OGDEN — The fun-and-gun Emery Spartans are one win away from the schools' first-ever girls basketball state championship.
A night after racing past Pine View in the 3A quarterfinals at the Dee Events Center, Emery overwhelmed Morgan in the first half with its pressure defense and never trailed in picking up the 67-59 victory.
The Spartans will face No. 1 Canyon View at 5 p.m. on Saturday for the 3A state championship.
If Emery's full-court press wreak's havoc with Canyon View like it did Morgan, the Spartans should be in good shape.
Just 35 seconds after the opening tip Friday, the Spartans forced Morgan into two quick turnovers as they jumped ahead 6-0.
"That's what we've been doing the last few games," said Emery coach Steve Gordon. "Our press has been real effective, it gets us a jump start, and gives them confidence right off the bat."
That press enabled Emery to put a 10-game winning streak together leading into the season-finale against rival Carbon, a game the Spartans lost by six.
"I think that got us refocused," said Gordon.
In the three tournament games since that loss, Emery beat Union by 35, Pine View by 25 and then Morgan by eight.
Not bad for a team that many people figured were no longer state title contenders after senior Natalee Hanson was lost for the season with a knee injury the night before their November season opener.
"At first everyone was down. She was our leading scorer and our best defensive player, and you lose her right before your first game and that kind of puts a damper on things," said Gordon. "But it's made all the other girls step up."
Two girls who stepped up big time on Friday were juniors Jodie Lundell and Camille Fehlberg. Lundell made 8-of-14 field goals, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range to finish with 21 points. Fehlberg finished with a game-high 22 points as she made 15-of-16 free throws, including 6-of-6 in the fourth quarter as Emery held off Morgan's late charge.
Leading 42-32 at the break, the Spartans extended it to 52-36 midway through the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Lundell. Ever so gradually, coach Kovi Christiansen's team began inching back into the game.
By the end of the quarter the Region 10 champs only trailed by 12, and they built on the momentum with a 9-2 run to open fourth quarter, cutting Emery's once comfortable lead to 59-54. That was as close as the Trojans would get.
During the final 3:23, Morgan only made 1-of-4 shots, while Emery sealed the win by making 8-of-9 free throws.
"That's what we were saying all year, we wanted a shot at Morgan to see what they had," said Gordon.
In addition to Fehlberg's 22 points, she also added eight assists, seven steals and five rebounds. BreAnne Haslam and Chelsey Garfield each scored 14 points to lead Morgan, which battles Wasatch on Saturday at 1:20 p.m.
In other 3A playoff games Friday:
CARBON 44, SNOW CANYON 30: Tabby Cummins recorded a game-high 10 points, while teammates Danielle Martino and Meesha Rasmussen combined for 17 more points to lead the Dinos into the 3A consolation championship.
LOGAN 48, PINE VIEW 44: Despite trailing by 10 at the break thanks to 25 percent shooting, the Grizzlies advanced to the consolation championship with a much better performance in the second half as they shot 43 percent. Sarah Miller led Logan with 13 points, while Pine View's Tina Twiggs led all scorers with 20 points.
CANYON VIEW 49, WASATCH 40: The No. 1 Falcons survived a serious score from Wasatch, which only trailed by one with under four minutes remaining. Cassie Platt led the way for Canyon View with 21 points, while teammate Ashley Gentry chipped in with 10.
Shanna Woodruff led Wasatch with 11 points. Canyon View outrebounded Wasatch 26-15.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com