LEHI — Once again, Michelle Harrison dominated with an all-around performance for the Lehi girls' basketball team, leading the No. 2 Pioneers to their second straight Region 8 championship.
Lehi (7-0, 16-2) clinched the region title with a narrow 44-41 victory over North Sanpete (3-4, 12-6).
"Last year was the first time in 24 years that we won the region title,"
said Lehi coach Michael O'Connor. "This year is the first ever we've taken it back-to-back."
The Pioneers secured the championship on the shoulders of Harrison's 20 points, 11 rebounds, six steals and six blocked shots. The sophomore helped the Pioneers jump out to an 8-0 start with two early layups, and it appeared Lehi was going to run away with the game, but two quick 3-pointers by Alison Hamilton brought the Hawks back to within two points midway through the first quarter.
SRC="/img/xclear.gif" WIDTH="1" HEIGHT="1" VSPACE="4"> HREF="http://www.desnews.com/dn/photogallery/1,3210,305001457,00.html">
SRC="/i/gallery_link.gif" WIDTH="116" HEIGHT="43" BORDER="0"
ALT="Photo gallery">
HEIGHT="1" VSPACE="4">
WIDTH="7" HEIGHT="1">
Throughout the game, the Pioneers appeared poised to take charge and run away with the victory, but the Hawks kept coming back and keeping Lehi within striking distance, though they never held the lead. A Lehi turnover with less than two seconds left gave the Hawks one last chance to tie the game and send it overtime as Jessica Aagard stole the ball. North Sanpete couldn't capitalize on the mistake and didn't get a shot off before the buzzer sounded, ending the game.
"North Sanpete just didn't quit," said O'Connor. "We had our chances to extend the lead, but they just hung in there. I wouldn't want to play them in the first round of the playoffs."
Lehi led by as many as eight in the final period after another Harrison layup gave it the 42-34 lead, but the Hawks outscored the Pioneers 7-2 the rest of the way on the shoulders of Kali Larsen, who recorded 11 total points and Aagard, who scored 18, mostly from down low.
"They did a good job getting the ball to Aagard. They had good entry passing," O'Connor said of the Hawks, but he also thought his team did a good job distributing the ball, citing Tristen Sunderland's seven assists along with Kayla Burningham's four. The good passing didn't always lead to points, however.
"It seemed there was a lid on the basket tonight," O'Connor said of his team's inconsistent shooting. "We're normally a good shooting team, but we missed our share tonight."
In other girls games:
REGION 1
FREMONT 49, DAVIS 40:Mandy Quarticcio hit two 3-point shots for Fremont in a decisive win over the Darts.
VIEWMONT 58, WEBER 36:Natalie Ellis scored 12 points to help lead the Vikings over the Warriors.
LAYTON 54, CLEARFIELD 25:Katie King scored 25 points on 12-of-14 shooting and added 10 rebounds for the Lancers, who held the Falcons to single-digit points in each of the first three quarters.
REGION 3
SKYLINE 43, HUNTER 14: After locking heads with Hunter for one quarter, Skyline outscored the Wolverines 20-2 in the second and third to pull away and claim the win.
KEARNS 75, COTTONWOOD 66:Renee Apadoca led the way for the Cougars with 28 points as they picked up a region win. Stace Little had 12 points and 21 rebounds in the loss for the Colts.
TAYLORSVILLE 76, GRANGER 46: Taylorsville used big second and fourth quarters to put away Granger and improve to 6-1 in Region 3 play.
REGION 5
EAST 40, BOUNTIFUL 38:Libby Cannon led the Leopards to a narrow victory with 13 points, six rebounds and five blocks. Teammate MonaTuitupou added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
WEST 68, CYPRUS 46: The Panthers played steady throughout to wear down the Pirates and get the win.
MURRAY 62, WOODS CROSS 28:Chavalah Washington had 10 steals along with 19 points in an easy win for Murray over the Wildcats.
OLYMPUS 66, HIGHLAND 50:Adrienne Carey finished with 20 points as the Titans posted a 32-17 halftime lead and cruised to victory.
REGION 6
PROVO 48, PAYSON 44:Cassie King scored a game-high 20 points to lead the visiting Bulldogs. Sandy Marvin paced the Lions with four 3-pointers and 18 points.
TIMPVIEW 63, SPANISH FORK 33:Lindsey Freeze scored 25 points and Jessica Harmon added 14 points, five steals and four rebounds to pace the Thunderbirds over the Dons.
REGION 7
OREM 48, PLEASANT GROVE 32:Aubrey Stay drained two 3-pointers in the first quarter, finishing with 12 points, to help the Tigers jump on top early and defeat the Vikings. Danielle Sargent and Lauren Francom scored 9 points apiece in the loss.
MOUNTAIN VIEW 67, LONE PEAK 44:Ashley Cheesman scored 22 points to help lead the Bruins over the Knights. Monique Schauerhamer notched 18 points in the loss.
REGION 10
UINTAH 50, GRANITE 27:Maggie Bartel scored 14 points to help lead the Utes over the Farmers. Shannon Hurst notched 10 points in the loss.
WASATCH 36, JUDGE MEMORIAL 32: Wasatch scored its 20th consecutive win, dating back to last season, over Judge.
PARK CITY 62, UNION 50: The Miners nailed nine 3-pointers en route to their 12-point win over the Cougars. Krista Berry and J.D. Harris scored 19 points each in the win.
REGION 14
GRAND 27, ROWLAND HALL 25: Grand's Alex Esquibel banked in a 3-pointer with three seconds left, then Natalie Garrett stole Rowland Hall's inbound pass and scored at the buzzer as the Red Devils edged The Winged Lion.
REGION 15 TOURNAMENT
BRYCE VALLEY 26, ESCALANTE 17:Kali Pollock had eight points in a defensive win for Bryce Valley over Escalante.
VALLEY 55, MILFORD 33: Valley's Sammi Griffiths was the leading scorer of the game with 16 points in a win over Milford.
WAYNE 49, PANGUITCH 40: Wayne's Tamara Durfey hit all of her 12 points from 3-point range in the win over Panguitch.
REGION 16 S.
WHITEHORSE 79, MONUMENT VALLEY 63: Shauna Martin scored 18 points, and Derica Dickson and Latashia Redhouse added 13 each for Whitehorse, which led 21-4 after the first quarter.