rebounds. The Braves showed they have bright spots in their future with Madi Birk and Hunter Vernon playing strong. Madi had 8 points, and Hunter played a well rounded game with 2 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals before falling victim to the many fouls called on both teams. This game ended with the Lady Cats on top. Both teams can be proud of their success this season, and both teams know that the emotion of the games will continue for as many years as they meet. In the final game of the season the South Summit Wildcats may have felt they had been thrown to the Wolves. Actually, they just had to defeat Enterprise to end their season on a winning note. The Wildcats were led this season by Seniors Zach Atkinson, Jason Griffin, Ty Jones, and Bracken Santos. The Cats controlled quarter one, but lost control in quarter two to trail 20-22. Whatever Coach Hatch said to the team at half-time seemed to work as they blasted out in the third to reclaim the lead. Not willing to go down without a fight, the Wolves made their own run in the 4th to keep things interesting. Defense ruled as the Cats clamped down to earn their final victory and claim 3rd place for the 2015 State Basketball Tournament. Griffin, as he was in most games this season, was the leading scorer with 17, including 2 three-pointers. Add in his team leading 6 rebounds and he once again brought a dominate game. Bracken finished strong with 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. Jonzee continued to amaze with his quickness and his ability to disrupt an opponent's flow. He added 6 points, 4 rebounds and an assist to close his Wildcat career. Zach came off the bench for some quality minutes. Matt Brady and Brandon Dansie look to lead the team going forward as Matt had 10 points and 5 boards, and Brandon put up 7 points and had one of each: assist, rebound, and steal. The 2015 Wildcats ended with a win and will be remembered as a team that was competitive, defensive minded, and mostly fun to watch. |