As Emilee Skinner quickly got into foul trouble in Wednesday’s 4A state championship — including picking up her third early in the second quarter — it was only natural for Ridgeline fans to wonder “uh oh.”
After all, when Ridgeline lost the 4A title game in 2022 in double overtime, Skinner fouled out in the first overtime and the youthful RiverHawks ran out of gas against Desert Hills.
Fast forward to the 2024 title game, and Skinner’s foul trouble was a nonissue. Ridgeline had already built a double-digit lead before she got into foul trouble, but more importantly the four starters around Skinner were all seniors and had been key cogs throughout Ridgeline’s dominance all season.
Despite long spells on the bench for Skinner, and teammate Macie Brown who also got in foul trouble, as expected Ridgeline rolled to the 58-34 win over Snow Canyon at UVU to capture its second straight state championship and its 45th straight win over a Utah team.
“To have Emilee and Macie off the floor at the same time was really tough. We had to overcome some adversity and I thought the girls did a good job filling in and doing some good things,” said Ridgeline coach Ainsli Jenks.
Ridgeline’s four seniors, along with the junior Skinner, started together in three different state championship games, and Jenks made sure they recognized what a unique experience it was prior to the game.
“You don’t get to play in state championship games very often, I never did as a player. And these guys have played in three and won the last two, so it’s an incredible journey. We do it one game at a time. We have fantastic girls who love and care about each other,” said Jenks.
Elise Livingston led Ridgeline with 20 points on four 3-pointers — all in the first half — while Skinner added 17 points and six rebounds in limited minutes.
Livingston definitely picked up the offensive slack as Skinner only played 16 minutes.
The biggest sequence for Livingston came immediately after Skinner picked up her third foul with 4:50 remaining in the first half. She was immediately replaced for the rest of the half, and in the next two minutes, Livingston hit two 3-pointers and Sydnee Zollinger hit another as Ridgeline extended an 18-8 lead to 27-11 heading into halftime.
“I don’t necessarily feel pressure, I just felt like I needed to be a leader and just keep everyone calm because we were playing really good, even when they got in foul trouble,” said Livingston.
Jenks said it was exciting to see Livingston have such a great final last game in a Ridgeline uniform on the same floor she’ll continue playing college basketball.
“She’s a gamer, that girl likes to ball and she likes to compete and she’s just gonna get after it and she was super focused and ready to go tonight,” said Jenks.
Ridgeline’s suffocating defense played a big key all game as it limited Snow Canyon to 12-of-46 shooting, just 26%.
It was Skinner who set the tone right at the opening tip for Ridgeline, as she got the defensive assignment on Snow Canyon leading scorer Olivia Hamlin to start the game, and she immediately stole the ball and raced to the other end for a lay-up and a lead the RiverHawks never relinquished.
“That first steal I loved, that was such a great play to go get that ball and get after it right from the get go. But that’s how they play, they’re ready to go in. They’re locked and dialed and just focused defensively,” said Jenks.
Hamlin ended up scoring 19 points for Snow Canyon, but Ridgeline’s aggressive perimeter defense never allowed her to get comfortable with easy baskets to get a rhythm going.
Anna Wallace came off the bench and provided a big spark with Ridgeline’s starters in foul trouble as she recorded four points and seven rebounds.
Deseret News 4A all-tournament team
MVP — Emilee Skinner, Ridgeline.
Elise Livingston, Ridgeline.
Olivia Hamlin, Snow Canyon.
Annalyse Shimada, Cedar City.
Joey Jensen, Snow Canyon.
Macie Brown, Ridgeline.