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Show Lady Braves frustrated Jordan drops Bountiful By G.BRETT HART Sports Editor SANDY The Bountiful Braves girls' basketball team suffered suf-fered the sting of a disappointing, 3- Girls' B-ball The race for Region 6 point loss to Jordan Friday, 46-43. The Braves knew they were in for a long afternoon when one of the two needed referees did not show up for the game. "I shouldn't have allowed us to play the game," said Bountiful coach Jill Avery, "I'll never let it happen again. 'I can't fault my girls for losing. I shouldn't have allowed the girls to play at all. " Avery's premonitions turned out to be correct. By halftime the game had gotten out of the single referee's control. ' ' I thought the girls handled themselves well. It could have gotten ugly," explained Avery. Leading Bountiful, standout Nikki Hanni battled her way to 18 points in the Braves' losing effort a showing that explains why Hanni is quickly gaining notoriety throughout the region as one of the toughest inside players around. "Nikki is playing really well," Bountiful coach Jill Avery said. "She knows how to take it to the hole. She's just got an instinctive knack to know where the basket is and take the ball to it. "Her confidence and attitude are coming along, too. Camille DuPaix followed Hanni, chipping in 9 for the Braves while B ount iful ' s Jenny Gardner and Allison Drown added 5 each. Jordan jumped to an early 14-10 lead after the first period and extended ex-tended the margin to 8 by halftime. In third period action, the Braves managed to slow Jordan's scoring attack with a relentless press but made little progress in overcoming the Beetdiggers lead in the third. Bountiful ended third quarter scoring with a meager 5 points to the Beetdiggers' 9. However, in the fourth period, the Lady Braves demonstrated the maturity and poise that has brought them to the top of Region 6. Down 38-26 going into the fourth, four-th, Bountiful began a comeback that would not only put the Braves back into the game but give them a shot at the win. The Lady Braves out scored Jordan Jor-dan 17-8 in the final eight minutes of play, but the last-period run turned turn-ed out to be too little and too late. With eight seconds left in the contest and trailing by eight points, " ' " 4. 1 If - m f ... t - ' I . .? i I. " i J ..v it 6 - x - t. X. . 4r - JkirrrftOTlfflr- n rii ia mam - - " Point totals Lady Braves Nikki Hanni, 18, Camille DuPaix, 9, Jenny Gardner, 5, Allison Drown, 5, Kim Reimann, 4, Liz Larsen, 2. Jordan Callister, 22, Deem, 10, Epreson, 10. Bountiful attempted to call a timeout time-out to set up a play, but the referees would not stop the clock. SEE BRAVES ON A10 Bountiful's Nikki Hanni, left, led the Braves' scoring efforts against Jordan Friday with 18 points. I t I jf ' " 4 - v - X 1 - s x 'jBrflt pjjjp -L-pm'w" " , . imt" Bountiful girls basketball coach Jill Avery has led the Braves to a second place 4-2 region standing after last week's disappointing loss to Jordan. Braves CONTINUED FROM A9 The Beetdiggers, led by Callister, Deem and Eprcson with 22, 10 and 10, respectively, managed to pull off the three point win. r The Braves stand at 4-2 in region play, trailing Murray and Jordan. The Spartans and Beetdiggers lead the Region 6 girls' standings each boasting a 5-1 standing. "The biggest thing we need to work on right now is being consistent consis-tent on offense. Our defense is coming com-ing on strong, but we need to work at being consistent shooting and handling the ball," explained Avery. "Of course we want to win the region, but my philosophy is to get better every game. If we don't win the region, we don't win the region. But when we get to state, we're at our best, ' ' Avery added. Tonight, the Lady Braves face the Judge Bulldogs at home. Judge should prove to be a formidable foe after upsetting the talented Woods Cross Wildcats earlier this season. Friday afternoon action brings the Granite Farmers to Bountiful 's home court Both games are slated to begin at 4 p.m. |