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Show Page B4 Thursday, March 4, 2004 Times Newspaper n. uS If Heartbreaking OTloss sends Tigers home after second round of state ; LANDON OLSON Times Sports Editor TAYLORSVILLE - If... If one ball would have bounced differently. If Heather Keith had been in the line up. If one more call had been made. If there were a few more seconds. There were plenty of questions after the Lady Tigers' 43-4 1 overtime loss against West on Feb. 25 in the state tournament, and plenty plen-ty of thoughts of what could have been, but Scott I loule wasn't going to worry about them. "Our girls played as hard as they could," said the Orem coach. "It's sad to lose, but who cares as long as they play hard?" And while the lose was hard to immediately immedi-ately swallow, I loule docs have a point, as the .Tigers battled through a tough season and made it to the second round at State, giving .West all it could handle. Tied at the half, Orem was down by as many as six points early in the fourth quarter quar-ter before battling back to tie the game and force overtime. West took an early lead on a pair of free throws, but Marsha Heimuli answered with a pair of her own to tie the game with remaining in OT. embank , f ' V ' f I ' WiJm Lit Tiger Jenny Flso (left) is hit by West's Nane Hokafonu while going up for a shot. Orem got the ball back with a chance to go ahead, but a steal by the Panthers led to Becky Sorenson going to the line, where she was deadly all night. Her free throws put West back up, but Orem still had a chance with 41.9 second remaining. With the Tigers trying to work inside, West forced the tie up, but the possession arrow was in Orem's favor, giving the Tigers one last chance with 7.2 seconds. Unfortunately, they were unable to convert and West escape to the third round. But still, Houle wasn't disappointed in the effort. They're trying as hard as they can," he said. They just want to get things done, they just want to please so bad, they just try to force it." In the early going it didn't look like the Tigers needed to force much, as they were getting open looks inside, but were unable to convert. Even pounding the offensive boards, they weren't able to score on putbacks, but still managed to hang with the Panthers. The first quarter was back and forth, as was the second with the Tigers holding a 21-19 21-19 lead before West tied it heading into the half. Orem took the lead again midway through the third, but six straight points by the Panthers put them ahead 29-25. Kristine McConkie scored back-to-back buckets for the Tigers to tie the game, but one of Daley Owens' three 3 pointers put West back into the lead entering the fourth. In the final quarter, it was free throw shooting 6-for-6 that pulled the Tigers back into it to force the overtime period. And it was also the play of some of Orem's juniors. Ashley Boulter and Jenny Fiso both contributed con-tributed throughout the tournament, and Lindsie Wilson hit a pair of fourth quarter free throws to help the comeback effort. But, most conspicuous, was the absence of star guard Heather Keith, who sat out through region and state with a knee injury. "When you take the best player in the state off your team, it's going to kill you," Houle said. The character of our other kids to sort of shrug their shoulder at it and say, "Well, well carry her now,' they did a good job of that." While having Keith in the lineup would have put another potent offensive weapon and defensive stalwart on the floor for Orem, her loss left an opening for some of those younger plays to get some valuable time. Boulter, who will likely be a mainstay next season, stepped up to fill the starting spot vacated by Keith, while Fiso was a key reserve off the bench. "Midway through the year we were nervous nerv-ous about next year. We knew that we needed need-ed those younger girls to step up and get some time," Houle said. "If that didn't happen hap-pen I'd be nervous about next year. We may not win a lot next year, but we're going to be a lot better because of Heather Keith being hurt." But, the Tigers also lose seven seniors off Came See ur New Facility! State Inspection & Emissions Tires & Wheels Tune-Ups Air Conditioning j f fj Aliqnments fi CV Axles Brakes Engines Clutches Exhaust Work nrflnrl : II o if i in m n nil xjm - . : j : E51 North State Street Orem Hours: B-B Mi il f li r SI u i l H fi Wookdoys MADE IN AMERICA Mastercraft rmwrnm. i-.inin,win 1 yr. Muffler $39- 2 yr. Muffler $49- Lifetime Muffler $54-" MOJT PASSENGER CARS & LIGHT TRUCKS Complete: Automotive Repafrp u& - WW I I LTU Storting at 139 Magna Flow Muffler starting at s8995 Dual Exhaust swng at $225 MOST PASSENGER CARS & LIGHT TRUCKS 00 Jb v.. t S I" s l it m u m this Coupon y : cuVvo fTO a iKNtin i i( Offji yt-rjT , J WITH COUPON ONLY ! i-.- -dH. fb. REO. 135.00 A - r-,'-n-. I W Coupon Odn bpkIM04 I H4JT7"C JCJ WUBBSJ 'will -m iiumiiniiM Jii.niMii i mil ii iip inn i i mini i ...mimnn um .,i n iB t 1)-- ' 1 L : . : p ' - photos by Landon OlsonTimes Newspaper Orem's Devrle Downey (20) slips between West's Becky Sorenson (back) and Charmaine Solomon (right) while trying to control a loose ball In the first half. of what Houle said is the best team at least in terms of character he's ever coached. Among those are McConkie, Heimuli and Keith, as well as Nichole Dahl, Aubrey Stay, Devrie Downey and Stacie Peay. In their final game, though, they helped lead the Tigers, with Heimuli finishing with 10 points, Stay eight, and Dahl five, all in the first quarter. For West, Sorenson led all players with 17 points. The Tigers finished the year second in Region VII, behind eventual state champion Mountain View, at 6-2, and compiled a 15-7 overall record. West 43, Orem 41 (OT) Orem 12 9 10 8 2 41 West 13 8 12 7 4 43, Orem Marsha Heimuli 10, Aubrey Stay 8, Jenny Fiso 8, Kristine McConkie 6, Nichole Dahl 5, Lindsie Wilson 2, Ashley Boulter 2. Totals 12 13-18 41. West Becky Sorenson 17, Losa Tali 9, Daley Owens 9, Robin Atono 4, Charmaine Solomon 4. Totals 14 11-14 43. 3-point shots Orem 2 (Stay 2); West 4 (Owens 3, Sorenson). Schedule and standings Thursday Boys' Basketball State Tournament at SLCC, TBD Friday Boys' Basketball State Tournament at SLCC, TBD Saturday Boys' Basketball State Tournament at SLCC, TBD Check back next week for complete coverage of Mountain View's play in the state 4A tournament. Boys' B-ball Region Mtn.ViewA 7 1 LonePeakFA 7 1 PI. Grove 4 '6 Timpanogos 2 7 Orem 2 7 ARegion VII Champion state tournament qualifier season finished Final Girls' Standings Girls' B-ball Region Mtn.ViewA& 8 0 Orem 6 2 Timpanogos 4 '4 PI. Grove 1 7 Lone Peak 1 7 &State Champion "Region VII Champion state tournament participant Overall 17 20 12 9 9 3 1 12 13 13 Overall 23 2 15 13 7 4 7 8 12 16 SATISFACTION GUARANTEED .ZZ2 "THE DEFINITION OF QUALITY & WORKMANSHIP" |