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Show -NEWS- Spanish Fork B10 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2008 Covering what matters most Lady Dons battle T-Wolves Bryan Redd STAFF WRITER Steve Hardman / Spanish Fork News REGION MEET: The SFHS swim team competed at Region on Friday, Jan. 25 and Saturday, Jan. 26. The boys and girls took fifth overall. Swim team competes at Region Spanish Fork High School's swim team traveled to Lehi for the Region 4 swim meet, Friday, Jan. 25 and Saturday, Jan. 26. The SF boys and girls placed fifth overall, with many swimmers placing in individual events. The top individual finisher for the Dons was Jesse Roberts, who placed first in the men's 100-yard breaststroke and second in the men's 500-yard freestyle. The men's 200-yard freestyle relay team, composed of Cord Olsen, Dallin Parkinson, Troy Cressman, and Jesse Roberts, placed second. Cord Olsen placed third in the men's 50yard freestyle and Bonny Dowling placed third in the women's 100-yard My. Dowling also placed fifth in the women's 50-yard freestyle. Alicia Pulido placed fifth in the women's 500-yard freestyle, and Troy Cressman placed fourth in the men's 100-yard breaststroke. "We are focusing this year on building a program," said Coach Melissa Hartley. "Spanish Fork has some unique challenges in that we don't have our own pool to work out at. Despite receiving minimal pool time, our athletes have had an incredible season. All of our swimmers have dropped times, and our team numbers are continuing to THE HUH MORTGAGE •^SB COMPANY Is merging with SECURITY HOME MORTGAGE To provide you with • More competitive rates • Better service • Faster closings • More streamline The same friendly faces •Jon D.Christensen •Susan Knight •ClayCushing The Lady Dons played aggressive, hard-nosed basketball in the fourth quarter. SF showed high energy, hustle plays, and lock down defense. The SF fans believed their team could win. The Lady Dons looked fresh and the T-wolves appeared tired. SF held the Twolves' offense to six fourth quarter points. Johnson and Redd combined for 11 of the Dons' 13 fourth quarter points, but the Lady Dons' great second-half effort fell short. Timpanogos defeated SF 56-48. Leading SF where Jenna Johnson, 14; Erin Redd, 14; Natasha Sanborn, six; and Nicole Adams, five. Spanish Fork had 24 rebounds, nine SECURITY HOME MORTGAGE www.securityhomemortgage.com Kelsey Hall / Spanish Fork News COMEBACK KIDS: The Lady Dons went down early, but made a valiant effort in the second half. Above, Erin Redd shoots for two of her 14 points. Below, Katelyn Elliott takes the back door around a surprised T-Wolf. assist, 15 turnovers, three blocks (Redd), and eight steals — six by Tingey. The Lady Dons showed unity and character in the second half against the TWolves. The Lady Dons let one slip away by eight, but will definitely grow from this tough game. "We need to learn to execute and play for four Coach quarters" said Johnson. The Lady Dons are now 3-2 in region play. Spanish Fork will host Pleasant Grove this Friday at 5:15 p.m. All about heart: From JOHNSON • B l Come see us at our new location 735 North Main Spanish Fork (801)798-1581 (801)764-0111 The region battle continued Friday night as the Lady Dons welcomed the Lady T-wolves to town. The Dons and T-wolves started the evening tied for second place in region four. The game was hard-fought by both teams, as talented players battled for sole possession of second place. The Lady Dons controlled the lip, but not their nerves. Both teams struggled on offense early due to tough man-to-man defense. The Twolves relaxed first, using inside screens to free their guards as they cut to the basket, scoring easy points. Timpanogos jumped out to an eight-point lead. The Lady Dons seemed tentative and confused by the T-Wolves box-and-one defense. The SF offense sputtered along, posting nine first quarter points. SF was plagued by five first-quarter turnovers and trailed Timpanogos 17-9 at the end of the first. The struggle continued for the Lady Dons in the second quarter. SF missed many open shots and lay ups. The Dons' aggressive defense went soft and allowed the T-Wolves to out-score the SF girls by 18 in the second quarter. The T-Wolves led 35-17 at half time. What a difference a half makes. SF walked onto the floor with new determination, wanting to erase a disastrous first half. The Lady Dons' defense was aggressive, led by Aly Tingey with six steals. Spanish Fork ran a potent offense in the third quarter. The Dons pounded the ball inside the paint and Adams, Redd and Sanborn responded with 12 points. The SF guards, led by Katelyn Elliott, forced T-Wolf turnovers. The Lady Dons had arrived as they outscored Timpanogos 18-15 in the third quarter, but still had a daunting challenge, trailing the T-Wolves 35-50 at the end of three quarters. started in January. When the Lady Dons took the floor against American Fork, Jenna received her medical release and finally got the chance to hit the hardwood with her teammates, just six months from the date of her injury. Although she scored only six points and her team lost the contest, she got the chance to get her competitive juices flowing again. Jenna said she had mixed feelings about her basketball debut after her injury. "It was a mixture of being excited about playing and extremely nervous about how my knee was going to hold up under game conditions," she said. Since that game, the Lady Dons have gone on to a 3-1 region record, with upsets over the favored Pleasant Grove Vikings and Lone Peak Knights, as well as a convincing 20-point victory over Lehi. Scoring 15, seven and 21 points respectively in those region games, Jenna was finding her shot again and region IV coaches and teams were putting in a little more time preparing for a Lady Dons team that was at full strength. First-year coach Aubrey Johnson is excited about having Jenna back because it rounds out a team that was already starting to mesh pretty well. Coach Johnson saw Jenna's leadership qualities in practices where she would do anything she could during her rehab. At games, Jenna set her mind to be the best cheerleader and support for her teammates that she could. Now, with all the cogs in place, Jenna and Coach Johnson are focused on the team goal of reaching the state post-season tournament. Jenna will not be done playing after this season. She has already signed a letter of intent to play for the Utah Valley State College women's basketball team. And Jenna doesn't plan on leaving the game once her college career is over. Jenna plans on staying involved by teaching and coaching high school. If her senior year is any indication of how dedicated she is and how hard she will work, then any school would be amiss not to give her a chance. |