LEHI — Lehi, just a few years removed from winning only one game all season, set a state record on Thursday night.
The undefeated Pioneers — the best girls basketball team in the state — are now the state’s all-team leader in 3-pointers made in a season, passing Morgan, who made 172 in the 2013-2014 season.
Lehi is simply dominating other teams, its latest win a 67-51 victory over Alta. The Pioneers started off slow, leading by just two points after the first quarter, but went on a second quarter scoring tear — outscoring the Hawks 30-10. Jamisyn Heaton led the way with 22 points and Apelila Galeai chipped in 13 points.
“We just started moving the ball, we started sharing it, they started cutting really hard and we started holding them off the rebounds, too. I think our defense really cranked up that last little bit,” head coach Aubrey Van Pelt said.
Van Pelt described her team’s offense style as fast, up-tempo and contained. On defense, the Pioneers try and take away the other team’s strength.
“We just started moving the ball, we started sharing it, they started cutting really hard and we started holding them off the rebounds, too. I think our defense really cranked up that last little bit,” — Lehi head coach Aubrey Van Pelt
That offensive strategy becomes clear when you take in a Lehi game. The Pioneers look like the high school equivalent of the 2015 Golden State Warriors — they run the floor, share the ball and shoot, and make, a lot of 3-pointers. The Pioneers are averaging nearly 66 points per game.
“We have to, because of our size. We just have to stretch teams out. If we can move it enough, we can get good looks inside, but we want five offensive threats out there,” Van Pelt said.
Lehi, which hasn’t won a girls basketball state championship since 1980, has a team that has the coaching and the talent to do so. It’s been a night and day difference from when Van Pelt took the reins in 2016 to setting state records — three games from closing out an undefeated regular season.
“Our first season, we went 1-19 and we were just getting beat every day, but we were trying to get better every day. That has been the hallmark of what we are always trying to do — we are always trying to get better every single day,” Van Pelt said.
The biggest key to the team’s success has been hard work. Van Pelt knew the team could be something special during fall practices.
“In the fall is kind of when things started to click for us and we saw the potential that they had,” Van Pelt said. “They’ve always had a drive, they’ve always had a relentlessness to get better, and I think when we saw that really full circle, that’s when we kind of knew we could do some special stuff.”
The team’s talent, hard work and chemistry, combined with Van Pelt’s coaching and offensive style, has produced great results for the Pioneers.
“These kids love each other, they’re honest with each other, they work so well together. We try and do a lot of stuff off the court to create that (chemistry), to create that trust and to create that communication with them,” Van Pelt said.
Twins Macie Warren and Maddison Warren have been Lehi’s offensive catalysts, averaging 16.6 and 15.1 points per game, respectively.
“They work so hard and they’re very good at knowing when they can turn on an extra gear and take over and when they need to use their teammates. Their work ethic has been the thing that has steered everybody else’s work ethic,” Van Pelt said.
As the Pioneers inch closer and closer to a perfect season, they are miles away from that one-win season, but now have a new challenge: pressure.
“It feels good, but it also brings on a different set of challenges,” Van Pelt said. “I’m just happy for them to be able to experience the feeling of accomplishment that they’re feeling and the sense of pride that they have in it.”
Lehi will face Mountain View (7-11), Timpview (9-9) and Timpanogos (7-10) as it looks to wrap up a perfect season.
“I don’t think these guys knew what they would accomplish. I don’t think they realized what they could be and now it’s a matter of us staying hungry as that gets closer and closer, as teams adjust on us and as they try to beat us, can we adjust with that?” Van Pelt said.