After watching her team get waxed by top-ranked Timpview on Tuesday, East head coach JoAnn Orr had more than a few words to say to her team at practice on Wednesday. Enough to make her a bit hoarse.
But the discourse didn't fall on deaf ears as the third-ranked Leopards jumped out early and never looked back in a 61-40 home victory over Sky View Thursday night.Senior forward Charlotte Norman poured in a game-high 20 points for East (2-1), which increased its intensity and used a strong pressure defense in the first half to rattle the Bobcats.
"The difference was that we came out with more intensity," said Orr. "Timpview's intensity was very high and that took us out of our game."
Another difference was that East was able to score in the first quarter. The Leopards fell behind 23-0 to Timpview before finding the nets. But against Sky View, East was able to dump the ball inside to its post players for some easy layins and a number of fouls.
It only got easier when Sky View's main inside player Taffy Smart picked up her third foul midway in the first quarter and sat on the bench for the next 10 minutes.
"We have great inside players and we want to get the ball inside," Orr added. "What we want is the high percentage shot."
After leading 16-8 at the end of the first period, guard Brooke Neeley took over in the second, scoring all eight of her points in the period and helping the Leopards to a 33-16 lead.
East went back to its post players in the third as Norman, Tarynn Tanner and Brooke Stevens scored all but two of East's points in the quarter en route to a 22-point bulge.
Tanner added 10 points for the Leopards, while Melissa Nyman topped Sky View with 12 points.
In other action around the state:
American Fork 79, Hunter 32: Taryn Stringam had 24 points for A.F. to help tame the Wolverines on their home court. The Cavewomen's press held Hunter to just 11 points in the second half.
Beaver 72, Hurricane 56: Top-ranked Beaver of 2A downed the Tigers as Kristin Marchant fueled the offense with 26 points. Leading the Hurricane scoring attack was Brooke McKell with 17.
Ben Lomond 39, Judge 33: The Scots tagged their second season win as Katie Parker led the charge with a triple-double: 18 points, 14 rebounds and 10 steals. Judge's Erin Schockley scored 10 and Kelly Alamilla snagged 13 rebounds.
Bingham 76, Olympus 63: The Miners posted a 32nd straight win as Molly McLean led with 16 and Brooke Donaldson followed with 13. Ashley Miller led Oly with 18 and Kristi Fehr scored 14.
Cortez 66, San Juan 41: Cody Moore sparked the Cortez win with 29 points in a nonregion matchup against the Broncos. The loss dropped San Juan to 0-4 overall.
Davis 62, Woods Cross 34: Top-ranked Davis ran over the Wildcats as Jill Adams notched 22 points to lead the Darts. Wendy Dale also scored 14 for Davis and Joy Francom had nine for Woods Cross.
Jordan 54, Murray 44: Jordan improved to 2-2 with a second-straight home win as Nicole Paul scored 18. Natalie Webb finished with 12 to lead the Spartans.
Lehi 45, North Summit 38: Trailing 28-17 at the half, Lehi followed Cindy Johnson's 12 points to post the win over the Braves. Jana Fullmer helped the Lehi drive with 10 points.
Mancos 55, Monticello 54: Lucy Tracy scored 25 points for the Buckaroos in a losing effort to their Colorado guests. Stephani Zufelt led Mancos with 17 points.
Mountain View 73, Skyline 46: Lori Henry paced Mountain View with 17 and Lauri Crocker added 16 in a battle between the No.4 Bruins and No. 5 Eagles. Ali Mansay had 15 for Skyline.
Payson 63, Manti 40: Tiffany Massey hit 13 and Melissa Trevort led with 14 as the Lions beat up the Templars at home. Shauna Rasmussen led Manti with 17 points.
Pine View 66, North Sanpete 58: Third-ranked Pine View put away the Hawks as Tawra Seegmiller scored 22 and Nicole Kogan pounded for 10 boards. The Panthers moved to 5-2 after the win.
Provo 58, West 32: Senior guard Lori Red rallied the Bulldogs with 30 points and over 20 rebounds in a lobsided win over West. Diana Tobiasson chipped in 15 for Provo, now 4-0.
Pleasant Grove 70, Copper Hills 51: Fourth-ranked Pleasant Grove dumped the 0-3 Grizzlies as Linsey Francom turned in 20 points. Carolee Curtis topped all Copper Hills scorers with 16.
Roy 47, Bountiful 30: Crystal Howe of Roy tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Royals posted their first season win. Tara Allred of Roy led all scorers with 15; Kara Andersen led the Braves with 13.
South Summit 67, Park City 30: The Wildcats jumped all over the traveling Miners with Julie Blazzard scoring 22. South Summit sprinted to a 35-15 lead to put the game out of reach.
Wasatch 67, Delta 38: A defensive full court press helped the Wasps jump on Delta as Wasatch's Linsey Daybell finished with 18 to lead all scorers.
Region 14 East
ICS 45, SL Lutheran 28: The Lions improved to a 7-1 mark as Amy Shogren sparked a team-high 13 points. Katie Hill added nine for ICS.
St. Joseph 66, Mount Vernon 22: Marchele McEntee spilled in 21 points in a big win for the Jayhawks. Kellie Berube added 16 more for St. Joseph.
Region 14 West
Wasatch Academy 37, Meridian 25: Saki Otobe led the Tiger offense with 15 points in a win over the Mongoose. Francoise Schion-Hock fueled Meridian with 13 points.
Region 15
Enterprise 49, Panguitch 33: Jenny Holt continued her scoring spree for the Wolves with 22 points.
Piute 48, Wayne 40: Jolynn Allen led the victors with 14 points.
Valley 54, Escalante 18: Caroline Heaton scored 15 to lead the stampede.
Region 16
Green River 46, Altamont 41: A 17-6 scoring run in the final quarter lifted the 2-2 Pirates over Altamont. Gaylene Ekker of Green River (2-2) led all scorers with 19.
Northridge Tournament
Brighton 41, Northridge 39: Brighton picked up its first win of the season by downing the Knights. Leading all scorers was Pam Mouser of Brighton with 14 points.
Timpview 55, Logan 45: Heidi Sorensen boosted Timpview's win with 20 points to keep the top-ranked T'Birds at 6-0. Wendy McEntire led the Grizzlies with 19.
Clearfield Tournament
Weber 61, Bear River 37: The Warriors climbed into the championship game by rolling over the Bears. Leading Bear River's scoring was Buffy Chournos with 10.
Viewmont 52, Clearfield 46: The Vikings qualified for a tourney championship match as Kristel Whitten scored 16 to shock the tourney-host Falcons. Whitten also had six steals.
Cottonwood 55, Box Elder 45: Heather Beasley lit up the offense for the Colts with 25 points, eight assists, six steals and 3-of-5 three-point shooting. Katherine Sonkens chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Mountain Crest 50, Granger 39: The Mustangs ended a two-year drought without a win by upending the Lancers in the tourney consolation round.