SPANISH FORK — A singing career could be in the future for Spanish Fork girls basketball coach Shane Mitchell if he continues to make deals with his team. At the beginning of the season, Mitchell told his team he would sing the national anthem at the Dons' final home game if his team put itself in a position to play in the Class 4A state tournament.
On Tuesday, Mitchell sang the national anthem to great applause. Following the anthem, Spanish Fork followed through on its part of the bargain by beating rival Springville 47-41.
The win also ensured the Dons would be the fourth seed in Region 6 going into next week's state tournament.
"We were picked to finish fifth and we finished ahead of the pit," Mitchell said. "These girls have never quit all year. Stats really haven't mattered to this team. We rely on a lot of people."
Sophomore point guard Jessica Anderson led the Dons with 11 points.
"She's been due to have a breakout game for us," Mitchell said. "Earlier today I told her, 'you're due.' She's been running the point very well for us. She's a good scorer but we've handcuffed her by putting her at the point guard."
Kate Gardner and Diane Stewart each scored eight, while Teresa Barney added seven points for Spanish Fork.
Before Spanish Fork did any celebrating, it had to finish off a feisty Springville team.
Barney scored a basket 15 seconds into the fourth quarter to give the Dons their biggest lead of the game at 38-21.
Springville then went on an 18-4 run to cut Spanish Fork's lead to 42-39 with 1:16 left in the game. Kelsie Mortensen was the catalyst in the Red Devil run by hitting 7-of-8 free throws. Mortensen led Springville with 12 points. Cori Nielsen added 10 points for the Red Devils.
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Spanish Fork's lead was whittled to 43-41 with 31 seconds left after Julia Wrigthman connected on two free throws. Wrigthman's free throws would be Springville's final points as Spanish Fork connected on four free throws to seal the win and the playoff berth.
The Dons hit only 5-of-13 free throws in the fourth quarter and connected on only 9 of 21 for the game.
"Free throws have plagued us all year," Mitchell said. "I was panicky. Our defense went away. I thought we built the lead with our defense. This is the way rivalries go."