LEHI — The Judge Memorial Bulldogs were determined not to let Lehi's two top guns beat them — and they didn't.
The rest of the Pioneers, however, did. Behind 24 bench points and seven three-pointers, Lehi pulled away from a 42-42 fourth-quarter tie to defeat the Bulldogs 56-50 in the girls 3A first round game.
"If you're just about one or two players, then people can shut you down," Lehi coach Mike O'Connor said. " But we know we have other girls who can score and we had some of them make some shots tonight."
Judge used a triangle-and-two defense and a box-and-chase to keep the ball away from freshman sensation Michelle Harrison and senior point guard Megan Heriford.
The Bulldogs' Jenny Conti, despite having a 7-inch height disadvantage, stuck to Harrison like a second skin. Harrison seldom touched the ball in the first three quarters. When she did get the ball, Harrison was swarmed by Bulldogs — who held the 6-foot-1 freshman to eight points. Heriford only managed one free throw.
"It's a good test for us because I'm sure other teams will try to do the same thing," O'Connor said.
Lehi guards Susie Jex and Tiffany Gray, however, were tempted all night to shoot from long range, and they did. Jex hit three three-pointers and Gray two. Two other Pioneers guards, Tara Asay and Tristen Sunderland, also canned three pointers.
Gray's biggest shots might have been from the foul stripe, where the senior guard knocked down four straight free throws in the game's final minute to seal the victory.
Lehi knew it had a battle ahead when Judge's Kato Mayeda hit a three-pointer to end the first quarter with the Bulldogs up 12-10. But Gray opened the second with a three-pointer to regain the lead and the Pioneers ended the half up 31-24 after Jex tossed in back-to-back treys.
Judge continued to dare Lehi to shoot outside in the second half, and for a while it worked as the Bulldogs mounted a charge. Judge closed the period on a 12-4 run, led by Kaitie Sabol's inside power game, to finish the third period tied at 42.
But the Pioneers ran off five straight points and never trailed again. In the game's final three minutes the Bulldogs put Lehi in the bonus , and the Pioneers responded by making nine of 12 free throws in the closing seconds.
The Pioneers move on to face Bear River, who upset No. 4 ranked Dixie, next Thursday at 5:50 p.m. at Utah Valley State College. O'Connor expects another tough battle.
"Once you get to this point there is no easy game," he said.
Even though Harrison didn't have her typical offensive game, she blocked six shots and pulled down 11 rebounds. Guard Erin Terry topped Judge's scoring with 15, followed by 14 from Sabol. Jex and Gray had 12 each for Lehi.
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