High school girls basketball: Green Canyon shuts Juan Diego out in overtime to advance to 4A semifinals

OGDEN — After leading by five points in the fourth quarter, Green Canyon let Juan Diego back into their 4A quarterfinal matchup Thursday by sending the Soaring Eagle to the free-throw line, and Juan Diego ultimately forced overtime. 

The Wolves made up for it in the extra period.

Green Canyon was masterful during the bonus basketball, outscoring Juan Diego 7-0 in overtime to win 61-54 and advance to the semifinal round.

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“These girls have been working their tails off on defense, but I honestly think it was the mentality. They had the strong mental thing at the break before overtime started,” Green Canyon head coach Alexis Bird said. “We only played six kids tonight. They could have been gassed, but they used their heads and they left no doubt. They just played defense like they know how to play, they dug in deep and they worked together.”

Green Canyon 61, Juan Diego 54

(Box score)

Top scorers:

Green Canyon: Kennedy Eskelson, 18

Juan Diego: Kieley Rasmussen and Laulea Tavake, 17

The Wolves scored the only field goal in overtime when Shante Falslev hit a bucket for the first points in OT. The other five points came at the free-throw stripe. Falslev scored five of Green Canyon’s seven overtime points.

“Basketball is a game of runs. It’s nice to get that first bucket, especially after a tough end of regulation. We needed to start that run,” Bird said. “We just stayed calm and ran our sets. We were patient and looked for the open player and did what we needed to do to get the right person open. These guys are so unselfish.”

Kennedy Eskelson was the leading scorer for Green Canyon, pouring in 18 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out five assists. 

“Kennedy has been our go-to point guard for three years. She’s a seasoned vet. This pressure is not new for her. She created space for herself, but she also created opportunities for her teammates. Tonight, we needed her layups — her little shake-and-bake lay-ins. She was confident in that and then we hit free throws down the stretch,” Bird said. “Kennedy is a huge part of our team and has been since we’ve opened. Eighteen points is great, but I also think her defense was incredible, and that spearheads your offense.”

Jordyn Thompson added 13 points, Kinley Falslev scored 11 points and Shante Falslev and Allee McKenna each had seven points for the Wolves. Kiely Rasmussen and Laulea Tavake each had 17 points to pace Juan Diego.

Green Canyon may have only played six players throughout the entire contest, but in the overtime period, those players looked like they could have played two more quarters. All of the five starters that played most of the game were seniors, and they didn’t want to go home Thursday.

“They don’t want to be done,” Bird said. “They want two more. That’s what they did, they locked down on defense, they boxed out and they deserved that win.”