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Show Castle Valley Review, March 2009 PANTHER PAGE B5 Lady Panthers Take USAA State Title Paula Wells Feb. 27-28, the Utah Schools Sports Alliance held the state basketball tournament for both girls and boys. The girls from PHS began tournament play dominating Merit Preparatory Academy with a 71-16 win. Julianne Price was the high scorer with 15 points, followed by Jordan Hamner and Monique Hullings with 14 points each. The Lady Panthers continued play with a game against Paradigm High School. Winning the game 55-37, clinched them a place in the championship game on Saturday. Sarah Norton led the team with 26 points. Saturday morning the girls spent their time cheering on the Pinnacle boys, as they waited for their championship game where they again would face Paradigm. The girls fought hard throughout the game trading the lead with Paradigm several times. In the end, the girls won the game 31 to 27. Sarah Norton again led the team in points with 20. Coach Heidi Kay is “proud of the girls and their accomplishment.” Coach Kay led the small team to the victory they had dreamed of. The girls were 12-1 in regular season play and the regular season champions. Kay also led the girls volleyball team to the state title, earlier in the year. At the end of the tournament, Coach Kay was named Girls Basketball Coach of the Year. Sarah Norton was named tournament MVP. Sarah scored a total of 51 points in the two days. Participating members of the Lady Panthers are: Julianne Price, Mariah Dimick, Jordan Hamner, Tesla Marakis, Hannah Urbanik, Monique Hullings, Rylie Birch and seniors, Jessica Hardy, Sarah Norton and Crystal Sherman. The Lady Panthers. Back row: Tesla Marakis, Coach Kay, Monique Hullings, Rylie Birch, Jessica Hardy, Julianne Price, Hannah Urbanik. Front row: Crystal Sherman, Mariah Dimick, Jordan Hamner and tournament MVP, Sarah Norton. Not pictured: Haley Barnes and Katie Massman, managers. Pinnacle High Boys Place Second in USAA State Championships Paula Wells The Pinnacle Boys basketball team went into the tournament after winning the regular season 12-2 and seeded in first place. The first place seed gave them a bye in the first round of the tournament. In their only game on Feb. 27, they met Maeser Preparatory Academy. Team Captain, Stewy Jones led the team to their 70-30 win, scoring 28 points. The win moved them along the winner’s bracket until 11:30 on Feb. 28 when PHS lost to second seeded Rockwell High School in a close 66-71 game. Stewy Jones scored 29 for the team with Blake Najera scoring 21. The boys moved to the third place game, where they beat Telos High School with a 71-50 lead. Blake Najera scored 27 points, with Carl Willson scoring 14. This win moved them into the championship game where they would again face Rockwell. The boys went into the game determined to win and force a 3rd game between the teams to determine the state champion. Cheered on by not only their school, family and friends, but also by their previous opponent, Telos’ team members, Blake Najera and Stewy Jones led the team to an impressive victory over Rockwell 81-73 to advance to the finals. The air in the Rockwell Gymnasium was tense as the final game of the two day tournament began. Rockwell took an early lead, but didn’t hold onto it for long. The two teams took turns holding the lead throughout the first two quarters, but by half-time, Rockwell had taken a lead that the Panthers could not overcome. Near the end of the fourth quarter, Coach Jeff Bowen put in senior players, Bryce Damron, Derek Wells, Stewy Jones, Carson Franklin, along with junior, Austin Welch. Bowen, ended the quarter with his youngest players, Jake Hardy, Freston Smith, Barry Hamilton, Jullinn Garcia and Manuel Mitcheson, allowing everyone a chance to play in a championship game. In the end PHS lost 42-73 to Rockwell. PHS Boys Basketball Team. Back row: Assistant Coach Kris Alley, Chad Martino, Bryce Damron, Derek Wells, Freston Smith, Carl Willson, Austin Welch, Blake Najera, Dan Massman, Assistant Coach Craig Bowen. Middle row: Jake Hardy, Jullinn Garcia, Carson Franklin, Manuel Mitcheson, Demetri Hullings. Front row: Barry Hamilton, Stewy Jones, Coach Jeff Bowen, and Tyson Damron. Not pictured: Roman Yekimov and score keeper, Kelly Jewkes. Both Stewy Jones and Blake Najera played big parts in the team’s accomplishments; Jones averaged 26 points per game, with Najera scoring an average of 23 per game. This was the team’s second state tournament. Last year the team took 3rd place. |